Turn out the lights, the parties're over
Whew! We survived the weekend!
Early on in our planning of the move to Ohio, we decided that we wanted to leave Austin in style. I think Julie pulled that off!
Saturday night, we rented out the lower room at Stubb's BBQ, which is a semi-legendary barbecue and live music venue downtown. We hired the Jim Halfpenny Band -- I've known Jim and his wife for several years, and his band was perfect for the occasion. We had a bunch of barbecued chicken, brisket, and sausage (not enough sausage, apparently, as we ran out!). And we had an open bar. 60-70 of the friends we've made in Austin over the past 13 years came out to help us celebrate our pending departure.
The party was early -- starting at 6:00 -- and had a hard stop of 9:00 because Kelly Willis was playing at Stubb's that night. So, 12 or 13 of us headed over to Club de Ville for post-party drinks. Club de Ville is one of my favorite watering holes in Austin, because its outdoor seating is all eclectic retro patio furniture that backs up to a 15' cliff. I'd never been there on a weekend night, so I was a little nervous that it might be crowded. Hah! We walked over at 9:30 and had a wide range of options as to where to sit. By the time we left around 11:30 it had really filled up. But, clearly, the "head out at 11:00 PM for the evening" crowd (young, single) is still alive and well in Austin.
My parents relieved our babysitter so that Julie and I could stay out as long as anyone wanted to hang out with us. Leon and Isabelle Fainbuch won the longevity award on that front, as we bumped into them outside Stubb's as we arrived, and we walked out of Club de Ville with them at 11:30! Julie and I had a room at the Intercontinental Stephen F. Austin Hotel for the night. We crashed there and then got up on Sunday morning and walked over to the 1886 Cafe and Bakery for breakfast before heading home to relieve my parents by 10:15.
We spent the day running errands and doing more packing before heading out at 4:45 for the second party of the weekend -- this one was geared towards the kids. Mainly, getting Benton's friends together for a sendoff. We rented a roller skating rink, ordered pizza, brought in drinks and snacks, and had the run of the place for a couple of hours. It was fun to actually have the entire rink to ourselves. And, I actually strapped on rollerskates myself for the first time in a decade or so. Alana also got into skates for the first time, which was a mixed experience. But, Benton's oldest friend, Angela Campbell, who is 8 going on 27 and I did make it around the rink once with each one of us holding one of Alana's hands. Overall, that party, too, was a success.
There was some overlap between the two parties. In addition to my parents, there were several families whom were invited to and attended both events. I kind of felt sorry for them, as it was a weekend-long commitment to...US!
All in all, things went well, and we're glad we did it. I crawled into bed at 9:15 and was out by 9:30!
Early on in our planning of the move to Ohio, we decided that we wanted to leave Austin in style. I think Julie pulled that off!
Saturday night, we rented out the lower room at Stubb's BBQ, which is a semi-legendary barbecue and live music venue downtown. We hired the Jim Halfpenny Band -- I've known Jim and his wife for several years, and his band was perfect for the occasion. We had a bunch of barbecued chicken, brisket, and sausage (not enough sausage, apparently, as we ran out!). And we had an open bar. 60-70 of the friends we've made in Austin over the past 13 years came out to help us celebrate our pending departure.
The party was early -- starting at 6:00 -- and had a hard stop of 9:00 because Kelly Willis was playing at Stubb's that night. So, 12 or 13 of us headed over to Club de Ville for post-party drinks. Club de Ville is one of my favorite watering holes in Austin, because its outdoor seating is all eclectic retro patio furniture that backs up to a 15' cliff. I'd never been there on a weekend night, so I was a little nervous that it might be crowded. Hah! We walked over at 9:30 and had a wide range of options as to where to sit. By the time we left around 11:30 it had really filled up. But, clearly, the "head out at 11:00 PM for the evening" crowd (young, single) is still alive and well in Austin.
My parents relieved our babysitter so that Julie and I could stay out as long as anyone wanted to hang out with us. Leon and Isabelle Fainbuch won the longevity award on that front, as we bumped into them outside Stubb's as we arrived, and we walked out of Club de Ville with them at 11:30! Julie and I had a room at the Intercontinental Stephen F. Austin Hotel for the night. We crashed there and then got up on Sunday morning and walked over to the 1886 Cafe and Bakery for breakfast before heading home to relieve my parents by 10:15.
We spent the day running errands and doing more packing before heading out at 4:45 for the second party of the weekend -- this one was geared towards the kids. Mainly, getting Benton's friends together for a sendoff. We rented a roller skating rink, ordered pizza, brought in drinks and snacks, and had the run of the place for a couple of hours. It was fun to actually have the entire rink to ourselves. And, I actually strapped on rollerskates myself for the first time in a decade or so. Alana also got into skates for the first time, which was a mixed experience. But, Benton's oldest friend, Angela Campbell, who is 8 going on 27 and I did make it around the rink once with each one of us holding one of Alana's hands. Overall, that party, too, was a success.
There was some overlap between the two parties. In addition to my parents, there were several families whom were invited to and attended both events. I kind of felt sorry for them, as it was a weekend-long commitment to...US!
All in all, things went well, and we're glad we did it. I crawled into bed at 9:15 and was out by 9:30!
posted by Gilligan @ 7:32 AM
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