We were Ham-burgularized!

I woke up this morning to find the front door ajar. So I backed up into the bedroom, woke Dan, and hid until he reported back. The news: Our laptops were gone. After the initial shock and disbelief, we noticed the back sliding glass door open - which leads out onto the balcony. We have a deadbolt that only locks from the inside on the front door...plus I recalled forgetting to lock the glass door after watering plants yesterday. We deduced that the thief either climbed up onto the balcony or down to it from the roof; the next door balconies are far too far away. We are on the 3rd floor!! The easiest way would be from the roof - there is no way a thief is going to carry around a 30 foot ladder. After our initial panic subsided, we noticed that the stupid burglar forgot to take the power cords for BOTH of our computers AND my purse which was sitting in between them!! What a true low-life and moron. The freakiest part of having our things taken, was that it was done in the middle of the night while we slept! I recall waking suddenly in the middle of the night (3:46am) and in my dreary state rationalizing that my bladder had awoken me so.

We reported the theft to the police. The 311 lady was really nice but didn't sound convincing that we'd get our stuff back. Dan's ancient desktop helped us changed all of our financial institution passwords that were saved on our computers. Of course, I called my parents for comfort and Dan chose the exact opposite to spare his mother the stress. Luckily having the Sunday paper on our doorstep helped us find ads for computers on sale. We visited a few stores, then decided on this for me and this one for Dan. Thankfully , Dan's stolen laptop was newly purchased and we think will be paid back through a claim with AMEX. Hopefully mine can be expensed for work. My boss was very empathetic and kind - quite a pleasing change from most bosses.

Today has been the hugest disappointment since our move here. I almost feel like blaming someone (myself?) for putting us through so much stress. But I can't blame the landlords; I can't blame myself. Someone today told me to chalk it up to miscellaneous expenses that occur during life. WHAT? I think it is more fruitful to avoid that and just hate. I will forever be angry and hurt by this - yes it is just a computer, but it is also my privacy, my personal space, my safety. So long sane life, let the nuerosies begin.

Most Beautiful Prehistoric Place on Earth!

We found the most beautiful place on the planet!
Hamilton Pool:



Creek coming from Hamilton Pool:



Takes about 30 mins to get to from the apartment. I would LOVE to go there again. The pool itself was refreshing for the few moments we swam. The rain came through and the park police told us they had to test bacteria levels to determine if it was safe to swim in. We hid under the safety of the overhang until the rain slowed. Then we hiked the trail along the creek that led to the Pedernales River. The hike was just beautiful - cypress trees, frogs croaking, huge boulders. It could pass for dino or fantasy-type movie scenery. We got back to the car in time to make it to my hair appointment. The cut took 4 hours! It was this girl's first time doing this particular cut, and she would have taken much longer had Dad not fussed. Thank goodness he did; we made it to Rosie's Tamale Restaurant JUST IN TIME!

Wednesday we stopped at Chuy's for lunch. I had the most outrageous Chuychanga, with plenty leftover for 2 more meals.

After lunch we stopped at the Umlauf Sculpture Garden. Apparently old lady Umlauf and her late husband donated some sculptures and helped develop this garden just at the bottom of a hill from their property. There is a beautiful stream that trickles through and ends up in this pond:

It made for a nice shady stroll on a hot day.

I'm stuffed

My family often plans vacations around food. Yesterday, was no exception. For lunch, we took a picnic up to the top of Mount Bonnell. The view was spectacular:
On one side you could see the Pennybacker Bridge (AKA 360 Bridge).There were huge houses on both banks. Almost each one had it's own dock, some with a mini harbor. We also saw some people tubing off the back of a boat.Here is a picture of my parents, resting in the heat.
Threadgill's for dinner - where Janis Joplin cut her teeth. They serve up some seriously excellent southern food - where even a meat-eater would get the veggie entrees. Their list of southern-style vegetables is 28 deep! We all dove right in and left happy. That was my second good experience at the restaurant, the first being at the So. location.

We've been busy!

Goodness, as I look back on the past few days, we have done a lot! It doesn't seem like we're moving very fast, minute to minute. But it adds up quickly. Part of the reason I wanted to start this blog was to remember everything. It hasn't been working. I need to post in order to remember it; the problem is nothing seems memorable or note-worthy until later on down the road. Anyhow, I had to refer to my dad's blog in order to recall everything. It turns out that we've recently visited botanical gardens, devoured some of the best Texas BBQ (Iron Works) I've ever had, visited the state history museum, browsed the Austin Farmer's Market, and watched the 4th of July fireworks display with music accompanied by the Austin Symphony. Check out the other site for pics - I've been lazy about carrying my camera around. What a busy few days. We recently planned the next coming week's list of activities/food venues. Stay posted.

The Arrival

So, we took a bike ride Tues. evening down to the river through Zilker. It felt better than ever! Things DO get easier the more you try!
My parents arrived Wed. around 1pm. We sat around for a while, they had lunch, gave them a tour, unloaded the car (during rain, oddly enough). Then, Dan fixed yummy dinner and we headed out! We parked on Riverside and walked across the pedestrian bridge, then down along the hike and bike trail to Congress. We had time to kill before the bats flew out, so we showed them the 2nd street area and tempted them by walking slowly passed Lambert's. The smell emanating is just incredible. Back across Congress Ave. Bridge, we hung out down below to wait. The weather was just perfect, so MANY people were lined up to watch. Of course, Lightsabre Man was there, making a solid $5 per purchase. And then they started...the bats flew out one by one, then two by two, then so many you can hardly keep your eyes focused. They say in the heart of summer, there are up to 3 million bats hanging out. It was quite a spectacle - both Mom and Dad had their cameras constantly flashing. Walked back to Auditorium Shores to watch some doggies. Disappointingly, there were none swimming. Back to the car and home then, some peoples legs were tired *ahem*. We'll have to change that!