And the beat goes on! I started celebrating my birthday by flying down to Texas. My brother and his family live in Austin, and a visit to the sunny South with 60+ temperatures and blue skies sounded really nice.

My escape was made via JetBlue, a charming airline with friendly flight attendants, roomy seats, lots of free junk TV, and unlimited snacks. What's not to like? The ride down was pretty bumpy due to some storms, and Gary and Roy, my flight attendants, found out it was my birthday and made sure that I left the plane with a big to-go gift package of wine bottles.

Austin is very civilized, We ate out a lot. I particularly liked North by Northwest, a microbrewery, and TXLC, Texas Land and Cattle restaurant. We also watched mucho football and Friday Night Lights, which is filmed around Austin. Go, Dillon Panthers!

Austin is the home of Whole Foods, and has a flagship store under its corporate headquarters, which offers yummy snacks and cooking lessons. It is also the home of rabid environmentalists who mandate lots of parks, bike paths, and greenspace. The greenspace is a little brown in the winter, but lots of stuff grows there. We went to the supermarket to pick up supplies, and there was a rosemary hedge growing next to where we parked. Awesome!

Texas is way cool, and Austin is the bomb.