So, as I was saying, we were headed to Austin, and the first place we got to was "The Oasis"...it's like a luxury restaurant - three floors, all with balconies looking out onto beautiful Lake Travis. Again, you have to remember that I had NO IDEA where we were going or what we were doing, and Manny had been planning this all for quite some time. It ended up that the view was gorgeous, the food was DELICIOUS if not SCRUMPTIOUS, and when our waitress found out that it was my birthday, she gave us a brownie with ice cream on the house. We also had an "Oasis Sunset" that we shared between the two of us and we got to bring the glass home!!!
Then we looked around for a beach, but found out that the nearest beach was called "Hippie Hollow" and was a nude beach. UH-OH! So we decided to head on to our next "mystery" destination. It ended up that we were staying in a really swanky hotel (I knew it was swanky because it had a huge fountain out front where people drive up) called the Omni - their trademark symbol is the orchid - and when you walk in, it's all dark paneled wood, and orchids EVERYWHERE!!! It was absolutely stunning. Well, the fun part was that as we got into the elevator, a man got in with us who had a french manicure on his longer-than-normal nails. I had heard a woman say to him before he got on the elevator "Are you gonna be ready by 5?" It ended up that I got a little dressed up and that's just about when we were going downstairs...it ended up that 2 floors down, the elevator stopped and 2 very tall men in heavy makeup and ball gowns with 7" tiaras stepped on with men in tight dress shirts, leather pants, and crowns. Manny looked at the men in ballgowns and said to me "Wow, Honey, I thought YOU looked nice tonight!" I said to the queens "Gee, thanks for upstaging me!" They both preened at Manny's compliment and then one very sweet one looked at me and said, "Yes, but you get to look pretty every day." Well, we got to the lobby, and we were engulfed in heavy perfume, masculine frames and SEQUINS!!! Manny was so upset - "I've been planning for this forever - I take you to a fancy place and it's a drag queen convention. I'm so sorry." He was so upset, but I didn't mind at all, and assured him I was having the time of my life. We went in to downtown Austin and ended up going to a wonderful little Irish Pub called "fado" and I had the BEST fish and chips since Gibraltar!!! Manny had Guiness BBQ ribs. And fell in love with Smithwyck's Ale. Then, a short little walk to 6th Street - where the party is, I guess. Well, we ended up walking in to a few little pubs and bars and I had a margarita. It was the best I'd ever had...very sweet. Aunt Toni, you'll understand this from Key West, I had two more, and was quite buzzed. Apparently, being quite buzzed makes me "quite paranoid." Apparently I was asking Manny as we walked back to the car, "Manny, am I walking funny? Are my eyes red? Do people know I've had 3 margaritas? I need to sit down, Manny. You need to find me a chair." I got so close to crying, it was ridiculous. However, I got goofy after that, and slept very well that night.
The next morning, we drove back to Lake Travis and rented a WAVE RUNNER! We had it for an hour, and we both got a turn to drive. It maxed out at 60 mph, and we smiled, and laughed, and screamed. It was amazing, and when we got home we were POOPED! But it was a marvelous weekend, and Manny had off on Monday, so we just relaxed, and had a wonderful time cleaning house, and cooking, and laughing, and watching tv.
So that was my birthday weekend...Post from the Thursday concert soon!
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