marcus LOVES: the south - day 2

Put 100 Christians, and 100 Mexicans in a 10x10sq. mile town in the middle of nowhere with a huge university (Texas Tech), and there you have Lubbock. The brick paved roads were cute, and so were the local’s expressions in response to Margalit not wearing a bra and my tattooed chest.

As hard as it was for us to leave Lubbock, we had to get back on the road, and boy was that all there was all day. Did I mention that I am narrating this entire trip with a Southern drawl? Pasture after pasture, soy crop after soy crop; it was quite boring, but the skies were amazing. Somewhere in the middle we ran across an abandoned farmhouse, and naturally we had to stop and check it out. On the front porch there laid a pair of old cowboy boots, and a screen door hanging on one hinge (imagine Auntie Em’s house post tornado). I was afraid to touch anything, fearing that the slightest movement would cause the entire structure to fall on top of us. With a little TLC, this could have been the perfect shabby chic abode.

On the road again. We hadn’t had phone service all day; it was like living in the 90’s. We reached the small town of Early, TX, and stopped for their famous “Drive Through Peach Cobbler”. It was pretty damn good. Don’t order the pint, or you will eat all of it, and it’s not a fun drive there on out.

Once the stomachache subsided, about 200 miles later, we reached Austin. Both Margalit and I wished that we had more time to spend in this Southern gem of a city, but what we did see, we liked. This was a first time visit for both of us, so I did some research in an effort to not waste any time. We went straight to SoCo (Southern Congress area). Once a rundown strip of pay-by-the-hour motels, SoCo is now a hipster haven overflowing with vegan friendly restaurants, thrift stores, and gourmet roach coaches. Our first stop was at the local artisan flea market. It was pretty typical of any arts and crafts section at a neighborhood farmer’s market; hand-made hippy jewelry, hemp clothing and local activists recruiting other locals. After that we went to an amazing store called Uncommon Objects. Foreign and domestic antiques dating back to the early 1800’s were merchandised by color and style, and had I had an unlimited amount of spending money, I’d have bought the entire store. We then had dinner at the Southern Congress Café, and desert at Hey Cupcake, a vintage Airstream trailer turned cupcake bakery. I wasn’t impressed with Austin’s selection of eye candy (boys); I guess nothing compares to CA. We made a brief stop at the capital building, and then back on the road. Next stop, New Orleans.