Austin Powers

Our streak of free accommodations ended once we reached Austin and checked into our hostel. Our first night was relatively quiet due to the previous nights lack of sleep and the fact that a giant storm swept in over us. When we awoke the storm had gone and also we had to check out because the hostel was fully booked, this turned out to be lucky as our second hostel (Yes an American city with more than one hostel) Drifter Jacks, had a great crowd staying there and a very chilled out atmosphere. I went out in search of "Franklin's", who allegedly have some of the best barbecue in the world, when I got to the restaurant just after midday, they had big signs out saying "Sold Out" but having walked all that way I decided to go in anyway. They still had quite a bit of meat left for me and their reputation really didn't let them down, whoever I would tell the story couldn't believe how lucky I was.

Halloween night happened to fall during our visit to the Texan capital so we had a big night out with people from the hostel, as I wrote before people here take this very seriously and even with months of planning I wouldn't have had a chance competing with them. With items I could find in my backpack I decided to go as "David Hasselhof if he had auditioned for Braveheart" (Nobody on the night got it either) and we had a great night. The next day the hostel was slightly more subdued, but we decided to go see one of Austin's top attractions, the nightly flight of the bats. From March to November as many as 1.5 million bats call the Congress Bridge their home, and at dusk they all come out at the same to hunt for food, in one night the group can consume up to 15 tons of insects!!! This benefits Austin in two ways as number one they have no problems with insects and secondly they have a tourists attraction as people flock here to see the spectacle.

Next morning we all got up early to witness and participate in a completely different American show as we were invited to a tailgating event. For those of you who don't what tailgating is, it pretty much means you get up early in the morning and drink as much alcohol you can possibly handle before the football starts. Hundreds of thousands gather in the parkinglots and other areas surrounding the stadium, barbecuing, playing games and did I mention drinking alcohol? I turned out to be a natural at beer-pong and walked/stumbled away as undefeated champion. I then left the group in search of tickets for the game and managed to get a great deal as I payed ten dollars for a ticket worth a hundred. Arriving at the stadium, I had missed the first quarter but I somehow managed to swindle my way in to the wrong section and before I knew it I was literally on the field, just feet away from the home team. At half time I got kicked out but again managed to walk straight to the best seats in the house, front row, on the halfway-line. This was a college football game, but don't be mistaken, this is the real deal and the enormous 111,000 stadium was almost at full capacity. The University of Texas team, "The Longhorns" comfortably beat The Kansas Jayhawks 35-12, so the local fans and I could all walk home happy in an ocean of orange clad people. I passed out early that night and the following morning we started driving further west in Texas.