The Pied Piper’s Song

I’m about to be alone here in Austin. A bunch of my friends are soon leaving for West Virginia, some taking more direct routes than others. I had been planning to go since last year, but, as we all know, real life interferes sometimes. I find it ironic that the only Giga I’ve ever been to has been in Canada, but thus, it is life. I can only hope GeoWoodstock next year is somewhere that’s not far. As long as it’s not Phoenix, though. I’ve spent a lot of time complaining about the Valley of the Sun this weekend, but that’s a different story altogether.

Last week ended with an FTF for me. I didn’t need one, but it was between home and work, so I snagged it on Friday morning. The most important part is that it added another state to the 50 State Names Challenge, which I have been working on for a long time (it’s my oldest uncompleted challenge). Sure, I could do a local GeoArt that names every state, but what fun is that? I want to find them organically, and I’ve managed to find many in some very unexpected places.

Saturday, I went to an Event. This one was well out of town in Walburg at the most German restaurant I’ve ever been to. Some in attendance noted that it’s possibly the most German place in Texas. I don’t know about that, but I do know that I appreciated the polka band that played before the main band went on. The owner was some kind of champion accordion player in Germany before moving here, so he is central to the house band.

Just as importantly, we were all together to wish a happy birthday to our friend and my travel companion …

… 4everlyn! We all had lemon and rosemary cake to celebrate her [REDACTED] year on this Earth! She will soon be in Morgantown along with Razorbackgirl, Kittydcota, and Krissy4884, after making some stops in Illinois, Michigan, Canada, and—most interestingly—the one and only Niagara Falls.

And finally, on Sunday, I took a drive out east. I was going to go to Giddings but decided to stop in Elgin instead. There was a cache there I had stopped for in the middle of the night once, but I decided to abort when I realized it involved going into a wooded area. With daylight, I realized I had made the right choice. The woody bit wasn’t the problem. It was the grasses. They were thick enough to disguise a lot of uneven, hole-filled ground. I probably would have twisted something at night. Worse, I encountered the pokiest freakin’ plant I’d ever had the misfortune of running into. The tiny spines went entirely through my pants and into my calf on multiple occasions. But I made my find, so that’s all that counts. Instead of taking the direct route out, the same one I had taken to get in, I opted to take the longer way out. It was much easier and involved far less ground cover, far more wildflowers and butterflies, and no pokey bullcrap.

That was my boring, uneventful weekend. We’ll see what my (mostly) friendless week holds …