Once again, this was a budget vacation. Last year was Vegas in comped rooms with free flights from my step sister. This year we drove and stayed in a Marriott chain where I used my Reward points. I'm sitting on over 100,000 of those points and showed Kathy the 4-star properties they had for 20,000 points a night - she settled on the Renaissance in Austin's Arboretum. Once the reservation was made, I brown-nosed one of the reservation managers - I name-dropped, I threw around the Fox Sports title, I big-timed her with everything I had. I told her she could have the balance of my remaining Reward points - I just wanted an upgrade to the Presidential Suite. It was essentially a 1,500 square foot apartment. But, I had to settle for a king suite upgrade - no charge, no points. Awesome!
Champagne and chocolate covered strawberries, and a thoughtful letter from my hotel email buddy congratulating us on our anniversary. Now, I need chocolate covered strawberries like I need a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts covered with bacon buttercream icing. And to me, champagne is almost like that V8 tomato drink - it's not that I despise it so much that I'll refuse to drink it, but I can think of 88 things I'd rather drink before I settle on that. But, when it's free, and just enough for two glasses - bring it on. It was a great start to the weekend.
The food was incredible, the dessert was something to shed a tear over, but really this was a night to have to our own. No dinner to have to rush through in order to pick up the kids from someone watching them, or relieve a sitter at home. The night had a full tank of gas and could go as long as the road allowed. We had a great time being together, both talking and sitting in comfortable silence. Yes, we naturally wondered what was going on with the kids, we talked about them, we talked in our mock Kole voice - repeating everything over and over like a broken record, getting his tenses all wrong (if he wants his shoes on he'll say "Put your shoes on" to you, since that's what he hears us say to him). There was another baby a few tables from us, and it had Kathy's eye for several minutes. But, it was a really nice evening together - what one should have been. Back at the hotel, we even took a good soak in the hot tub. We were chatted up by, of all people, a 13 and 16 year old from Flower Mound. But, even that was entertaining. It was almost like a pop quiz on our lives after six years together. I think the question that stood out the most was being asked "So - do you guys like to party?" I forget which one of us answered, but the answer was - it's Friday night in Austin and we're here in a hot tub with you guys, not on 6th Street. What do you think?
We also went to the Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas, attached next to the LBJ Library. We tried to get to the bottom of whether Kathy's family is connected to Alamo war hero and former Republic of Texas president, Ed Burleson. Kathy's grandmother was born Ora Jane Burleson, and the connection had never been officially documented. So, we poked around to see what we could find. Currently, we know enough about Ed the Alamo guy to work with, now we really just need more info on Kathy's family from her mother's Burleson side.
We eventually ended up taking a road trip west near Marble Falls, actually a little town called Spicewood, home of Flat Creek Winery & Vinyard. We took a wine profiling class to learn why we like or don't like certain wines. Then, at the same place, they served a big dinner from a well-known chef with wine pairings.
The wine profiling class wasn't everything we thought it would be - not that we had a lot of preconceived notions - but it was still interesting. An expert French wine maker was in town, apparently friends with the owner of Flat Creek, and it was obvious that the man was an encyclopedia of knowledge. He actually has a degree in wine making from Universite' Dijon in France. Unfortunately, English was a distant second language and not everything he said was clear. His wife picked up where he couldn't fill in. We learned many things about the profile of wine. I don't think we're more of a wine snob, but - for example - if a friend had a glass of wine and told us what they do and don't like about it, I fell confident I could go out and find a wine that would fit their preference profile, using five key markers: Color, hints/hues, intensity of the nose, vivacity of taste (dry to sweet) and alcohol sensation on the palate (light to hot). We tasted 7 different wines. The room that started out stale and stiff ended up being loose and giggly when it was all done. Everyone at least had a good time. It was impressive watching a French wine master at work - watching how he sips wine and slurps and gargles it. How he stands, pensive and focused, one hand in a pocket and the other continuing to swirl the wine in the glass - scowling at it held up to sunlight while his mouth attempts to break it down and analyze its contents down to the molecule. It felt good to connect with his tastebuds, say if we were to determine whether the Syrah had a vivacity that was Fresh/Dry/Lively, or Round, or Mellow, or Sweet - as if they're all on a linear scale of 1 to 10. I thought it was fresh and dry (actually, my favorite of the Flat Creek line) and it was quite rewarding to have the master back it up, informing the class that it was indeed dry and fresh.
Then came the wine-paired dinner. Great time with great people at our table. The chef came out before each course to explain it - looking sharp in the white chef's coat, smiling and making wise-cracks, going along like a game show host, while it's obvious that he's short of breath and his brow wiped of sweat just before heading out. It's a cool act knowing what sort of chaos he's controlling behind the scenes. The food was really incredible and the wine was great. Our table had a 50-ish married couple, then a 50-ish non-married couple along with their friend who is coming off a big break-up. The only one with kids was the woman coming off the big break-up - her kids are 30 and 27. So, we kind of felt like the kids sitting at the adult table. Moreover, it's wierd to sit with a table full of adults and not talk about our kids. It just never came up. One of the guys was a vice president of a company and he was obviously doing well. Another guy was the County Commissioner of Angelina County (where Lufkin is), his name is Scott Cooper. Before being elected into public office he was a cameraman for 18 years at KTRE-TV in Lufkin-Nacogdoches, Channel 9, which I remember well from my days at Stephen F. Austin St. University. So, it was cool having a connection with someone and it's not like we talked shop to a point where I could have got sick of it.
It was a cool night. A great date night - again, without the catch of having to watch the clock and worry about the kids. It was a cool way to cap off the weekend. Well after dinner, there were only two tables remaining - the one with the owners and their guests from France and a few other personal friends - then our table. The guy who was the VP bought another bottle of wine for us to share as a night cap for a few more laughs.
We got home to a good report card from my mom on the kids. They were angels, apparently, and it was great seeing them. It was good being away and it was really good to miss Kole and Karissa. It was good spending 60 consecutive hours together with Kathy uninterrupted by anything or anyone we didn't want. Mission accomplished.
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