As I looked out the small window of the plane, I saw big blue and green tents near the airport. “They must be having a party or something,” I thought to myself and tried to imagine what a picture of the tents would look like. By the time we drove past them in the taxi, I was already drunk on the warm and humid air. I could smell flowers and it felt like late spring in Utah. The big blue and green tents were for airport parking, by the way. I guess they protect the cars from the Texas sun.

After we got our badges for the conference, we stood in line for the free canvas bag of goodies. I noticed a girl peeking behind the curtain and had this vision of the Wizard of Oz being angered at her impertinence. When I took my turn peeking behind the curtain, I saw the rows upon rows of canvas bags waiting for the attendees.

We took the trolley to the local grocery store (HEB) and ate at Ironworks. After my plane-sick stomach was full of beef barbeque, we took a twilight walk around the area. The air was full of a thousand bird calls. Every bird call you have heard was coming from the trees behind the Austin Convention Center. They were full of grackles. The flocks flew past us, singing their stolen songs. We didn’t dare stand under the trees.

I don’t know the name of this building yet, but as soon as I do, I will change the description. Right now, it’s called the most impressive building in Austin, Texas.

Tired from travelling, we sat on the benches outside of the Hilton Hotel, listening to the music coming in from the steak and sushi restaurant. I called my mom to tell her that I had made it safely to Austin and we talked about the conference. “Don’t trust everyone there. Conferences tend to attract scum bums.” I don’t know exactly what she was trying to protect me from, but I thanked her for her advice. Mike finished his call with his parents and we sat at the bench, staring at the manhole cover.

“Brown Eyed Girl” started playing at the restaurant and the two of us kissed.