48 hours in Texas

Last weekend, Adam and I took a quick trip to Texas. We flew into Austin for the combined purposes of visiting my brother Dan and attending a friend's Indian wedding. When we arrived, the compact cars had all been taken so we got hooked up with a Camaro. It was pretty fun to ride in such a sporty vehicle although my 7 month prego self missed the cushy suspension of my minivan. 

Dan had to work the Saturday that we arrived, so we set off to surprise him with a visit. We got in the right neighborhood but couldn't locate the exact rescue station, so he had to guide us in. He showed us around the station and ambulances. John would have been in HEAVEN with all the "wee-ooohs" we got to see. It was so fun to see my little bro in his element. 

We took Dan and his partner out to lunch at a local burger place and were happily munching on the In 'N Out style burgers when who should sit next to us at the outdoor picnic table but Ty Detmer and his family! A brush with one of BYU's greats. (Sadly, no pictures. We were all a little awestruck.)

Later that afternoon, Adam and I made our way to San Antonio to see a few of the sights before heading to the wedding dinner. Here we are in front of the Alamo, which is a free site to visit. It's in a picturesque, if somewhat touristy, section of town. (Why is there always a wax museum in tourist areas?) The Alamo is where Davy Crockett, among many others, held out against incredible odds for weeks before losing a battle against the Mexican Army. Made we want to watch the film Davy Crockett to catch up on a little frontier history, or at least the Disney version of it.

After walking through the Alamo and the attached gardens, we headed to the River Walk. It is a recessed section of town that feels like it has been plucked out of Venice. The riverfront is lined with restaurants, and pedestrians pass amongst the tables enjoying the view. We were happy to join the Saturday evening dinner crowd for a very pleasant stroll.

Adam at the River Walk. 

After our brief sojourn in San Antonio, we headed to our hotel to get all fancied up for the Sangeet, or pre-wedding dinner and celebration. Here we are with the happy couple: Jith and Jahnavi. Jith and Adam started at Deloitte on the same day and have maintained a friendship that has involved several "mancations" along the way - always involving a BYU football game. Jith is a fantastic friend; he has helped us move, brought our children gifts, hosted us for dinner on our way up to Chocolate Days last year, and is just an all-around great fellow. We were so pleased to meet his bride and discover that she is just as wonderful. They make a very happy couple. 

BIG thanks go to our neighbors across the street who, when they heard we were going to an Indian wedding, completely outfitted us with clothing for the event. We so enjoyed dressing the part. The Sangeet included delicious Indian food, very friendly guests, lots of singing and dancing, and henna hand painting. 

The next morning, we arrived at the Hindu temple at 8:00am to join in the groom's procession from the temple (where he had been in a prayer service) to the site of the marriage ceremony. 

 The ceremony lasted about 2.5 hours in all, and snacks were served in the middle with a specific part of the ceremony timed to the minute so it could occur at the most "auspicious" time. It was a completely different experience from anything I have ever seen. There were some very lovely moments in the service. I particularly liked watching the new husband and wife take their first 7 steps together, promising as they do so to walk together in life as they pursue the householder's life, strength, wealth and prosperity, pleasure and happiness, children and a long life, the joys of all seasons, and everlasting love.

Another favorite moment came when they took turns pouring brightly colored rice over each others' heads. Supposedly, the individual who pours first and fastest will dominate in the marriage. 

Here we are with Jith and Jahnavi after the ceremony. 

After the wedding, we met up with Dan to do a walking tour of downtown Austin. It's a great city. The capitol building is particularly striking.  

Here's Adam at the museum by the Capitol. There were many kid-friendly displays, and it brought the kid in all of us. 

Did you know that the good people of Texas added this huge statue to the top of their Capitol Building so that it would stand 15 feet taller than the U.S. Capitol. Yep. Everything's got to be bigger (or at least taller) in Texas.

Here are Dan and Adam inside of the Capitol building. The building itself was built using the funds of the Farwell brothers from Illinois who were given, in exchange, a huge tract of land (3,000,000+ acres) in the Texas panhandle that became known as the XIT Ranch. 

 Interesting fact: Texas has been part of six nations in its history. It has flown the flags of Spain, France, Mexico, The Republic of Texas (when it was its own country), the Confederacy, and The United States. 

We closed the day by walking around the University of Texas and then had dinner (my favorite casserole) and played games at Dan's apartment. 

The next morning, we found ourselves sampling some of the local breakfast burritos before catching a flight back home. It was great fun to spend 2 days in the Lone Star State. Thank you for being such a generous host, Dan!