I am not entirely sure when exactly the madness began yesterday. Honestly, I’m not.

My day started out so innocently… HH and I had snagged some fantastic last minute tickets to the UT Longhorns vs. BYU game, kickoff was set for 6:30 p.m., but since this is Austin, the tailgate parties had been in full swing since about noon.

Here we are on arrival to downtown Austin. Silly me had neglected to include her Longhorn game shirt in my luggage, which I initially regretted. Little did I know that this would make absolutely no difference to my team spirit whatsoever.

Upon arrival, I was initially offered a free koozie, ice cold water, a fan and water spritzer for the game. Well, let me just say that all this free stuff seemed to awaken the freebie-loving beast that resided in my penny-pinching and football loving soul.

As we made our way along the street, suddenly I realized that the Koozie and water were just the beginning: I was in the land of the free. Not exactly flowing with milk and honey, but certainly flowing with an endless stream of goo gahs and knickknacks and fridge magnets and lapel badges, hats and visors and buttons.

And so here I am, thirty minutes later: At some point in this freefest, I made the decision to become a walking billboard, a living advertisement for the University of Texas, the Longhorns, Austin, Amurrica, barbeque, regional wineries, various insurance firms and ticket outlets.

Yes. Mother Hen had sold her proverbial soul to merchandising. And while I would like to say I regretted being such a clownish sell-out and middle-aged spokesperson for a university I never actually attended, given the opportunity, I am pretty sure the script of my day would not have altered much, with the possible exception of remembering my Horns T-shirt!

But I have to say, getting photobombed at the Rex-Goliath Winery stall was one of the highlights of the day!

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The fact that we were to later get our clocks cleaned by BYU is entirely beside the point. I am sure that if either our offense or defense had shown up for the game, this result might have been more satisfying!

Nevertheless, yesterday was the most wonderful day, and I am so enjoying this beautiful city and its wonderful food, music and atmosphere! I am so glad my son and his wife have decided to set up house here… Austin is what is best about Texas. Football mania optional…

Here is me in full belly laugh alongside my daughter-in-law… she’s the one wearing the smile!

To be continued…

Mother Hen

p.s. If Nashville and L.A. had a baby it would be Austin… the very best of both worlds, with the added advantage of a low cost of living! Add it to your bucket list…

The State Capitol and skyline seen from the stadium. Austin is its most beautiful at night!

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