Long, Long Ago

Our visit is a mix of seeing some carefully chosen Austin-area places and for my sister and me, going through several boxes of old photos and documents. This casual photo is of my father and his older sister Julia, probably taken by their mother or father around 1913. It's one of several that I've not seen before, so I'm spending a fair amount of time photographing these old images.

Today's field trip was to Jester King Brewery, next door to Stanley's Farmhouse Pizza, in Dripping Springs. The traffic volumes and freeway/toll road/highway names are mind-boggling, compared to Bellingham, and we are very grateful to my sister for her excellent driving and knowledge of this area!

Our destination was out in the countryside, and a wonderful place to be on a mild, sunny November day. Jester King Brewery would rival any brewery we've been to in Portland, boasting a diverse and growing range of beers and a contented crowd of craft beer enthusiasts and their families. who were settled in for an afternoon of beer-tasting outside or in the open-sided building next door, where the pizza was served. Both Phil and I opted for a delicious sour beer made with Texas blueberries; he had a second beer that had been aged on cedar chips, as well.

It's 6:45pm here, time for us to enjoy the black bean soup we made this morning, and then enjoy a visit this evening from my sister's younger son, A, who recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in theatre /acting from Texas A&M University--Corpus Christi. I saw him on stage there in "The Bacchae" and he was magnificent. I'm looking forward to seeing A again this evening and enjoying his mellifluous bass voice; he could read the instruction manual for a washing machine aloud and I'd enjoy every word of it!

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