WE WEREN'T BORN IN TEXAS, BUT WE GOT THERE AS FAST AS WE COULD

Well, we may not have checked off many of the things on my list during our trip to Austin last week (no bats! no BBQ! no Barton Springs!), but we did manage to:

• find a great apartment
• see Luke Wilson in the security line at the Austin airport
• spot Leslie in South Austin
• see some of our fantastic Austin friends

The real estate market is crazy down in Austin (well, at least compared to Cleveland...) and our apartment hunt was stressful. So we were really happy to find a condo that's a quick bus ride to campus, right down the street from the Thunderbird, and a landlord that's going to let us paint and get a doxie. It's in a small condo complex (just 8 units) with a nice little side yard, and a balcony off the kitchen. Some photos of the complex from the street, and looking into the gate:

We had a great time staying with Megan in her adorable duplex (and arguing over who got to sit on her fitness ball while we searched Craigslist for apartments). She was also a good sport about driving around town with us, even when we almost ran out of gas. We also got to spend some time with Stephanie and Adam, who have a terrific little house in Megan's neighborhood, and are a very cool couple. (Megan and Stephanie are a year ahead of me in the MS Sustainable Design program at UT)

Austin and I also had the pleasure of meeting up with Tim for lunch at Quality Seafood, and with Tim's lovely family for dinner at Central Market while we were in town. Tim was so welcoming - and full of great suggestions for our apartment hunt and Austin's job search.

We feel incredibly lucky to have so many wonderful friends in Austin already, and can't wait to see them all again in August.

(More photos from our trip)