Wow, what a long weekend. Paul and I went to Austin this weekend. We left Friday evening and stayed for the weekend. The reason for going was because Paul had a seminar to attend sponsered by SMU. (Southern Methodist Univ. Very big down here.) The seminar was about programming in the gaming industry. You will have to ask Paul for details. I stayed at the hotel while Paul was at the conference. (He had the car, and it was raining.) So I spent the day playing with Jade. It was her first road trip, her first time in the pool and a really good practice trip. We learned quite a bit on how to travel with an infant. We will be much better prepared next time. For the record, Jade was unimpressed with the pool. She was much more interested in watching the other kids in the pool, and hardly even noticed that she was wet.

The most interesting thing that happened was that we went out to eat on Saturday. First point of interest was the restaurant- The Iron Chef. So named because the owner is fond of the show. (So the waitress told me.) Second point of interest was Jade. She was starting to fuss a bit, just as the food arrived. (She is very good at that.) The waitress noticed this and rushed off to put down the tray she was carrying, saying she would be right back and she would watch the baby. And she did. She came back, picked up Jade and proceeded to play with her for nearly an hour with the other waitstaff. (It was late, and there were only a couple of tables seated.) They were singing to her in chinese. She has this amazing affect on people. Paul and I were so surprised. When we finished eating, they took our picture with Jade and gave it to us as a souvenier. All in all a very odd but pleasant evening.

Overall, I can't say much for Austin, I didn't really get to see enough of it to make any kind of judgement. Next time we will have to make a point of seeing some more of the town.