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Texas.

Eat Your Heart Out

By Ashleigh Cropper

February 17^th, 2015

Austin & SAN ANTONIO.

My first trip to Texas is one that will go down in history. We tried to pack everything into one trip..and by everything, I mean the best BBQ and spending time with our best friends. Have you ever heard of the “migratory triangle”..it’s a thing. People like to migrate and live for periods of time between Portland, OR, Boulder, CO, and Austin, TX. Naturally we needed to check out Austin since we have lived in the other points of the triangle. Austin did not disappoint! With a quick commuter flight from DEN to AUS, you can be eating BBQ in 2 hours. Although we are serious foodies by nature and profession, we went strictly for seeing our friends Lauren, Ryan and Cal because it is a rare thing when all parties connect and want to stay up all night long with deep discussions, life questions, and uncontrollable laughter. We love those guys and loved that we booked a list minute ticket to see them. Now…introducing Austin: The Capitol Building, The Food/BBQ, Colorado River, Murals and Folsom action.

Food.

My husband made it clear from the beginning of this trip, he only wanted to do 2 things in Texas and 1 of them was eat..eat and EAT! So we did just that for our 2 days in Austin. We started our trip at Hopdoddy’s Burgers and it was delicious! I am always a bit on edge when I travel and have to eat out since I’m gluten intolerant but Hopdoddy’s treated me right with GF buns, condiments and fries! South Congress St. is packed with food trucks and restaurants galore and it seems like you can’t go wrong. We stopped in at Sugar Mama’s Bakehouse for some cupcakes and milk. We chose Magnolia’s for breakfast and unfortunately, it was a bit of a let down. A mediocre meal with a snappy waiter does not start out a great day. Then, brace yourself, we went to FRANKLIN BBQ!

Franklin BBQ is considered/ranked the best BBQ in AMURICA! We really questioned if we wanted to make this experience happen and after many Uber drives and talking to locals, we thought we would be silly to leave and not have tried. This is how Franklin BBQ works: 6:30 am people start getting in line, 9:00 am line is around the block and you are lucky if you may be the “last man/woman standing,” 9:30 am a Franklin employee comes along and asks how much meat you plan to order so they can stop the line and let people go home who won’t get anything for today, 10:00 am half the line is already drunk from their BYOB party, 10:45 am “try some meat and pass it down” and you almost cry it is so good (and realize you just made the best decision to stand here for an ungodly number of hours), 11:00 am DOORS OPEN and hearts start racing. We were #19 and #20 in line and were served by 11:30. I promise you, I will never have a better brisket in my life…or turkey…or sausage. My husband took one bite and started laughing!..It’s that good. There is nothing “fancy” about the place but you can see the smokers, talk to Franklin himself (he checks on every customer to make sure they are happy and well fed), check out the trailer he started this craze in, and talk to other nuts like yourself who just stood in line for 4+ hours to get BBQ. Now..let the pictures do the rest of the talking!

Write your story here. (Optional)

LAUREN.

I’m not kidding, I cried when I had to say bye to Lauren when we were neighbors and I moved. I cried about 2 things when I moved: 1) leaving the Tree Streets/ Wasatch Range and 2) leaving the Folsom’s. It is a crazy story how we were all fortunate enough to live in Utah together and be one block from each other. There are few people I have ever come across that I don’t really need to explain things to, they just understand and know the right things to say. Lauren is one of them. I tell my husband all the time “Lauren just gets me” and that is the fact. I have been eternally grateful for both Lauren and Ryan’s friendship over the past few years. Lauren is loyal and sincere. She will tell me “what’s up” when I need to hear it and be honest; she gives me the advice I REALLY need to soak in and think about; she honestly pushes me to be a better individual. I could explore a place with her and talk with her all-day, everyday! I needed an “Ode to Lauren” in here because we have gone through some really intense and difficult life experiences and she is still by my side.

And, to make my tears really well up, Ryan has been the best friend to Ian. They have a bromance and I love hearing them talk and sort out life together. Ryan is as entertaining as they come. He could make ANY story laughable and is one of those people you just really enjoy hanging out with. Ian and Ryan are technically related so we have these two for good! And that is just how we like it!

The MURALS.

Lauren and I explored the murals of Austin. They are everywhere! Not even an exaggeration! You turn a corner and BAM, then another and ANOTHER! I’m going to hope Lauren forgives me and doesn’t mind I put these up! 2 of my favorites that we ran into.

San Antonio.

The Folsom’s live in San Antonio but our flight came into Austin so we split the trip up and had some fun in both places. We checked out the Market Square which really transported me to feeling like I was in Mexico. After growing up in Puerto Vallarta, the smells, the food, the people, the vendors and trinkets made me do a double take. It was a fun area to stroll! We did a family shoot downtown San Antonio and at the Riverwalk. Those will come in another post. We did go to the Alamo but we also got kicked out by the Texas Rangers for hopping a fence so there aren’t many pictures from there! I had to throw in a hot-husband picture too in downtown.

This trip was so worth every. single. penny. But it wasn’t because of the food! Those Folsom’s are some of the best around. I am literally counting down the time until Ryan is done with med-school and residency so we can be neighbors again!