This month Floyd Real Estate turns 8. Happy birthday to the company! It has been an exciting ride with residential and commercial transactions in the central Texas area. We look forward to many more years of helping our clients. Also... assuming we find a satisfactory venue, our trivia night series will return at some point in the future.
It's back for 2022: The Stiles Switch 12 Days of Smoked Meats. Take a look at the embedded post below to see what is in store...
Austin residents: early voting started today and will run through December 9th. If you missing early voting (do yourself a favor and don't), then you can vote on December 13th.
Speaking of London and Moab, I do have a few travel observations/tips/etc I'll attempt to share by the end of the year. Who knows... maybe I'll get around to my tips for backpacking in the Grand Canyon as well.
If you have one of your credit cards linked to the Marriott Eat Around Town program, you can get 8x points through the end of November (normally it's 4-6x points per dollar depending on Bonvoy status level). Visit the website to search for restaurants in the program (and any special terms or restrictions).
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| Modeling a Nano-Puff Vest on the HMS Belfast |
REI gear sale is November 11th-21st. If you are an REI member, you'll get a coupon for 20% one regular item and one from the REI Outlet.
If you are new to REI: they typically have three of these 20% coupon deals (one for the regular store and one for the outlet) per year. The next one will come out in March when the dividends are issued. Also, if you get the REI Mastercard you can get an additional 5% back on all REI purchases.
Why do I mention all of this? I like hiking, camping, backpacking, bicycling, kayaking, traveling, going to the gym, the occasional ski trip, and good winter gear (for those couple of months it's chilly here in Austin). If you like any of the aforementioned: REI sells good equipment for all of these activities. Many things they sell are not cheap, but the membership + Mastercard setup means you can get up to 15% back in store credit to subsidize gear for your hobbies. For example: with accumulated store credit from the Mastercard* defraying the retail cost, I recently picked up a Patagonia Nano-Puff vest for $17 (as opposed to paying the full $179).
[note: the above photo is from the HMS Belfast in London. I toured it last month and recommend a visit to anyone interested in naval history.]
*now that Capital One runs the REI Mastercard, you can use your card rewards at any time throughout the year. When U.S. Bank ran the rewards program, you had to wait until March at which point your rewards were issued all at once in conjunction with the annual dividend. I appreciate the anytime access Capital One provides (plus the much improved website and phone app experience), though I do miss U.S. Bank's 2% rewards from any non-REI purchase made with Apple Pay.
Per The Drive on Instagram, the cheapest tickets at the Las Vegas Grand Prix will be $500. These are standing room only tickets. In my experience with such tickets at Circuit of the Americas, you have to show up quite early to get a decent viewing spot. I can only assume it will be like this in Las Vegas. If you want an assigned seat in a grandstand, minimum cost is $2,000. For reference to the USGP in Austin: our Turn 9 grandstand seats at COTA cost around $400 and came with a fantastic vantage point. Of course, watching race cars blast down The Strip (at night!) may be worth the extra $$$ for a lot of people.
For fun I checked out race weekend hotel prices at Caesar's properties. Here's an example: Planet Hollywood rooms are starting at $1,229/night (which I hear isn't far off from some of the better Austin hotels during F1 weekend), but a suite which comes with a guarantee of a Strip view is currently going for $4,439/night. Planet Hollywood is at one of the turns, so the view should be great. Follow the link above to peruse more expensive hotel options.
American Express Card Members: early access tickets are on sale now
[Note: Amex for the win on this. Capital One just announced early access to Taylor Swift concert tickets, but I'm more of an auto racing fan. Ironically, the only time I've seen Taylor Swift live was at her COTA show after the USGP a few years ago.]
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| Upstairs at the Subject of My Favorite Night Owl Podcast |
Happy Halloween Austin! I'm not here to judge your Halloween related decisions from over the weekend, but I am here to remind you that The Night Owl podcast would be perfect for enjoying this evening. There are new episodes, though my all-time favorites remain those from the series about The Tavern.
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| Old School: When T22 was a Food Trailer Behind Star Bar |
Check out the track layout (with a straight shot down the Strip from The Venetian to Planet Hollywood/The Cosmopolitan). A street course through Vegas at night should be quite the spectacle. The race weekend will be November 16th-18th in 2023.
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| Prime Rib with Twice Baked Potato and Asparagus (for health) |
I went to Lonesome Dove for Prime Rib Friday. All of us agreed today's prime ribs were the best we've had since the new location (at 6th and Colorado) opened earlier this year. Also, the PRF special is now $20 and crabs at $7 each. 1/2 price bottles of wine are still available. You've been informed, so make a reservation and enjoy.
If you don't feel like eating beef on a PRF day, the trout is a good alternative. I've had it and enjoyed. A friend had it today and enjoyed it as well.
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| 16oz Wagyu Ribeye, with Asparagus for Health |
As you may know, the Formula 1 was in Austin last weekend. I have two friends with whom I attend the race every year, and part of our race weekend tradition is a visit to ALC Steaks. Last time I had been to ALC was in June, and whilst there I enjoyed the 16oz wagyu steak (from Beeman Ranch) from the specials menu. It was fantastic (the marbling in wagyu is intense); I liked it even better than the bone-in, dry-aged, grass-fed strip from 44 Farms. Thus I was pleasantly surprised last Friday when the 16oz wagyu was still in the specials section. Again I ordered it (see photo above) and again I was highly impressed.
I don't know what the long term availability of this steak is, but if you are at ALC Steaks anytime soon I highly recommend that you try it. It is every cent worth the $65.
Also, I have a rule-of-thumb for steak: if they name the farm/ranch of origin on the menu, it is probably going to be good.
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| View from the Turn 9 Grandstand |
If you have the REI Mastercard from Capital One, note that the 5% reward for buying from REI will be 10% during the period from November 1st-7th.
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| Stock Photo from an SWA Flight to Denver... Pretend this the North Atlantic |
Too much information on direct flights to list, so visit KXAN for more information. As I've mentioned before, as a long-time resident of Austin I love seeing more direct flights to exciting places become available from AUS.
Also, my PSA for those of you flying out of Austin: prices for airport cocktails can be quite steep at our airport as compared to many other airports I've visited in the past 18 months.
I realize I'm a little overdue in writing my planned Grand Canyon guide, so I'll be brief with today's point. If you have been preparing to hike in the Grand Canyon this Fall: prepare harder. This advice is especially for people living in Texas or other places with landscapes lacking in verticality. Hit the leg weights, hit the StairMaster (or as I call it, the "Stair Bastard"), and ride your bike. If you are in Austin, load up a pack and hike up one of our larger hills multiple times multiple times per week. Do this in the boots you plan to wear. Trust me, you'll thank me for this later.
Some examples of good hills in Austin are (included but not limited to): the Hill of Life (end of the Barton Creek Greenbelt trail), the hill on Mesa Dr. from 2222 up to the top, or Far West from Bull Creek up to Mesa.
I'm fan of (reasonably) hot chicken, and whenever I visit Nashville I try to obtain some delicious Hattie B's. Thus, I was pleased to learn they will be coming to Austin and opening a location on 2529 South Lamar (the site of the former Maria's Taco Xpress). Hattie B's has a location in Dallas and plans to open one in Houston. I do not yet know when the Austin location will open.
You can read my thoughts on Hattie B's in a 2021 post about visiting Nashville.
Watch this very cool drone fly-through:
To the best fans in baseball,
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 30, 2022
You make Wrigley Field the Friendly Confines. pic.twitter.com/Gtdr3boTXH
In case you missed it, Uber is shuttering its Uber Rewards program this fall. You can earn points through the end of August, and you have through the end of October to use them. If you want similar deals and status perks, you'll need to join the Uber One subscription program. I'll have to order that free Jersey Mike's sub before Halloween.
I haven't read anything indicating Uber is changing it's arrangements with Marriott and American Express. With Marriott, you can link your Uber account to earn Bonvoy points for ride (on Comfort level and above) similar to Lyft's deal with Hilton. With American Express, you get monthly Uber Cash if you link a Gold ($10/month) or Platinum ($15/mo plus $20 bonus in December).
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| Steak Frites, Crowned with Arugula |
My wife and I recently took a (too) short trip to Colorado. By "too short", I mean we didn't ride out the rest of August thus avoiding the exceptionally unpleasant heat wave here in Austin.
We wanted to stay in Denver for a couple of reasons. First, we had tickets to see a game at Coors Field. Second, while I have been through Denver many times in the past few years (on the way to various Colorado locales) I hadn't actually stayed in Denver in quite a while.
Here are a few notes on Denver:
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| Giant Can of Unusually Good Coors Light |
Are you looking for a new cat or are you a catless person who just wants to play with some feline friends? The Purr-Fecto Cat Lounge has just opened at 2300 South Lamar, Unit 104 (same building at the Batteries Plus).
For while it seemed that Texas was poised lose its title as being home to the largest Buc-ee's; there are enormous Buc-ee's in the works for Sevierville, Tennessee, and Johnstown, Colorado. While I greatly enjoy visiting Tennessee and Colorado, it did in principle seem wrong that any state but Texas be home to the largest Buc-ee's. Fortunately, a 75,000 sq ft store is in the works for the Luling area (specifically, across the street from the current location at I-10 and Hwy 87).
This one exceeded my already high expectations. Like Dune (the recent version) you should see Top Gun: Maverick on the largest screen with the loudest sound system you can find.
Air Canada will start offering direct flights from Austin to Vancouver on June 1st. The flights will be on a 737 MAX, so evaluate your comfort level with said aircraft before getting too excited. The infamous plane has a checked past though Boeing and the FAA say it's safe now (and since we're talking about Air Canada: Transport Canada is cool with it as well).
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If you (like me) have been flying in and out of Austin since the days when Mueller was actually an airport, you (like me) probably fine news of international direct flights from Austin to be exciting. So, I was pleased to see that we're getting a direct KLM flight from Austin to Amsterdam starting next month.
That's all. Carry on enjoying today's ice storm.
We're on for a Creative Fund Trivia Night fundraiser this Thursday at 7p (on Zoom). Visit the Facebook event page for more information on how to buy tickets.
The Creative Fund raises money to help Austin performing artists pay venue rental fees.
[2/3/22 update: The event was a lot of fun! Stay tuned here to find out when we're doing this again, and if it will be on Zoom or in person.]
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| Photo by Taurus Dog Academy |
Gus loves going to the Taurus Dog Academy. So, I was excited to see that he was featured on their TikTok yesterday (showing some of the interesting breeds at daycare). Furthermore, if you live in Austin I highly recommend Taurus for your dog daycare and boarding needs.
What makes Gus an interesting breed, you might ask? While in the above photo he looks like a large white Lab, he's actually 1/2 Labrador Retriever and 1/2 Great Pyrenees (you can see the Great Pyrenees in him in the photo below). We refer to him as a "Pyrador", though Taurus calls him a "Great Labrenees" in the video.
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| Pine Springs at Sunset |
Last night I decided to grill outside (before the cold front). In my possession were a couple of small (as in 2/3 lbs) grass-fed ribeyes from HEB. I thought it would be fun to use a marinade I'd used before on similar cuts. It turns out I was right. Deliciously right.
Here's what I went with:
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| I-10 Scenery Near Ft. Stockton |
For dinner: I haven't been to Dragon Buffet in Ft. Stockton, but a friend who has eaten at Chinese buffets all over the world recently gave it his stamp of approval. If he likes it, then it's good.
[Note: I haven't forgotten... I do have posts on the Grand Canyon and the Guadalupe Mountains in the pipeline.]
There is a virtual trivia fundraiser for The Creative Fund in the works. Yes, I will be co-hosting.
Save the date for February 3rd (tentative). Stay tuned for more information (i.e., links to register) and final confirmation of the date.
Nashville, you have given us hot chicken thus it's only fair we send more Texas deliciousness your way. Residents of Nashville and the surrounding areas are in luck. While there is currently a Whataburger on Old Hickory Blvd, several more locations are slated to open in the Middle Tennessee area in 2022.
Speaking of other Texas foods in Nashville, you have on the list (including but not limited to) Hopdoddy and Chuy's (both of which were founded in Austin). Furthermore, I've had Texas-style brisket at Martin's which was quite tasty. And, you apparently now have the largest Buc-ee's in existence located a few hours away in Sevierville (which seems wrong to have outside of Texas).
I've seen a few new movies in the past couple of months (a vague statement, I know). Of these, the two I've enjoyed most (and enjoyed enough to recommend) are:
