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The Kingdom Hall Is Just A Box
May. 3rd, 2006 11:59 pmOver the past weekend, Chris and I got out of Dallas due, luckily, to a bye weekend in the softball schedule (and let me tell you, it was time for a break in the softball schedule, but that's a post for another time). We drove down to Austin, primarily to see Randy's (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lostncove)play, 9x9x9.
Chris boarded Joey for the day, and we left mid-afternoon, because we wanted to clean up the carpets as Joey has been shedding up a storm. The drive, both there and back seemed to take a long time. I'm not sure if it's just the fact that I haven't been doing drives for distance for a few months now, or that I-35 through Texas is just that crappy of a road.
We stayed at a Holiday Inn on Town Lake, and had a great view. I was disappointed that the "roof top" (of the parking garage) pool was out of commission. Where's that Roaming Gnome now? I spent a little more on the accommodations that I would normally because A. If it's just me, I'm a cheapskate, but I wanted us both to be comfortable and B. this is the closest thing to a vacation that I'll get for a few months, so i might as well.
It was interesting knowing that so many of our friends were moving, or planning to move over the weekend. We called Jerry and Teddy while we were on the road, and they were just crossing back into Texas, moving Teddy from California.
We went to the show, and like anything I've seen in Austin, it's in a little out of the way something that's now called a theater. I've seen a couple of shows in warehouses, one in a house, another in a basement, and now one in a theater that was, in it's former life, a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses. As the House Manager put it, "I guess they decided to sell when they figured out they weren't of the 144,000 who would be saved."
After seeing the play, I caught Kate (katesmash) the theater troupe's leader, and a performer,in the lobby (apparently the changing rooms are the bathrooms, too), and she thanked us for coming. We talked about the play for a bit, as we were both remarking on how we had heard Randy's premise some three years ago, and were interested in seeing the type of play it would become. Kate said i should write a review, and I will, but I'm putting it at the end of the post, and behind a cut for those who don't care, and those who don't want any spoilers, should they want to see Randy's "Apocalyptic Dysfunctional Family Comedy".
Chris and I went out to Amy's Ice Cream after the show for a little treat. I wish they had them here in Dallas, as they are far superior to the Cold Stone or Marble Slab joints. Any place that encourages it's scoopers to try to juggle your ice cream, and makes Guinness Ice Cream is a winner in my book.
After that we just went back to the hotel. I guess I had considered heading out to the Chain Drive, but when it came down to it, we had both worked a lot of hours at our jobs that week, and getting some more sleep was highly prized over seeing the club crowd.
Sunday morning we got up and met Mike (austinmike) and David (davidtx) for breakfast at the Magnolia Cafe (where I first met Randy and Kate a few years back). not only did we have a great time getting to know these guys, but I also got some great Gingerbread pancakes. Delish!
Then we just killed some time. I thought about going to one of the caves that dot the area, but when it came down to it, the better caves were a further drive than I was wanting to make. We thought about shopping in San Marcos, but neither one of us really wanted to spend the money, so I saw the sign for Aquarena springs and decided to take a turn.
Aquarena Springs has certainly seen it's better days. For years it was run as an attraction were girls from the nearby college would don mermaid suits and waive and do a show underwater in this clear spring as people watched in a submerged theater, or from the glass-bottomed boats that run through the small lake. Even the addition of a swimming pig couldn't save the attracting, with it's cable cars and tower, so it fell into disrepair.
Now Texas State University owns the property and uses it to study the natural springs and the surrounding aquifer, and the boats still run, more as little classrooms and an extra revenue stream. The mermaids are gone (working at Hooters, I bet) the cable cars don't run, and there's just a small aquarium, showing you the same fish that are in the lake. Of course, there's a gift shop, too, looking a lot like it did when it was opened in the 1950's.
On the drive back, we saw CJ (the formerprowlerbear) for a few minutes. he was taking care of Charlie, who was sick, and would be going under the knife sometime this week. Hopefully he is well.
Why is gas in Austin 20 cents cheaper than it is in Dallas? Again, there's many reasons to like about Austin (except for traffic, that would drive me nuts). After that, it was back to the road, and a few hours later we were back in the Metroplex, much to the joy of Joey, who was glad to see us.
( Now for the review of 9x9x9... )
lostncove)play, 9x9x9.Chris boarded Joey for the day, and we left mid-afternoon, because we wanted to clean up the carpets as Joey has been shedding up a storm. The drive, both there and back seemed to take a long time. I'm not sure if it's just the fact that I haven't been doing drives for distance for a few months now, or that I-35 through Texas is just that crappy of a road.
We stayed at a Holiday Inn on Town Lake, and had a great view. I was disappointed that the "roof top" (of the parking garage) pool was out of commission. Where's that Roaming Gnome now? I spent a little more on the accommodations that I would normally because A. If it's just me, I'm a cheapskate, but I wanted us both to be comfortable and B. this is the closest thing to a vacation that I'll get for a few months, so i might as well.
It was interesting knowing that so many of our friends were moving, or planning to move over the weekend. We called Jerry and Teddy while we were on the road, and they were just crossing back into Texas, moving Teddy from California.
We went to the show, and like anything I've seen in Austin, it's in a little out of the way something that's now called a theater. I've seen a couple of shows in warehouses, one in a house, another in a basement, and now one in a theater that was, in it's former life, a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses. As the House Manager put it, "I guess they decided to sell when they figured out they weren't of the 144,000 who would be saved."
After seeing the play, I caught Kate (
katesmash) the theater troupe's leader, and a performer,in the lobby (apparently the changing rooms are the bathrooms, too), and she thanked us for coming. We talked about the play for a bit, as we were both remarking on how we had heard Randy's premise some three years ago, and were interested in seeing the type of play it would become. Kate said i should write a review, and I will, but I'm putting it at the end of the post, and behind a cut for those who don't care, and those who don't want any spoilers, should they want to see Randy's "Apocalyptic Dysfunctional Family Comedy".Chris and I went out to Amy's Ice Cream after the show for a little treat. I wish they had them here in Dallas, as they are far superior to the Cold Stone or Marble Slab joints. Any place that encourages it's scoopers to try to juggle your ice cream, and makes Guinness Ice Cream is a winner in my book.
After that we just went back to the hotel. I guess I had considered heading out to the Chain Drive, but when it came down to it, we had both worked a lot of hours at our jobs that week, and getting some more sleep was highly prized over seeing the club crowd.
Sunday morning we got up and met Mike (
austinmike) and David (davidtx) for breakfast at the Magnolia Cafe (where I first met Randy and Kate a few years back). not only did we have a great time getting to know these guys, but I also got some great Gingerbread pancakes. Delish!Then we just killed some time. I thought about going to one of the caves that dot the area, but when it came down to it, the better caves were a further drive than I was wanting to make. We thought about shopping in San Marcos, but neither one of us really wanted to spend the money, so I saw the sign for Aquarena springs and decided to take a turn.
Aquarena Springs has certainly seen it's better days. For years it was run as an attraction were girls from the nearby college would don mermaid suits and waive and do a show underwater in this clear spring as people watched in a submerged theater, or from the glass-bottomed boats that run through the small lake. Even the addition of a swimming pig couldn't save the attracting, with it's cable cars and tower, so it fell into disrepair.
Now Texas State University owns the property and uses it to study the natural springs and the surrounding aquifer, and the boats still run, more as little classrooms and an extra revenue stream. The mermaids are gone (working at Hooters, I bet) the cable cars don't run, and there's just a small aquarium, showing you the same fish that are in the lake. Of course, there's a gift shop, too, looking a lot like it did when it was opened in the 1950's.
On the drive back, we saw CJ (the former
prowlerbear) for a few minutes. he was taking care of Charlie, who was sick, and would be going under the knife sometime this week. Hopefully he is well. Why is gas in Austin 20 cents cheaper than it is in Dallas? Again, there's many reasons to like about Austin (except for traffic, that would drive me nuts). After that, it was back to the road, and a few hours later we were back in the Metroplex, much to the joy of Joey, who was glad to see us.
( Now for the review of 9x9x9... )
