![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Mar. 28th, 2007
Sunday, March 25th
Mar. 28th, 2007 01:46 pmThis last weekend, I wanted Emily to do whatever she wanted to do...it would be our last weekend together, let's do it how she wanted to. The three things: A trip down the old abandonned MKT lines (being restored for the new light rail system), a dinner at Luby's (we'd be meeting Dean there), and a trip to Cheapo Records to check out the vinyl collection there. At the last minute, she decided also to see the old UP lines that once fed Austin Bergstrom AFB.
Something strange happened this morning, though - overnight, my phone made two "IM RECIEVED" noises despite not being connected to anything. It woke me up just enough to hear it make a "Low Battery Power" sound...when it was plugged in being charged. I turned the phone off and went back to bed.
Waking up, the phone said it was December 31st, I had zero mail anywhere, and I couldn't connect to the internet at all. The system was being goofy, and all day long, I couldn't connect to anything.
We began tracking the UP line from the corner of US 290 and I-35 heading east towards Austin Bergstrom. The line was still there, and still used, but was totally underused and in pretty bad shape in some spots. However, all the lights and crossings were still in use, without any "out of service" signs, so we figured there had to be SOMETHING back there still using the tracks.
We did find an occasional spur or two, but nothing really said "I'm still in use" until we hit an industrial park on Burleson Road. We saw one single line going into an industrial park which then split into four tracks (three somewhat used, one abandonned) that threaded through the park. It was still used rarely, but everyone was using it...rarely.
Just down the road a bit was one more spur into another warehouse and a redflag saying no cars beyond the point. The track beyond didn't look too too bad, but right where it crossed Burleson Road, the tracks just came to the curb and petered out. We checked most of the crossings and the track was completely pulled up. We followed it the best we could, through a colonia and eventually to it's stop at 183.
All the maps that we had showed that the track stopped just shy of US 183, and sure enough, it did...until we noticed a wierd gate directly across from the Airport. At the airport, the fence has a gap in it, that was fenced in with a different set of fencing. Sure enough, once upon a time, the track went through. It wasn't until we found a declassified map of the old AFB that we saw that in the 1950s a track DID go right into the base, but was even then, already scheduled to be pulled up.
We began the MKT portion of the run by trying to find, and totally missing, the fly-off for the track where it pulls off the current UP lines, although we did find a strange little isolated community off US 183 while we were at it. Instead, we picked it up at FM 969 [MAP], which I knew pretty much where the track was since I drove by it every day when I lived in Webberville. The track was mostly easy to find, seeing that it's going to be light rail pretty soon.
We followed the track to Old Manor Road [MAP], which had this strange overpass I'd always wondered about. Sure enough, once we got there, we looked over the side and saw two tunnels. Emily actually went down into them, and said they're both immaculate and probably new. The terracing on the side looked brand new as well, so I'm pretty sure these tunnels are either brand new, or cleaned up.
We made our way to the little town of Sprinkle [MAP][INFO], where the track crossed Sprinkle Road. Sure enough, there wasn't just a small crossing there, but track sticking out of the pavement of the road. According to Emily this is pretty rare, seeing as the MKT prolly pulled up the line in the 1950s as well. We also got a good gander at a historcal house right off the road into Austin.
Across PArmer and Yaeger Lanes, we made our way into Dessau [MAP][INFO], but couldn't really find the track anywhere. It had been an overpass, but the road had been completely redone here. We ended up passing over it and on our loops back, we caught sight of the tracks being used to keep some beekeeper's hives. From there, we tracked it to where it should have crossed but couldn't fine it. We did see a private driveway, and, well, pulling the whole "we're toursits!" rationale, we "accidentally" went into an open gate to see if we could find the tracks. We saw where they were supposed to go, but never did find any rail fill or anything. We backed out VERY slowly (no room to turn around) made one more bridge crossing (we finally caught the tracks on the south side of the bridge, and made our way into Pflugerville.
In Pflugerville [MAP][INFO] the tracks have been turned into a hike and bike trail. We looked around, but didn't spend much time as the skies were beginning to get a bit ominous again. Without being able to check the radar on my phone, I wasn't sure how much time we had before it hit us, so we just made a quick cursory look around, played with a cat (affectionately renamed "Mokat") and left.
We continued north through a few subdivisons and crossings, most of which have been obliterated by the building of TX 45. We ended up skipping most of Round Rock as (oddly) there were no crossings anywhere in the town. When we left Round Rock, it was 6:00. We had 30 minutes before we had to go back to Austin, and we were VERY close to the end of the track...we decided to chance it, and kept heading north.
We did two more crossings, before the heavens opened up on us. At this point it was 6:20, we had the last crossing to go before we'd have to turn around, and we made a mad dash in the storm for it. We weren't dissapointed, seeing the final leg of the MKT where it met up with a park south of Georgetown. The time? 6:35.
We made a 180 back to Austin hoping to get to Luby's before 7. We made it five minutes late, but dinner was had by all. For those not in the know, Luby's is a Texas-only chain of cafeterias, and what Luly's in King of the Hill is based on. Luby's even has a plate called the LuAnn Platter.
From there, we ran off to Cheapo, where Emily had her fill of vinyl records (loads of promo not-for-sale disks, as well as white label bootlegs). Afterwards we headed home. One more day awaited....
Something strange happened this morning, though - overnight, my phone made two "IM RECIEVED" noises despite not being connected to anything. It woke me up just enough to hear it make a "Low Battery Power" sound...when it was plugged in being charged. I turned the phone off and went back to bed.
Waking up, the phone said it was December 31st, I had zero mail anywhere, and I couldn't connect to the internet at all. The system was being goofy, and all day long, I couldn't connect to anything.
We began tracking the UP line from the corner of US 290 and I-35 heading east towards Austin Bergstrom. The line was still there, and still used, but was totally underused and in pretty bad shape in some spots. However, all the lights and crossings were still in use, without any "out of service" signs, so we figured there had to be SOMETHING back there still using the tracks.
We did find an occasional spur or two, but nothing really said "I'm still in use" until we hit an industrial park on Burleson Road. We saw one single line going into an industrial park which then split into four tracks (three somewhat used, one abandonned) that threaded through the park. It was still used rarely, but everyone was using it...rarely.
Just down the road a bit was one more spur into another warehouse and a redflag saying no cars beyond the point. The track beyond didn't look too too bad, but right where it crossed Burleson Road, the tracks just came to the curb and petered out. We checked most of the crossings and the track was completely pulled up. We followed it the best we could, through a colonia and eventually to it's stop at 183.
All the maps that we had showed that the track stopped just shy of US 183, and sure enough, it did...until we noticed a wierd gate directly across from the Airport. At the airport, the fence has a gap in it, that was fenced in with a different set of fencing. Sure enough, once upon a time, the track went through. It wasn't until we found a declassified map of the old AFB that we saw that in the 1950s a track DID go right into the base, but was even then, already scheduled to be pulled up.
We began the MKT portion of the run by trying to find, and totally missing, the fly-off for the track where it pulls off the current UP lines, although we did find a strange little isolated community off US 183 while we were at it. Instead, we picked it up at FM 969 [MAP], which I knew pretty much where the track was since I drove by it every day when I lived in Webberville. The track was mostly easy to find, seeing that it's going to be light rail pretty soon.
We followed the track to Old Manor Road [MAP], which had this strange overpass I'd always wondered about. Sure enough, once we got there, we looked over the side and saw two tunnels. Emily actually went down into them, and said they're both immaculate and probably new. The terracing on the side looked brand new as well, so I'm pretty sure these tunnels are either brand new, or cleaned up.
We made our way to the little town of Sprinkle [MAP][INFO], where the track crossed Sprinkle Road. Sure enough, there wasn't just a small crossing there, but track sticking out of the pavement of the road. According to Emily this is pretty rare, seeing as the MKT prolly pulled up the line in the 1950s as well. We also got a good gander at a historcal house right off the road into Austin.
Across PArmer and Yaeger Lanes, we made our way into Dessau [MAP][INFO], but couldn't really find the track anywhere. It had been an overpass, but the road had been completely redone here. We ended up passing over it and on our loops back, we caught sight of the tracks being used to keep some beekeeper's hives. From there, we tracked it to where it should have crossed but couldn't fine it. We did see a private driveway, and, well, pulling the whole "we're toursits!" rationale, we "accidentally" went into an open gate to see if we could find the tracks. We saw where they were supposed to go, but never did find any rail fill or anything. We backed out VERY slowly (no room to turn around) made one more bridge crossing (we finally caught the tracks on the south side of the bridge, and made our way into Pflugerville.
In Pflugerville [MAP][INFO] the tracks have been turned into a hike and bike trail. We looked around, but didn't spend much time as the skies were beginning to get a bit ominous again. Without being able to check the radar on my phone, I wasn't sure how much time we had before it hit us, so we just made a quick cursory look around, played with a cat (affectionately renamed "Mokat") and left.
We continued north through a few subdivisons and crossings, most of which have been obliterated by the building of TX 45. We ended up skipping most of Round Rock as (oddly) there were no crossings anywhere in the town. When we left Round Rock, it was 6:00. We had 30 minutes before we had to go back to Austin, and we were VERY close to the end of the track...we decided to chance it, and kept heading north.
We did two more crossings, before the heavens opened up on us. At this point it was 6:20, we had the last crossing to go before we'd have to turn around, and we made a mad dash in the storm for it. We weren't dissapointed, seeing the final leg of the MKT where it met up with a park south of Georgetown. The time? 6:35.
We made a 180 back to Austin hoping to get to Luby's before 7. We made it five minutes late, but dinner was had by all. For those not in the know, Luby's is a Texas-only chain of cafeterias, and what Luly's in King of the Hill is based on. Luby's even has a plate called the LuAnn Platter.
From there, we ran off to Cheapo, where Emily had her fill of vinyl records (loads of promo not-for-sale disks, as well as white label bootlegs). Afterwards we headed home. One more day awaited....
Sunday, March 25th
Mar. 28th, 2007 01:46 pmThis last weekend, I wanted Emily to do whatever she wanted to do...it would be our last weekend together, let's do it how she wanted to. The three things: A trip down the old abandonned MKT lines (being restored for the new light rail system), a dinner at Luby's (we'd be meeting Dean there), and a trip to Cheapo Records to check out the vinyl collection there. At the last minute, she decided also to see the old UP lines that once fed Austin Bergstrom AFB.
Something strange happened this morning, though - overnight, my phone made two "IM RECIEVED" noises despite not being connected to anything. It woke me up just enough to hear it make a "Low Battery Power" sound...when it was plugged in being charged. I turned the phone off and went back to bed.
Waking up, the phone said it was December 31st, I had zero mail anywhere, and I couldn't connect to the internet at all. The system was being goofy, and all day long, I couldn't connect to anything.
We began tracking the UP line from the corner of US 290 and I-35 heading east towards Austin Bergstrom. The line was still there, and still used, but was totally underused and in pretty bad shape in some spots. However, all the lights and crossings were still in use, without any "out of service" signs, so we figured there had to be SOMETHING back there still using the tracks.
We did find an occasional spur or two, but nothing really said "I'm still in use" until we hit an industrial park on Burleson Road. We saw one single line going into an industrial park which then split into four tracks (three somewhat used, one abandonned) that threaded through the park. It was still used rarely, but everyone was using it...rarely.
Just down the road a bit was one more spur into another warehouse and a redflag saying no cars beyond the point. The track beyond didn't look too too bad, but right where it crossed Burleson Road, the tracks just came to the curb and petered out. We checked most of the crossings and the track was completely pulled up. We followed it the best we could, through a colonia and eventually to it's stop at 183.
All the maps that we had showed that the track stopped just shy of US 183, and sure enough, it did...until we noticed a wierd gate directly across from the Airport. At the airport, the fence has a gap in it, that was fenced in with a different set of fencing. Sure enough, once upon a time, the track went through. It wasn't until we found a declassified map of the old AFB that we saw that in the 1950s a track DID go right into the base, but was even then, already scheduled to be pulled up.
We began the MKT portion of the run by trying to find, and totally missing, the fly-off for the track where it pulls off the current UP lines, although we did find a strange little isolated community off US 183 while we were at it. Instead, we picked it up at FM 969 [MAP], which I knew pretty much where the track was since I drove by it every day when I lived in Webberville. The track was mostly easy to find, seeing that it's going to be light rail pretty soon.
We followed the track to Old Manor Road [MAP], which had this strange overpass I'd always wondered about. Sure enough, once we got there, we looked over the side and saw two tunnels. Emily actually went down into them, and said they're both immaculate and probably new. The terracing on the side looked brand new as well, so I'm pretty sure these tunnels are either brand new, or cleaned up.
We made our way to the little town of Sprinkle [MAP][INFO], where the track crossed Sprinkle Road. Sure enough, there wasn't just a small crossing there, but track sticking out of the pavement of the road. According to Emily this is pretty rare, seeing as the MKT prolly pulled up the line in the 1950s as well. We also got a good gander at a historcal house right off the road into Austin.
Across PArmer and Yaeger Lanes, we made our way into Dessau [MAP][INFO], but couldn't really find the track anywhere. It had been an overpass, but the road had been completely redone here. We ended up passing over it and on our loops back, we caught sight of the tracks being used to keep some beekeeper's hives. From there, we tracked it to where it should have crossed but couldn't fine it. We did see a private driveway, and, well, pulling the whole "we're toursits!" rationale, we "accidentally" went into an open gate to see if we could find the tracks. We saw where they were supposed to go, but never did find any rail fill or anything. We backed out VERY slowly (no room to turn around) made one more bridge crossing (we finally caught the tracks on the south side of the bridge, and made our way into Pflugerville.
In Pflugerville [MAP][INFO] the tracks have been turned into a hike and bike trail. We looked around, but didn't spend much time as the skies were beginning to get a bit ominous again. Without being able to check the radar on my phone, I wasn't sure how much time we had before it hit us, so we just made a quick cursory look around, played with a cat (affectionately renamed "Mokat") and left.
We continued north through a few subdivisons and crossings, most of which have been obliterated by the building of TX 45. We ended up skipping most of Round Rock as (oddly) there were no crossings anywhere in the town. When we left Round Rock, it was 6:00. We had 30 minutes before we had to go back to Austin, and we were VERY close to the end of the track...we decided to chance it, and kept heading north.
We did two more crossings, before the heavens opened up on us. At this point it was 6:20, we had the last crossing to go before we'd have to turn around, and we made a mad dash in the storm for it. We weren't dissapointed, seeing the final leg of the MKT where it met up with a park south of Georgetown. The time? 6:35.
We made a 180 back to Austin hoping to get to Luby's before 7. We made it five minutes late, but dinner was had by all. For those not in the know, Luby's is a Texas-only chain of cafeterias, and what Luly's in King of the Hill is based on. Luby's even has a plate called the LuAnn Platter.
From there, we ran off to Cheapo, where Emily had her fill of vinyl records (loads of promo not-for-sale disks, as well as white label bootlegs). Afterwards we headed home. One more day awaited....
Something strange happened this morning, though - overnight, my phone made two "IM RECIEVED" noises despite not being connected to anything. It woke me up just enough to hear it make a "Low Battery Power" sound...when it was plugged in being charged. I turned the phone off and went back to bed.
Waking up, the phone said it was December 31st, I had zero mail anywhere, and I couldn't connect to the internet at all. The system was being goofy, and all day long, I couldn't connect to anything.
We began tracking the UP line from the corner of US 290 and I-35 heading east towards Austin Bergstrom. The line was still there, and still used, but was totally underused and in pretty bad shape in some spots. However, all the lights and crossings were still in use, without any "out of service" signs, so we figured there had to be SOMETHING back there still using the tracks.
We did find an occasional spur or two, but nothing really said "I'm still in use" until we hit an industrial park on Burleson Road. We saw one single line going into an industrial park which then split into four tracks (three somewhat used, one abandonned) that threaded through the park. It was still used rarely, but everyone was using it...rarely.
Just down the road a bit was one more spur into another warehouse and a redflag saying no cars beyond the point. The track beyond didn't look too too bad, but right where it crossed Burleson Road, the tracks just came to the curb and petered out. We checked most of the crossings and the track was completely pulled up. We followed it the best we could, through a colonia and eventually to it's stop at 183.
All the maps that we had showed that the track stopped just shy of US 183, and sure enough, it did...until we noticed a wierd gate directly across from the Airport. At the airport, the fence has a gap in it, that was fenced in with a different set of fencing. Sure enough, once upon a time, the track went through. It wasn't until we found a declassified map of the old AFB that we saw that in the 1950s a track DID go right into the base, but was even then, already scheduled to be pulled up.
We began the MKT portion of the run by trying to find, and totally missing, the fly-off for the track where it pulls off the current UP lines, although we did find a strange little isolated community off US 183 while we were at it. Instead, we picked it up at FM 969 [MAP], which I knew pretty much where the track was since I drove by it every day when I lived in Webberville. The track was mostly easy to find, seeing that it's going to be light rail pretty soon.
We followed the track to Old Manor Road [MAP], which had this strange overpass I'd always wondered about. Sure enough, once we got there, we looked over the side and saw two tunnels. Emily actually went down into them, and said they're both immaculate and probably new. The terracing on the side looked brand new as well, so I'm pretty sure these tunnels are either brand new, or cleaned up.
We made our way to the little town of Sprinkle [MAP][INFO], where the track crossed Sprinkle Road. Sure enough, there wasn't just a small crossing there, but track sticking out of the pavement of the road. According to Emily this is pretty rare, seeing as the MKT prolly pulled up the line in the 1950s as well. We also got a good gander at a historcal house right off the road into Austin.
Across PArmer and Yaeger Lanes, we made our way into Dessau [MAP][INFO], but couldn't really find the track anywhere. It had been an overpass, but the road had been completely redone here. We ended up passing over it and on our loops back, we caught sight of the tracks being used to keep some beekeeper's hives. From there, we tracked it to where it should have crossed but couldn't fine it. We did see a private driveway, and, well, pulling the whole "we're toursits!" rationale, we "accidentally" went into an open gate to see if we could find the tracks. We saw where they were supposed to go, but never did find any rail fill or anything. We backed out VERY slowly (no room to turn around) made one more bridge crossing (we finally caught the tracks on the south side of the bridge, and made our way into Pflugerville.
In Pflugerville [MAP][INFO] the tracks have been turned into a hike and bike trail. We looked around, but didn't spend much time as the skies were beginning to get a bit ominous again. Without being able to check the radar on my phone, I wasn't sure how much time we had before it hit us, so we just made a quick cursory look around, played with a cat (affectionately renamed "Mokat") and left.
We continued north through a few subdivisons and crossings, most of which have been obliterated by the building of TX 45. We ended up skipping most of Round Rock as (oddly) there were no crossings anywhere in the town. When we left Round Rock, it was 6:00. We had 30 minutes before we had to go back to Austin, and we were VERY close to the end of the track...we decided to chance it, and kept heading north.
We did two more crossings, before the heavens opened up on us. At this point it was 6:20, we had the last crossing to go before we'd have to turn around, and we made a mad dash in the storm for it. We weren't dissapointed, seeing the final leg of the MKT where it met up with a park south of Georgetown. The time? 6:35.
We made a 180 back to Austin hoping to get to Luby's before 7. We made it five minutes late, but dinner was had by all. For those not in the know, Luby's is a Texas-only chain of cafeterias, and what Luly's in King of the Hill is based on. Luby's even has a plate called the LuAnn Platter.
From there, we ran off to Cheapo, where Emily had her fill of vinyl records (loads of promo not-for-sale disks, as well as white label bootlegs). Afterwards we headed home. One more day awaited....
Monday, March 26th
Mar. 28th, 2007 04:30 pmSteph, who we'd tried to see over the weekend, finally said she couldn't make it, so the day was wide opened. We had no plans to really do anything, and I thought back wondering what was left to do, with the severe weather looming on the horizon. My phone was still flaky but not completely inoperable, so radars weren't hard to get.
We couldn't decide on what to do, so we thought about what we hadn't had for lunch. OF her whole month here, Emily had never had BBQ. So we headed to Fushak's in San Marcos for some brisket, sausage and beans. They had a BBQ buffet there, prolly the smallest buffet I'd ever seen: Brisket, sausage, beans and peach cobbler. There may have been corn and coleslaw, but I wasn't sure, since I didn't like them.
Once we had our fill, we went to Five Mile Dam to see the blanco river actually LOOK like a river for once, and just as the severe weather went in. We rode around to various crossings to see if the water level rose. Wasn't sure if it did or not, but still, the water over the dam looked great.
One last railroad spur later, we went home. Emily packed, I made fajitas for dinner (her first meal in Texas was also the same as the last). She went to bed early, I stayed up till 2, took a nap till 4, and then drove her to the airport.
It was a tough ride for me. I was already missing her, and I made sure I only left the airport when I couldn't see her anymore. I watched her go right in through security, worried when she was pulled aside for a hand search, and then lost her near Gate 9. And so ended a very very very happy month.
It was a long lonely drive home. The house is empty, and the bed doesn't feel the same without her.
We couldn't decide on what to do, so we thought about what we hadn't had for lunch. OF her whole month here, Emily had never had BBQ. So we headed to Fushak's in San Marcos for some brisket, sausage and beans. They had a BBQ buffet there, prolly the smallest buffet I'd ever seen: Brisket, sausage, beans and peach cobbler. There may have been corn and coleslaw, but I wasn't sure, since I didn't like them.
Once we had our fill, we went to Five Mile Dam to see the blanco river actually LOOK like a river for once, and just as the severe weather went in. We rode around to various crossings to see if the water level rose. Wasn't sure if it did or not, but still, the water over the dam looked great.
One last railroad spur later, we went home. Emily packed, I made fajitas for dinner (her first meal in Texas was also the same as the last). She went to bed early, I stayed up till 2, took a nap till 4, and then drove her to the airport.
It was a tough ride for me. I was already missing her, and I made sure I only left the airport when I couldn't see her anymore. I watched her go right in through security, worried when she was pulled aside for a hand search, and then lost her near Gate 9. And so ended a very very very happy month.
It was a long lonely drive home. The house is empty, and the bed doesn't feel the same without her.
Monday, March 26th
Mar. 28th, 2007 04:30 pmSteph, who we'd tried to see over the weekend, finally said she couldn't make it, so the day was wide opened. We had no plans to really do anything, and I thought back wondering what was left to do, with the severe weather looming on the horizon. My phone was still flaky but not completely inoperable, so radars weren't hard to get.
We couldn't decide on what to do, so we thought about what we hadn't had for lunch. OF her whole month here, Emily had never had BBQ. So we headed to Fushak's in San Marcos for some brisket, sausage and beans. They had a BBQ buffet there, prolly the smallest buffet I'd ever seen: Brisket, sausage, beans and peach cobbler. There may have been corn and coleslaw, but I wasn't sure, since I didn't like them.
Once we had our fill, we went to Five Mile Dam to see the blanco river actually LOOK like a river for once, and just as the severe weather went in. We rode around to various crossings to see if the water level rose. Wasn't sure if it did or not, but still, the water over the dam looked great.
One last railroad spur later, we went home. Emily packed, I made fajitas for dinner (her first meal in Texas was also the same as the last). She went to bed early, I stayed up till 2, took a nap till 4, and then drove her to the airport.
It was a tough ride for me. I was already missing her, and I made sure I only left the airport when I couldn't see her anymore. I watched her go right in through security, worried when she was pulled aside for a hand search, and then lost her near Gate 9. And so ended a very very very happy month.
It was a long lonely drive home. The house is empty, and the bed doesn't feel the same without her.
We couldn't decide on what to do, so we thought about what we hadn't had for lunch. OF her whole month here, Emily had never had BBQ. So we headed to Fushak's in San Marcos for some brisket, sausage and beans. They had a BBQ buffet there, prolly the smallest buffet I'd ever seen: Brisket, sausage, beans and peach cobbler. There may have been corn and coleslaw, but I wasn't sure, since I didn't like them.
Once we had our fill, we went to Five Mile Dam to see the blanco river actually LOOK like a river for once, and just as the severe weather went in. We rode around to various crossings to see if the water level rose. Wasn't sure if it did or not, but still, the water over the dam looked great.
One last railroad spur later, we went home. Emily packed, I made fajitas for dinner (her first meal in Texas was also the same as the last). She went to bed early, I stayed up till 2, took a nap till 4, and then drove her to the airport.
It was a tough ride for me. I was already missing her, and I made sure I only left the airport when I couldn't see her anymore. I watched her go right in through security, worried when she was pulled aside for a hand search, and then lost her near Gate 9. And so ended a very very very happy month.
It was a long lonely drive home. The house is empty, and the bed doesn't feel the same without her.