DAY 16/17 - Austin, Texas

We drove down Friday morning to Austin. They have this fun tradition of floating the river on a inner tube near San Marco. So we met up with Darrin, a close friend of Matt's, and right when we arrived we rented these tubes and floated down the river. It was real relaxing and the weather wasn't too hot, so we were happy. It was packed with people and took us more than three hours to get down, which is a really long time, but we enjoyed it a lot.

Austin is known to be hill country of Texas and the scenery sure is different than Houston or Dallas. The
terrain has more mountains and it's hard to distinguish it from any other place in the States except for the fact that it's 100 degrees every day here in the summer. Darrin took us to this local cafe which started our day perfectly. The University of Texas is the second largest university in the States and has close to 60,000 students enrolled every year. Now that school isn't in session there are a lot less people in town cause all the students are on break, but they say Austin is quite a party town anyhow.

Like any tourists we wanted to see a bit of the capital of Texas so we asked Matt to show us around. We went to this huge graffiti wall right next to the cafe, cause it has an interesting story. The Owner of the land permitted for anyone to come and spray graffiti art as a recognition that it isn't a crime. We took some pictures there and were off to see a bit of Austin. We drove around the grounds of the UT campus and then went to visit the state capital. Everything is Texas is big, the cars, food portions and especially the buildings. The architecture of the capital and the house of the representatives was quite admirable considering the fact they have session once every 2 years. We took a tour inside and got a glimpse of hour law making works in the south.

When we got back to the apartment we went to tan and chill by the pool which is part of the complex. Too bad life in Israel isn't as easy as here, but then again we are on vacation here so the grass is always greener.

We went out tonight for the last time this long weekend and had a blast. 6th street in Austin was packed for the celebrations and we really had a great time. It is a bit similar to Bourbon street in New Orleans but not as grungy and more high class to my feel.

Now back to Dallas to pack up and tomorrow morning we are off on the road again.

DAY 15 - July 4th Weekend Celebration

Still in Dallas having a blast with Matt. Its fourth of July so we had quite a day of partying. We saw the fireworks show in near down town and then went to uptown to see the scene there. We met up with his dad and had an awesome night. He took us out and showed us all the bars in the area.

The day of the forth was just a different party scene. Matt took us on his friend's speed boat to lake Louisville to party cove. We as Israeli's don't celebrate this holiday but being in the States you have to play the game. And who will pass up on a day on a boat with music and fun..?

The weather was just great. It wasn't too hot and the breeze riding at high speeds on the lake made it real fun. We were shocked by the scene at party cove. There were hundreds of boats in lines all tied up to each other and people just blasting music. Everyone was so nice and you can just boat hop to where ever you want to go. It's like a huge club on the water made of lots of boats which served as a deck to get from one side to another.

Now we are off down south to Austin for the weekend. We are staying with another of Matt's friend's who lives in the city.

DAY 13/14 - Dallas, TX + Oklahoma

We are staying in Dallas for the week so we decided to take a day ride up north on I 35 to Oklahoma. I always imagined Texas being a dry and desert like state, but it really is not. Dallas is known for it's lakes and it is really gorgeous out here. The ride up was a bit windy but the view from behind the visor of the helmet was very nice. We stopped on the way for a small snack near where the Kichai and Lenape native Americans used to live before the white settlers came.

We spent our short visit on the Oklahoma border at this huge casino. The Winstar casino is on an Indian reservation which makes it legal enough for anyone over the age of 18 to gamble. Winstar is one of the casinos which resides on the biggest portion of land. We got free drinks and even made a bit of cash. Even if we didn't make any money it would be a fun experience.

Today we had time so we went to the local Walmart to do a motor oil change. We thought it would take less than an hour but we had some issues with Uri's bike. We had all the right tools but the nut that needs to be released to get the oil to spill out, was just stuck! We were right at the Walmart so we tried so many different tools to get it loose, but with no luck. So changed the oil on my bike and tomorrow or some other time we will go to a motorcycle shop and get that fixed.

4th of July is getting close and the party scene is going to be amazing here. Texans are known to be very patriotic, so i have no doubt we will have a great weekend.

We plan on driving down to Austin for the celebration but also go out tomorrow night.