PTA Moms Loose in Austin!

Yep, another year had gone by and it was time for the annual Texas PTA Summer Seminar in Austin. Since I will be the Treasurer this year, I felt it was definitely to my benefit to go. One of my good friends, Joni, went along again this year, and 3 "newbies" decided to brave the trip! It is always scary going along on a weekend trip with people you don't know. Well, after 3 minutes in the car with Kristi, Veronica and Maria, I knew there was nothing to be afraid of....and I was right! We all had a great time getting to know each other, laughing, goofing off....oh, and yeah, learning about our PTA jobs.

We arrived on Friday, and after checking in everywhere, we headed down to Cedar Street Courtyard again for dinner and to watch our favorite 80s rock band, LC Rocks! Dinner was an interesting experience for me as we chose to eat at Malaga Tapas Bar. I had never experienced tapas before, and it was suprisingly good! I really enjoyed the Portobellos Alinados , but everything we had was delicious! LC Rocks was AWESOME, as usual, and we danced the night away....maybe a little too much as Veronica ended up breaking her ankle (which we didn't find out until we got home on Sunday)!

On Saturday, after a day of classes, we made plans to watch the bats fly at dusk. So, we headed to Threadgills, a restaurant near where the bats fly. Dinner was really good Texas Home Cooking. We all opted for comfort food ranging from Mac & Cheese, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Broccoli & Rice Casserole, Carrots, Collard Greens and Texas Caviar. I really enjoyed the laid back atmosphere of this restaurant and hope to go back again someday!

And now, the bats....for those who don't know, there is a huge colony of bats that live under the Congress Avenue Bridge. Every night at dusk, the entire colony flies out from under the bridge and travels down the river to feed! I never, ever believed Joni when she told me about this. So, we decided to check it out. We did see bats! Unfortunately, they didn't feel like flying down the river, but I did get some great video of them circling under the bridge. Really cool...and so, now I half-way believe Joni! ;o)

But the night was still young after that experience, and the girls really wanted to visit 6th Street. I am soooo not a party person, but they lured me to 6th Street with the promise of a carriage ride! That was AWESOME! LOL!! After the ride down 6th Street in the carriage, we walked around a bit. We landed at a club called Latitude where we got to witness a very strange dancing waitress and a male diva "break" dancer! It was too much....why I didn't take video, I don't know. I will never get those images out of my head!

Sunday found us back in class and then back home. I had such a great time with my new pals....I miss them already! Can't wait to have a girl's night out with them soon! Here is a video that I put together of our trip. It is pretty long, but I feel it is worth the time to watch it all....of course, you may not appreciate all of it as much as the "fab five" will!! ;o)