The Bar-B-Q Trail and Austin

I am STUFFED with the best pulled pork bar-b-que I  have ever had today for lunch!  And waited and hour in line to get it!  When we were in Livingston, a couple across from us told us they were following “The Bar-B-Q Trail’.  Never heard of such a thing. So they let us borrow a book that lists all the best bar-b-que  places in the US by state and then by city.  There are people who actually use this book as a guide to their destinations by way of these bar-b-que joints.  Well, today we ate at one of those joints listed for Austin called Franklin Bar-B-Que.  Oh, my gosh!  It was SOOOO….good! The pork just melted in your mouth.  Doug got the brisket and pork ribs and also said it was the best he ever had.  The servings were HUGE and well worth the wait!  The place opens at 11:00 and stays open until “sold out”!   Their bar-b-que is so popular that people have been known to line up several hours before they even open!  It is just a very old rustic place that has perfected bar-b-que.  The guy behind the counter asked me where I was from and I said VA.  The young man in front of me overheard me and said he lived in Leesburg, VA, for 5 years. Small world! Another Virginian way out here in Texas!   A friend highly recommended The Ironworks for bar-b-que so that is where we ate last night. It was downtown and in what used to be a small ironworks company. The food  was pretty good but not worth a return trip and nothing compared to what we had today.  The leftovers sure were good for dinner!

  

After breakfast this morning, we went to the local enclosed 2 story BIG mall and had a good long walk. Good thing since we knew we were going to eat bar-b-que!  Hey, we try and fit in exercise anyway we can!   We were in town, so why not take advantage.  Of course we also wound up at another Wal-Mart before heading home!  Austin is so much bigger than I expected and traffic is horrible. How can so many people be on the road instead of at work?!  Rush hour seems to start around 3:00 in the afternoon until at least 6:00.  From the interstate you can see lots of tall buildings like any other big town.  Austin is the 11th largest city in the US.  I can see why! 

It was first settled by pioneers in the 1830s.  Long before becoming a state, Stephen F. Austin, The Father of Texas, led 300 families from the US to colonize the region.  Texas fought and won independence from Mexico and became its own independent country.  In 1839, Congress named the new capital after Stephen F. Austin.  Texas was admitted to the US as a state in 1845.

   

Austin was also the southern leg of the Chisholm Trail, like the name of the old John Wayne movie, that led to the Colorado River.  The Chisholm Trail was a trail used in the late 1800s to drive cattle overland from ranches in Texas to the Kansas railheads.  We have seen an actual cattle drive in Cheyenne, WY!  What a treat!  Austin is also the home of the University of Texas at Austin and the Longhorns football team.  You see the college kids all over town.