Tubing Time in Texas!

Happy May Day!

Today was spent partaking in one of the truest Texan traditions: tubing! Commonly referred to as "floating down the river," participants sit in inner tubes as the water flow gently glides them down the river for a few hours.

What do you do on the river? Chat, relax, drink, laugh, and be merry!

Hundreds of tubers can be found floating down the Comal on any sunny day

Sitting on my inner tube (thank goodness mine had a bottom, otherwise I would have fallen through!)

Though the Comal River sits as the shortest river in the world at 2.5 miles, it sits at a warm 70-72 degrees. As it is spring-fed, the river is ideal for relaxing tubing. Be warned though! Early on, there is a tube shoot that can trap any novice tuber if they get caught in the current (speaking from experience!).

Tip: Putting a ziplock bag inside another ziplock bag does wonders for your digital camera and other belongings. And be sure to hold up your drinks and sunglasses at the tube shoot if you want a chance to enjoy both for the remainder of the river!

Along the way, I had the pleasure of meeting some French students that helped me practice my Français. Interestingly, one of them worked in Business Development and praised me on joining the Peace Corps. It is safe to assume that most Americans know the Peace Corps, but it's a real treat when foreigners recognize it. High five!

With our French friend after the day's success!

Back on the UT-Austin campus, we discovered the Graduation Longhorn! Though there will be no mention of an upsetting college football game from 2005, the following picture shows that USC Trojans and Texas Longhorns can co-exist harmoniously.

Forever and always, fight on!

For dinner, we met with Alec Swafford for another mini-Europe reunion (see all Rome posts in September 2008). The night air was cool and breezy as we shared tacos on the deck of Cuatros.

Reunion at Cuatros

As Austin is known for being the "live music capital of the world," Chris Wu and I headed off to the Elephant Room and listened to some Latin jazz before heading of to Malaia, Downtown's newest nightclub.

Thanks, Austin! I will miss you!