"give your heart a break".

that was the number one song played on the road trip last weekend, courtesy of demi lovato.

who: yanik, ferris, and myself
start: san francisco, ca
destination: austin, tx

day one:

 

first stop: pasadena, ca.

sushi roku for dinner with tallin and monica

 

 

 

21 choices for dessert.

 then barneys for drinks with chrystal

finally got to hotel saguaro. a colorful spot in palm springs. and we play rock-paper-scissors for the individual bed.

 day two:

 now, joshua tree national park.

my shirt, unfortunately, matched too closely with the color of the rocks

 

 skull rock

 finally hit arizona. stopping in phoenix to see reem, ferris's cousin.

 steak for dinner.

 a delicious burger smothered with fried onions and chipotle mayo. want this now.

 pit stop in a whole foods, complete with a full bar -- in the middle of the store.

a subtle "flex-off" between yanik and reem's brother, fahed, who was working at the whole foods.

 and now, gambling...at the highest, up $50 and net up $25 overall. not bad! paid for the dinner.

packing some fruit and reem's delicious macaroons before the drive to new mexico. Thanks!

 day three:

 casualties of the sun

 finally hit the white sands in alamogordo, nm

 a nod to elita, who's been watching downton abbey, nonstop.

 burger time!

having too much fun in the white sands sadly destroyed my shorts.

and of course, cleaning the dead moths and insects off the windshield is expected.

 this license plate, not so expected.
 

 and you can see mexico from el paso, tx. so close!

so close in fact, AT&T even sends the following warning message:

 not to mention the several run-ins with the border patrol.

it was here we also made a pit stop at a gas station/restaurant to get some fried chicken. it was ferris's dream come true: eating fried chicken in texas while listening to zac brown band's "chicken fried".

 sadly, no time for the caverns, be we made it to austin!

and after many years, finally got to eat bbq at the salt lick.

 our food! brisket, ribs, sausage, 2 chopped beef sandwiches, beans and coleslaw.

the pit!

 followed by chicken shit bingo at the most "texas" bar I've ever been to.

 

people bring tailgate chairs in which to sit outside

 you draw a number, and wherever the chicken shits is the winning number.

they constantly feed the chickens. not to mention, this was rigged. they didn't sell enough tickets and the winning ticket was held by the bar; thus the pot went to the bar. un-freaking-fair.

 coffee by the lake at mozart's

after dinner and hanging out with yanik's high school crew, which included a scary walk through a random cemetery late at night, we hit up the heb for blue bell ice cream for dessert.

 and a second dinner at magnolia cafe

 next morning, I prepared egg in a hole and sausage and bacon.

 some shopping at the domain, before stopping at kim's house to see lillian and the view. gorgeous.

 took a few pics in kim's room.

 and then took pics of kim! I love these (though she may hate that I posted them).

 dinner with yanik's parents at the delicious bombay bistro. bomb garlic naan.

 and finally, sno beach at 34th and guadalupe

strawberry and wedding cake with cream

 went to go see bob schneider at saxon pub, but soon got kicked out after sneaking in for all of two seconds. so we went to peter pan mini golf, yanik's high school friend jeff, included.

 pennybacker bridge!

 great way to spend the night before heading back to the house to consume leftovers and go through yanik's mcdonald's toy collection. wish I had pics...

thanks to yanik and mr. and mrs. jayaram for a wonderful stay in austin. already can't wait to go back! hopefully kim will be there next time to revel in the fun.