Grimas

I just bought some high temp gasket tape off amazon for $15 and put it around my existing door... Tape

I was gonna rent a car from American Car rental with their all in cost of about $50/day picking up from the Isla ferry and dropping off at the airport. I then checked my Chase card and could rent the same car for 10/day but would have to pickup and drop off at the airport. Has anyone here used their miles to rent a car from American? If so, is that lower rate all inclusive? With my Chase card, rental insurance is covered by my card but I know a lot of places try to tell you the card insurance isn't valid... Even if I have to book a transfer van from the ferry to the airport location, I'd still be coming out ahead if I can indeed get the lower rate by booking thru Chase. I just don't want to have to deal with them if the rate isn't all inclusive if I was to book the cheaper rate thru Chase... Anyone have any experience doing this?

That was a good one...

Geese are bad but nothing compares to a pissed off swan...

Saturday night had a bunch of Canadians wanting to do the Paino bar on 6th. Had a hard night on Friday night so bailed on most of my group who wanted to remain on 6th. A few of us walked down to Rainey after having walked past a bunch of places that were pretty dead on W. Congress. Not as happing as Friday night but ended up at Craft at the southern end of Rainey. The beer hall up the street closed at midnight (WTF?) but the guy I dealt with behind the bar knew his beers... he would have easily fit in at the old G&M Steakhouse with his attitude but was a hoot...

So did the Clive Bar on the front deck overlooking the street and saw lots of eye candy with several bachelorette parties moving up and down the street on Friday night...

Fly fish on the San Jaun below the base of the dam. Best fishing ever... rent a jeep and do some mining trails...

Thanks Torn - that's what I'm looking for... I was actually looking forward to going to the Orange and White game but was told I have to attend a dinner at 3 Forks that night. I'd rather see it than the good steak... We booked something like 60 rooms a year ago for e GP as we are one of the major sponsors...

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll send a report after next weekend...

Thanks! When you say West 6th, are to talking between Congress and Lamar or further west between Lamar and MoPac? Last time we did lunch at El Arroyo, it seemed that the area between it and Treaty Oak park had really gotten developed...

Headed to Austin next weekend for a corporate gig (MotoGP) and I was asked where we should go in the evenings (Friday and Sat night) as I went to school there 30 years ago.... Staying downtown at the Omni but understand 6th isn't a place to go... Any suggestions for a bunch of 40-50 year olds to have a few drinks and look at some "scenery"? It's been any years that I've been to Austin without wife and family in tow and have no clue where to go for an evening out. And no, not looking for a titty bar...

Looks like the family that died in Acumal was due to a leaky propane tank. Gonna pack a carbon monoxide alarm in the suitcase for my trip down there in June...

I was all stoked and ready to buy the Old Country vertical yesterday until I actually saw it at Academy. Nothing against it other than the size... I just don't need something that big to feed the family (it's 5'+ tall) and I'll never cook 4 briskets at a time... going to get a WSM 22" instead...

I had the small one (maybe it was a Brinkmann rather than a Weber) 10+ years ago but ditched it when I moved overseas (and upgraded to a Bradley). Had to cut the brisket to get it to fit in both which is why I want something wider. The Bradley has served me well but it's a pain to clean so won't be upgrading to a wider one of those and will be retiring it and selling it when I get the WSM...

Timely discussion as I was headed to buy a 22" one this morning. I went to Academy yesterday with my heart set on getting one of the Old Country vertical smokers and it's just too damn big for my needs. The next step down in size is the WSM 22" that is still more than I need for the family but won't limit me if I need to go bigger...

I'll take any Avios you are willing to share!

Ate sand

Rent an e-bike to get around the city including riding north on the bike path up to the Olympic village. Great way to see the city. Note that the people on the bike path don't give a crap about bikes on the path and I are sand 2x avoiding idiots stepping into the bike lane without looking at what was coming down the path... dont buy a Jamon and try to bring it back home without the appropriate ag stamp. I had a whole leg of ham dumped in the trash at the Houston airport because I didn't have it.... (I have fast-track and declared it (could have easily walked thru but didn't want to risk losing fast-track so declared it) and I bet those guys had a hell of a feast after I left...)

Thanks for the recommendation- if I recall correctly, Xel-Ha costs about the same as a Disney ticket...

If you are there on a (I think) Monday night, the Palomino Smokehouse across from the Hyatt has a all-you-can-eat pork rib special for 15 or 20 bucks and they do a good job on 'em. (I get them dry with sauce on the side). Kind of a biker bar but a good place to watch baseball or NFL on the tvs. The avatar isn't my wife...

One of the family's favorite dish to cook at home and is fast is shaken beef or Bo Luc Lac. Get a beef tenderloin (Asian markets have frozen ones for $25), remove silver skin and dice into 1" cubes. Marinate in some Ponzu, garlic, oyster sauce, a little sugar and salt. Separately, thinly slice a purple onion and marinate it with about a cup of rice wine vinegar and a teaspoon of sugar. This becomes the salad dressing. On a platter, lay down a bed of spring mixed greens and then a layer of thinly sliced Roma tomatoes on the greens. Fire up the wok. (Most stoves can't get a wok hot enough but I picked up a commercial grade food stall wok burner when I lived in Asia that gets up to 30k BTU's). Get the wok smoking hot - I mean where the steel turns red and then toss in the beef (but not the liquid that it was marinating in as that will boil the meat) and stir and shake (hence the name) the beef constantly. 3 minutes should get you a good m. Rare cook. Take the hot beef and dump in on top of the tomatoes and greens. Place the pickled onions on the beef and then drizzle the rice wine marinade the onions were in over the whole thing. Ring dinner bell... my wife likes to make a dipping sauce for the beef - combine lime juice with white pepper in a little bowl...

What kind of food are you looking for? Go to Charcut if you like cured meats (by the Calgary tower) and get a charcuterie plate and a side of duck fat poutine fries... Fantastic regional oyster selection at the seafood place in the Hyatt. Hy's Steakhouse is good for steaks. Joey' Eau Claire is also a good spot with lots of "scenery"... I haven't been there in almost 2 years and with the oil downturn, I've heard a lot of places have closed so check to see any of the ones are still open before trying to go...

Changed my booking tonight.... 4 nights at Isla and then headed to Akumel for 5 nights... any easy car rentals near the ferry dock? On the the other thread on the other unnamed site, there was a suggestion of a good rental place that is all inclusive of coverage... Yes, my card covers insurance but I want an easy transition from ferry to car with the least hassle with wife and kids with bags in tow and price be dammed! Suggestions?

Thanks! In hindsite, I should have split the trip up to do the same but the Isla place is booked already so just looking for the backup plan... (and I meant Akumel, not Tulumn in the earlier post)

Do Prague if you havent done it. Baltics are nice and cheap(ish) if you want to go north, Croatia (as mentioned) is great as well... Depends on what you want - Italy-lite along the Adriatic and before the European tourists arrive for summer vacation (but starting to get hot) or less populated but cooler temps without getting raped by Scandinavian prices further north...