Hey, everybody.
Welcome to The Collect, the newsletter where I get to ramble on about something and you all get a peek into my brain, for whatever it’s worth. Thanks for joining me!
As you all likely know, I typically hit your inboxes twice each week: first, on Mondays, where I write a long-ish piece about whatever is on my mind (usually something about Catholic liturgy or spirituality but not always) and also on Fridays, with Link’s Links, where I share some things that I found interesting and think you should also check out.
In the last few weeks, I have fallen quite behind in my longer-form pieces, because Easter as a parish employee is just crazy (especially as a parish employee specializing in Liturgy). Presumably, I’ll get better at this with time, and my goal now is to post at least on Holy Monday next year, if not also on Easter Monday.
Easter, however, was not the only thing that kept me from opening Substack and writing you a letter, however; I also went on vacation, and not the kind of vacation where I just stay home and relax for a few days. No, I decided to road trip, with a college buddy of mine, down to my ancestral home of central Texas, where I got to see my parents and, as I mentioned on Friday, a total solar eclipse.
Of course, driving fifteen hours for a two-minute event, even a super cool celestial event, does not make a lot of sense to me. So I (and my aforementioned college buddy) packed quite a few other events into the trip, which is what I’d like to summarize for you today. Think of it as a Link’s Links: Extended Edition — instead of links to things, I’m going to tell you about cool things that you can add to your bucket lists (or not; you do you I suppose).
Day One: The Drive South
As many of you know (I’ve mentioned it here and there) I live just outside of Denver, Colorado, and have for about the last eight years. To drive back to my Austin-area hometown, then, took quite some time. About fifteen hours, in fact. One way.
Now, some of you are horrified by that very concept, but I actually enjoy road trips quite a bit, and this one was no exception. There’s a real beauty to the open road — on one hand, it’s the same romanticism I wrote about here, but in a more positive light — and I had a great time driving the nine-hundred odd miles from my home to my hometown. It was extra nice to have the company of my aforementioned college friend, who kept me from falling asleep by holding a conversation for almost the entire drive (sans about an hour and a half when he took a nap).
I think my favorite part of that road trip, though, is the simple fact that of the fifteen hours we spent on the road, about eight of those (i.e. more than half) were within the borders of Texas. As they say, everything’s bigger and all.
Day Two: Around Central Texas
Our first full day in Texas was spent… driving some more. After a slow morning with my parents (featuring proper Texan breakfast tacos), my friend and I got back into my pickup and drove even further south, to the small town of Shiner, Texas, known mostly for being the location of the Spoetzl Brewery, the oldest independent brewery in Texas (founded 1909). While in Shiner, we took a tour of the brewery (highly recommend) and sat out on the lawn to enjoy some Shiner beers.
We also, of course, visited the gift shop, where I purchased a Shiner Bock belt buckle, and was quite tempted to purchase a neon Shiner sign for my kitchen as well (unfortunately, the thing cost about half a paycheck, and I definitely don’t have that kind of disposable income).
I’ve previously written in a Link’s Links that Shiner Bock originated as a seasonal beer for Lent, but what I didn’t know was that the whole city of Shiner is a very Catholic town; founded by German and Czech immigrants, the local Catholic parish of Saints Cyril and Methodius was built in 1891, just a year after the town was incorporated, and it’s gorgeous.
All in all, Shiner was a super cool place that I would love to visit again if possible, and I’ll be thinking about the town every time I open a Shiner Bock. After all, as it says on the bottle, every drop of Shiner is brewed in Shiner.
The day wasn’t quite over, though, since on the way back up to Austin we passed through Lockhart, Texas, which is widely considered (at least in central Texas) the barbecue capital of the world. We met my parents at Smitty’s Market, and I introduced my friend to proper Texas barbecue — beef brisket, no sauce, no sides. My mouth is watering just recalling it now. If you’re ever in Lockhart, just know there’s no better way to eat barbecue.
After that, we walked around the town and then headed back to my childhood home.
Day Three: The City
On Saturday, after showing my friend around my once-small-now-large hometown, we drove down into Austin and walked around the state capitol, chatting about Texas history and the often strange layout of the city of Austin. I greatly enjoyed presenting my native country state to my friend, and honestly I could write plenty just about Texas history. Perhaps in the future.
After the capitol, we ventured further into town and hung out at Lazarus Brewing Company, a self-styled “funky little brewpub” featuring coffee in the morning and beer in the afternoon (my two favorite drinks) and a beer list full of biblical references like the Prodigal Pils (German Pilsner), 40 Days and 40 Nights (American IPA), and There and Back Again (New Zealand IPA).
Okay, so that last one isn’t biblical, but Tolkien is Bible-adjacent so I’ll still count it.
All in all, it was a casual day, full of casual fun.
Day Four: Planes and Planes and Catholic Mass
On Sunday, my friend and I drove down to Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) to witness the Great Texas Air Show, which, though I’m not nearly the plane guy that my friend is, was super cool. We got to see stunt planes, F-35s, a C-17, Japanese Zeroes, and the Air Force Thunderbirds, all of which did really cool things in the air that I cannot imagine doing myself. If you ever get the chance to go to an airshow, anywhere in the States, I highly recommend you do.
The airshow lasted most of the day, and then in the evening my friend and I went to find a Catholic Mass, it being Divine Mercy Sunday. Through some connections I have with the Capuchins, I was able to find an evening Mass at a local parish, and then get a tour of the Capuchin friary in northern San Antonio, which was super neat. After that, we made the drive back to Austin.
Oh, and of course, I can’t forget to mention that on the way down to San Antonio we stopped, as is requisite for driving anywhere in Texas, at a Buc-ee’s, for gas, a bathroom break, and a brisket taco.
Day Five: The Solar Eclipse
Of course, the whole motivation for this trip was the total solar eclipse that happened last Monday, and though we had some cloud cover come through, I was still absolutely blown away by how incredible the eclipse was. Pictures can’t capture it and words can only hint at describing it. The entire world went dark for a full two minutes, as if we’d jumped from one o’clock in the afternoon to ten in the evening, and I suddenly understood why the Aztecs worshipped the sun and dedicated blood sacrifices to making sure it never died.
That evening, we went out to a classic house of Tex-Mex, Chuy’s of Austin, and then hung out around the house until it was time to catch some final hours of sleep.
Day Six: Homeward Bound
Finally, our adventure in the land of Texas complete, my friend and I packed it up and got on the road. We took a slightly longer route through the Hill Country (because why not) and then back up through the Texas plains and into colorful Colorado (there was also a stretch of New Mexico but there’s nothing worth noticing there so I won’t bore you with it). As before, more than half the drive was within the borders of the Lone Star State, and we arrived back in the Mile High City just before midnight, our long journey complete.
Back to the Grind
After returning to Denver, I went back to work, and it’s been business as usual since; with the key difference being that working for the Church after Easter is quite a bit calmer than working for the Church before Easter. Hence my return to our regular Substack schedule!
So thanks for reading! I missed writing for the few weeks I was out, and I’m glad to be back. Let me know what parts of my Texas trip you thought were cool, or which you thought were boring; and for any Texans out there, let me know if you ever go to any of the places I mentioned here!
As always, you have my utmost gratitude for being here, and I’ll see you again for Link’s Links on Friday. God bless!
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Until next time!