Austin, Texas

I wanted to get this posted a while ago, but was joyously derailed by the arrival of our daughter, so the timeline may seem a bit out of sync.

With Madison's arrival impending, it dawned on us that we would have few childless weekends ahead (this turned out to be so, so very true) and we decided to haul ass down to Austin Texas to visit our beloved friends, Chris and Sandy and their son Jason. Chris and I met on the golf course (Diablo Creek) and quickly became close friends; I'm proud to say I think of Chris as a brother and I know for a fact that my life is enriched by his presence. About five and a half years ago, Chris relocated to Austin from the Bay Area when he and Sandy, a remarkable and wonderful woman, decided to get hitched and have a family. Michelle and I had always talked of going to visit, but the timing was never quite right. Finally, we kicked ourselves in the butt and got down there.

The trip was great - Chris and I played some terrible golf (I played terribly, anyway), we thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Jason, who is growing up into a remarkable young man, Sandy showed Michelle around town, we had some great meals (Eddie V's, Rudy's, and HEB breakfast tacos), but most importantly, we got to spend a couple of days with people we love and cherish.

Michelle took this picture on the Sunday of that trip at one of the local driving ranges. The range was enormous with about 1/8 of a mile between the shack where you pay and the actual teeing area. The narrative of this shot, to me, is men making their way to the field of battle, although "battle" in this case is hitting balls on the driving range. I'm not sure how, but it works in my mind. I'm also tickled that the picture captures the symmetry in movement between Chris and Jason.