The BEST Day

Saturday was a cold, rainy day in Austin but it was one of the best days I have had all year. My best friend who goes to Texas A&M University drove up to Austin for the day to spend the day with me. I loved the excuse she provided to visit some of my favorite Austin hotspots, and of course, I loved the company she provided. It was so wonderful sitting down to dinner in the middle of the semester with her. We have such a special friendship and it meant the world to me that she took time out of her weekend to come to the land of the longhorns and hang out with me!

Gayle and I on New Year's Eve!

After a morning filled with reading and a trip to Gregory Gym, I was ready for her to get here! We started out with a late lunch at Galaxy Cafe, where we decided that since it was so late we would just order kids grilled chicken with a side. Her side included the sweet potato fries and I enjoyed the seasonal veggies. We both agreed that it hit the spot and we were ready to explore South Congress, one of the most famous streets in Austin.

The table numbers at Galaxy Cafe

We drove around for a while trying to find parking, one of two complains that I have about the city of Austin, and sat in the car waiting for the rain to die down. We just talked and talked and caught up on our lives in our respective cities and I realized how much I miss her and not getting to see her every single day like I did in middle school and high school!

Our first stop was Big Top Candy Shop, an old timey candy store that sells candy was popular when I was a kid (that sounds weird to say) as well as candy that my mom remembers from when SHE was a kid! Now that's old! :)

Chocolate Covered Bacon - EW!

We had fun looking around and making some samples, before we invested in some Big League Chew and Nerds Ropes for our brothers, some Swedish Fish for me, and some Gummy Worms and chocolate for Gayle. We also both bought a pack of old gum that lost flavor after about 30 seconds, but hey, the package was cool!

We then headed the other way down South Congress to take a picture by the famous "I love you so much" mural. It was a very popular place to be yesterday but we managed to get a couple of cute pictures!

I really wanted to take Gayle to one of my absolute favorite spots in Austin - Mt. Bonnell. I was bummed that it was so rainy and overcast, but it was still an incredible view. We also saw someone who was preparing to propose to his girlfriend. Note to my future boyfriend - the top of a mountain is a GREAT place to propose! :)

Setting up for the proposal

So cute!

We were hungry again after all that walking and "hiking," so I took her to one of my favorite restaurants on the lake - Hula Hut. We both had a really hard time deciding what to order because everything looked so wonderful but I eventually decided on a veggie burger and she went with the chicken quesadillas. We both agreed that it was such a wonderful day, despite the weather, and I was sad to see her leave to go back to College Station. I guess it's my turn to make a trip to Aggieland!