In Austin in November

I arrived in Austin at 4, and before 5:30 we were passing out tote bags and drinking tea on the front porch of this coworking space in Austin (people love porches in Austin). It's a full 20 degrees warmer here than in Chicago this time of year. We passed out about 150 tote bags, with all kinds of Austin-y things inside for travelers coming to the city. It's a great idea to give to house guests. One great way to find local stuff that isn't too expensive to give away, is to go on Etsy and search for something like a magnet, and search by location, sorting by the lowest price. Anyway, I made a collage of all the sight-seeing I did while I was there, for your pleasure!

I saw a beautiful tower of junk, a zombie marching band, lots of food trucks including a donut truck I ate from twice, and of course clear blue skys. 

Iceland

(Iceland Pics from Flickr)

A plane ticket to Iceland is $800. There are some beautiful Airbnb places there for $300 per week, in nice-looking towns, one on a tiny island with a single tiny town on it. It looks awesome. If I had 3 weeks in iceland, I would paint and hike. Maybe I'd try to paint while hiking.

Sometimes when I'm stressed I want to get away and not be responsible for anything or to anyone. I don't even want to get to know new people, only to experience life as an observer.