The Story of My Life: A cure for Austin homesickness

I'm not sure if I've blogged about it before, but when I met Taylor, I was pretty much set on moving back to Texas.

We made this deal...or joke...or promise...I don't know what you want to call it, but I told him I would need to visit Austin twice a year to get my "fix"...to be able to function normally. And, I'm happy to report, I've been able to do just that since returning to the Rose City permanently in 2009.

Don't get me wrong. I love my life in Portland, and I wouldn't trade what I have now for living alone in Austin. I love being close to my family...to Taylor's family...to our friends.

But, I just LOVED daily life in Austin. I felt like it was "my" city. I loved my Tarrytown neighborhood. My Lady Bird Lake running loop. My Whole Foods. My Maudie's. My sunshiny days. My evenings out without a sweater.

It's silly, but it's true. I've never wished so much that I could smoosh two places into one and create a dreamtown called Austinland...or something.

So, it's January now...about the time I typically start plotting my first trip...except we have our wedding coming up, so that's kind of sidelined any other plans, which is fine...except...fine except I am having major Austin homesickness pangs right about now!!! Taylor says I can't be homesick for a place that's not my home, but I am.

Luckily, my all-time favorite band, the Randy Rogers Band, rolled through town last week, providing just the fix I needed.

They played at Mississippi Studios, a venue that just reeks an Austin vibe. I convinced our friends Leslee and Troy to join us for a weeknight out (our second that week--big deal for us!), and my buddy Whitney and her boyfriend Steve came, also. Whit lived in Texas for a couple years, too, and she loves any Red Dirt country band as much as I do. I forced our little group of friends to risk hearing loss by committing to a front-row-ish spot right next to the speaker. Wade Bowen opened, and RRB followed up with a more than solid performance.

I have to say, I just love seeing Randy and the boys play in the Pacific Northwest. It makes me oh so happy. I'm such a groupie--I can't even count the number of times I've seen this band in Texas, but I've seen them three times now in the Portland area. The fiddler walked through the crowd during the set break, just heading up to the stage to perform, and most of the people around us didn't know he was a part of the band. In Austin, these guys are gods, so it's funny to see them out of their element. They performed all my favorites and a few songs off their soon-to-be released album. Winners all around. My heart was singing!

I'd like to thank Taylor for standing through a sweaty hot country concert--a genre of music that's not necessarily at the top of his list. And, I'd like to thank the Randy Rogers Band for dishing me a dose of Austin at a time when I really needed it.

God bless Texas. Yeehaw!