Day Four Part II - Paul Simon
At the time I wrote Part I of the Day Four blog I was fairly sure that Part II would not be necessary, after all it was already late in the evening (Paul Simon reference) and we were only going for some food and possibly a couple of drinks. However, as usual Austin delivered and late in the evening became a 4:00AM arrival back at the hotel.
Eric arranged an Uber from the hotel to downtown where we headed to the historic Driskoll hotel, notable for something about president LBJ that I didn't really pay attention to. Despite being in the country for three days the occasion marked the first burger I have eaten this trip, although it surely won't be the last.
During dinner it was clear that the group's energy levels were flagging following day 3's shenanigans, there was silence instead of the usual and constant laughter. I wasn't the only one to notice this but it was also true that it would be the last night Eric was with us so we needed to snap out of it very quickly. The first attempt at this was to visit a bar called 'The Aquarium'. Friends of mine will know I quite reasonably have a mortal fear of fish so this was a brave step for me, luckily they only had 'virtual' fish so I was almost able to cope after a few calming drinks. Fish aside the other downside of the venue was it played mainly heavy dance music which we were perhaps slightly too old to enjoy.
At this point in the evening if anyone had suggested turning in for an early night I would have bitten their arm off. Later the rest of the group confessed to the same feeling but no one wanted to be the party pooper, in retrospect this was very lucky as the evening was soon to take a turn for the better.
In desperate times one resorts to old friends for help, this evening was no exception and we returned to Pete's Duelling Piano bar. It was a bit quieter than Friday evening but this probably suited us better, at first we even sat at a table rather than standing front and centre. That didn't last.
Soon after arriving we spotted my old friend from Heathrow Eddie Jordan, this time the conversation was slightly less awkward and he even insisted we take this photo:
Amazing how everyone is more relaxed after a few drinks rather than whilst hurrying to catch a 10 hour flight. Whilst talking to EJ Alistair spotted Damon and Georgie Hill sitting next to us watching the show. I am 'a bit' of a Damon Hill fan so this was terribly exciting, I needed a plan to strike up a conversation with the 1996 (and in my mind 1994) World Champion. Luckily I had met Damon earlier this year at a book signing, so my plan was formed, I displayed the picture I had taken at the time on my 'phone then asked Damon to sign it. The plan worked a bit too well but luckily the pen I had didn't or the screen of my 'phone would be pretty much ruined, it seemed Damon had also enjoyed a couple of drinks.
Next up and what seemed like a few minutes later it was 2:00AM which is state enforced closing time in the great state of Texas. Before leaving we had a quick chat with Formula 1 design legend Adrian Newey:
Other highlights were watching the stage crew call Damon and his wife onto stage as it was their wedding anniversary (Damon and Georgie, not the stage crew, although I can't 100% state that was the case they may also have been married) and made to perform a dance routine. When I was ready to go home at 11:00PM I had no idea I would watch one of my sporting heroes dry humping his wife on stage. Thank you peer pressure.
The only thing that nearly spoiled my day was my 'phone battery falling to 1%, in my mind that is the mark of someone with no control of his life and I am truly ashamed of myself. Hopefully I will cope better with the challenges of today and end up in the 20%s.
And on that bombshell time to get ready to head to the circuit for the weekend's main event, the F1 race and the Stevie Wonder concert.
Why not follow me on TWITTER I know he has already featured but it is appropriate to point out that Damon Hill is a regular correspondent:
Eric arranged an Uber from the hotel to downtown where we headed to the historic Driskoll hotel, notable for something about president LBJ that I didn't really pay attention to. Despite being in the country for three days the occasion marked the first burger I have eaten this trip, although it surely won't be the last.
During dinner it was clear that the group's energy levels were flagging following day 3's shenanigans, there was silence instead of the usual and constant laughter. I wasn't the only one to notice this but it was also true that it would be the last night Eric was with us so we needed to snap out of it very quickly. The first attempt at this was to visit a bar called 'The Aquarium'. Friends of mine will know I quite reasonably have a mortal fear of fish so this was a brave step for me, luckily they only had 'virtual' fish so I was almost able to cope after a few calming drinks. Fish aside the other downside of the venue was it played mainly heavy dance music which we were perhaps slightly too old to enjoy.
At this point in the evening if anyone had suggested turning in for an early night I would have bitten their arm off. Later the rest of the group confessed to the same feeling but no one wanted to be the party pooper, in retrospect this was very lucky as the evening was soon to take a turn for the better.
In desperate times one resorts to old friends for help, this evening was no exception and we returned to Pete's Duelling Piano bar. It was a bit quieter than Friday evening but this probably suited us better, at first we even sat at a table rather than standing front and centre. That didn't last.
Soon after arriving we spotted my old friend from Heathrow Eddie Jordan, this time the conversation was slightly less awkward and he even insisted we take this photo:
Amazing how everyone is more relaxed after a few drinks rather than whilst hurrying to catch a 10 hour flight. Whilst talking to EJ Alistair spotted Damon and Georgie Hill sitting next to us watching the show. I am 'a bit' of a Damon Hill fan so this was terribly exciting, I needed a plan to strike up a conversation with the 1996 (and in my mind 1994) World Champion. Luckily I had met Damon earlier this year at a book signing, so my plan was formed, I displayed the picture I had taken at the time on my 'phone then asked Damon to sign it. The plan worked a bit too well but luckily the pen I had didn't or the screen of my 'phone would be pretty much ruined, it seemed Damon had also enjoyed a couple of drinks.
Next up and what seemed like a few minutes later it was 2:00AM which is state enforced closing time in the great state of Texas. Before leaving we had a quick chat with Formula 1 design legend Adrian Newey:
Other highlights were watching the stage crew call Damon and his wife onto stage as it was their wedding anniversary (Damon and Georgie, not the stage crew, although I can't 100% state that was the case they may also have been married) and made to perform a dance routine. When I was ready to go home at 11:00PM I had no idea I would watch one of my sporting heroes dry humping his wife on stage. Thank you peer pressure.
The only thing that nearly spoiled my day was my 'phone battery falling to 1%, in my mind that is the mark of someone with no control of his life and I am truly ashamed of myself. Hopefully I will cope better with the challenges of today and end up in the 20%s.
And on that bombshell time to get ready to head to the circuit for the weekend's main event, the F1 race and the Stevie Wonder concert.
Why not follow me on TWITTER I know he has already featured but it is appropriate to point out that Damon Hill is a regular correspondent:
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