FLIP + CHING

Beardbrand and Bats

Posted on April 15, 2019 by Ching under Things to Do, Travel.

After Moonshine Grill, we walked over to Maggie Mae’s which calls itself the most iconic bar on Sixth Street. We were there with the OUUG conference group just the previous night but Brian had never been and I wanted him to be able to experience it. Plus, I found out about the Beardbrand customer appreciation party so I thought it would be a good way to get free drinks. I couldn’t believe I managed to talk four others into crashing the party with me. As always, Brian (who is a bit of a stick in the mud) was a very reluctant participant.

Lois and Michelle at the Beardbrand party at Maggie Mae’s.

They had these little mustache combs in a bowl for everyone to take so I took a few for my bearded friends in Wichita.

We could have stayed and drank for free all night but we had to be at the bridge by sunset to watch the bats, which Brian had never seen before, so we only had time for a drink. As we were leaving, they were rounding everyone up for a group photo. I really wanted to be in it but party pooper Brian wouldn’t let me. I guess he was still feeling really awkward about crashing the party. LOL.

We arrived at the bridge just as people were gathering both on land and in the water. They were in paddle boards, kayaks, paddle boats, and tour boats of all shapes and sizes — pretty much anything that floats.

I suppose the water is the perfect vantage point for viewing the bats as they emerge from their roost under the Congress Avenue bridge.

Our group decided to stay and watch from the bridge. It worked for me because Jackie and I watched them from the grassy area under the bridge the night before. She wanted to see the bats so I went with her and we both left the OUUG party at Maggie Mae’s early.

This is the spot where Jackie and I watched the bats.

It’s a very popular bat observation spot. However, as you can see, people watch the bats from the bridge and also from the river.

Here’s a short video the bats emerging from their roost. They are very small and difficult to see. I was actually quite surprised. I thought they’d be much larger.

Here’s a video of us viewing the bats from the bridge, which I think is actually much better because it’s easier to see the bats. However, I think watching them from a boat on the water would probably be best because you’d be even closer.

The bats start flying out of the bridge at sunset. The whole event takes several minutes and continues until dark. When Jackie and I left that first night, there were still many bats emerging but it had gotten quite dark and we could barely see them at that point and so we decided it was time to leave and head back to our hotel.

It’s really interesting to watch the bats. I can see why it’s a tourist attraction. The main thing to remember is not to touch the bats if you see them on the ground as the sign below says. I didn’t encounter any grounded bats on either night. That’s a good thing. I would have felt very bad for them.

Anyway, Brian and I decided to call it a night after the bats. He didn’t get in until almost three o’clock that morning due to flight delays. He was supposed to arrive shortly after ten and at the hotel by eleven o’clock. Luck was not on his side that night. He had a rough trip. We both turned in early to allow Brian to catch up on much-needed sleep. That’s all for now. GNG.

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Early Supper at Moonshine

Posted on April 14, 2019 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.

Brian and I had dinner at Moonshine Grill in Austin. We went for an early supper and to take advantage of some happy hour deals. This place came highly recommended and did not disappoint.

Here are some pictures of the cute restaurant interior.

Lois (left) and Michelle (right) and Michelle’s husband Brad (not pictured) joined us for dinner. Cheers!

I can’t remember what they had but I’m pretty sure I took a picture of this section of the menu so I would remember. It didn’t work.

Moonshine has the best flavored popcorn to go with drinks.

Here’s a pic of the menu. Pics of food follow.

Brian and I got full from the apps we ordered so we decided to just split a sandwich which they were nice enough to cut in half for us.

Everything was so good and the prices were great during happy hour. I highly recommend Moonshine Grill if you’re ever in downtown Austin.

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Wine Tasting at Texas Reds and Whites

Posted on April 14, 2019 by Ching under Things to Do, Travel.

I thought I would be able to catch the blog up over vacay but the wifi at the resort was super sketchy. They also limited our connection to two devices so, after connecting Brian’s phone and my phone, we couldn’t connect anymore devices. Sorry, grandma!

While toodling around in downtown Austin, Brian and I happened upon Texas Reds and Whites Tasting Room by the convention center.

Here are some pictures we took of the tasting room.

It was pretty quiet in there all afternoon. We met these two guys who were on a bachelor weekend with their friends. They were killing time before everyone was to meet up for their room escape activity. Before they left, the Asian guy on the left performed a cool card trick for us.

It’s funny how we are always making friends no matter where we are.

They had an extensive selection of wines you could drink by the glass. They had $10, $12, $15, and $18 a glass options.

These are all wines made by local Texas wineries.

There was a good but considerably smaller selection of wines available for the tasting. The cost is $20 and you could try three wines or five wines. Both options allow you to choose from the same list of wines. The key difference is that you get more wine in each glass if you only pick three of them to try.

We tried the following wines:

Reds listed dry to sweet

Lost Draw Tempranillo
Messina Hof Malbec
Thirsty Mule Sweet Red Merlot

Whites listed dry to sweet

Lost Draw Picpoul Blanc
Los Pinos Blanc du Bois

We hung out for a bit and even took a selfie with the lady who was helping us.

Oh, I also saw this sign they had which I thought was sound advice I had also had a glass of sangria (see pic of my sangria below). LOL.

Anyway, we were killing some time while waiting for the brewery next door to open so Brian could sample some beers as well. I would normally create a separate post but the brewery was neither serving food nor their own beer. They weren’t quite officially open yet. They’re targeting a May opening. So, in the meantime, they were only serving beer from other breweries which was kind of disappointing.

They also had some wine, cider, cold brew coffee, and a selection of other beverages. Nothing really appealed to me so I didn’t have any.

Since were already there, Brian enjoyed some beer.

I forget what he had but he seemed to like it.

Here’s a picture I took of the inside of the brewery. Eventually they will be fully open and serving food in addition to their own craft brews.

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Fun Evening Activities

Posted on April 7, 2019 by Ching under Travel.

These conferences usually have some fun evening networking events and activities after your full day of general and breakout sessions. The Oracle Customer Edge Conference and the Oracle Utilities Users Group Conference were no different.

During Customer Edge we got to enjoy a craft beer, tequila, and whiskey tasting. Not being much of a drinker, I only tasted the grapefruit cider at the beer tasting station. However, I did take a ton of pics!

There were three local brews that we had an opportunity to sample at the craft beer station. They had a couple of beers from Independence Brewing and a grapefruit cider from Austin Eastciders.

I don’t really like beer so the cider was the only thing I tasted and I liked it a lot. I found out from some friends that it’s actually available at some of our local liquor stores in Wichita, which is great news!

I wish Brian could have been there that night because he would have enjoyed tasting everything. They also had a cigar station that night where they had a someone rolling fresh cigars. I did have the foresight to get one for Brian to enjoy later in the week when he arrived.

The next evening they took us to the University of Texas Club where we got to hang out with the school mascot and cheerleaders and watch them perform some cheers.

We also got to take some photos with them at the end.

Here’s one of Michelle, Lois, Kelley, and Chad with Bevo, their mascot.

The next night was when we had the event at Austin’s iconic bar Maggie Mae’s. Michelle won a VIP package with a couple of band shirts, all access badge, meet and greet with the band, and a bunch of other goodies.

Here’s a pic of Michelle and Lois while we were waiting to board the bus to Maggie Mae’s. They looked like a couple of young groupies ready to party!

The ride to 6th Street was short and uneventful but Snowman went with us!

Here’s our group walking up to Maggie Mae’s.

Obligatory selfie.

The bar has a unique vibe so I snapped a few pics.

Everyone seemed to have a great time.

This year was my first time attending both conferences. Because I’d been at the mercy of the tight project schedules the last few years, I really haven’t been going on any of these. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to go this year. I had a blast!

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ATX Cocina

Posted on April 5, 2019 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.

On Monday night we had dinner with our PWC partners at ATX Cocina, a hip, modern Mexican restaurant in downtown Austin.

They had a set menu for our group and we dined family style so we got to same a little bit of everything.

Check out some of these food pics!

When I stepped away to use the restroom, I made the mistake of leaving my phone. Jackie and ended up taking a bunch of random pics. This is my favorite one because it’s a great pic of Lois, Susan, and Kelley.