Back in ATX, Dei gratia, and New Year's

We returned home from SNA on the evening of the 29th after having spent the morning sleeping in and heading out to Laguna Beach. Laguna is a special place for Lauren and I, it’s the first beach she ever took me to in her home-area and returning to that spot always feels like a ritual: we re-enact our walk, see the same immutable motley of beach-side attractions and linger across the sands with the roar of the Pacific to our right.

It was a slightly cloudy day and, thanks to the winds, it stayed a good bit cooler than we would generally like, but a cold day by the beach beats a bad day just about anywhere.

We also had a chance to take part in one of our most favorite guilty Californian pleasures: Carl’s Junior. We are both great fans of the Western Bacon Cheeseburger.

Owing to the early evening departure, we wound up getting back to a chilly Austin at about 10 in the evening after a very speedy (thank you, American Airlines!) flight that clocked just over 2 hours traveling time. After claiming bags and car, we headed for a late night breakfast taco at Whataburger and arrived home about midnight and promptly crashed out.

( I must be hungry as I’m writing this…)

Since that time it’s been more time recovering from my cold, a day of work, some movies, unpacking, and washing.

I’ve also been working on understanding an issue that’s bitten several people with respect to Rails Scaffolding, that lengthy post will appear shortly. I figure I could share my diagnostics and thought processes with other baffled Googlers.

Last night, however, was a wonderful NYE. We went to Ararat Rising New Years Eve which we found, yet again, by do512.

On the way south we stopped by the fine Spec’s and picked up a bottle of Veuve Cliquot and some ice for among the many appellations appropriate to this event, ‘unlicensed’ was also a fitting attribute.

As we had so utterly procrastinated, we were unable to get dinner tickets for the Ararat event and were invited to come back at 10:30 for the dancing / toast event. For the 2nd year in a row, we punted and wound up having a wonderful dinner for two at Hyde Park Bar and Grill South.

It was great to have a quiet, connected dinner between just the two of us: it almost made you think you were out of the holiday season as there was no talk of travel, presents, family, trees, decorations, etc. It was almost like re-discovering one another yet again.

Thereafter we returned to the Mercury Hall to see a belly dancing performance based on “The 4 Elements”.

Thereafter we retired to the outdoors to watch the astounding Sangre del Sol group perform an arresting and exothermic display.

The dancing ended in time for champagne and wishing a happy 2008 and with this dancing and merriment was underway. It was a highlight to pop the VC and share it with some fine folks we met during the evening’s processions. We decided to head out before the clock tolled two and made it home without any surprises.