Austin is weird.

I'll start with saying how much I LOVE going to Austin. It's really one of my favorite cities, probably because it reminds me a lot of Seattle (minus the rain). It's very laid back, fun music scene, very "earthy" and lots of weird people/things.

Last week I was in Austin teaching a class and had the chance to hang out a little on 6th Street after work one night with my friend Blake.

We weren't out for long, but during the time we had dinner and drinks (and Tiffwiches), we saw the most RANDOM things/people that I was speechless for most of the night.

We had dinner at Paradise Cafe--- enjoying some chips and queso when Blake said "Did you just see the lizard guy walk by?" Lizard guy? Yes, he said lizard guy. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), I didn't see him. But Blake pulled up a picture of him on his iphone... apparently he's famous... famous because he's like a human lizard-- complete with the imbedded beads in his forehead, split tongue, shaved teeth and tattoos all over his body that look like scales. Here he is:

A few minutes later, I see this interesting guy walk up to the bar and sit there for a minute. After getting a better glimpse of his "outfit" I asked Blake what was going on. This guy was sitting pretty close to me so Blake said "I'll tell you about him later." My curiosity was piqued and I kept looking at the guy, so Blake (probably annoyed/embarrassed with me) pulls up another picture on his iphone... apparently this guy is famous too. His name is Leslie. If you google "Leslie Austin" you'll find him.... Here's what you might find:

During the whole Leslie ordeal, Blake said "I swear I just saw a dog walk by with a cat on it's back." Normally, I would probably think anyone who said that was on some pretty strong drugs, but given the circumstances and our already interesting night, I would've believed anything. I turned my chair around at this point because I didn't want to miss anything else that would've walked by. A couple minutes later I saw a bunch of people gathered around taking a picture of something on the other side of the building... One of the beer delivery guys stopped to take a picture and I just figured "ahhh.... probably nothing." Finally when more people continued to gather around for pictures, I grabbed my camera and walked outside to see what was going on.... I'm so glad I had my camera with me:

Then it was time to drive to Tiff's Treats for a Tiffwich.... which, by the way, is quite possibly the best thing ever. Two fresh/warm (better than Otis Spunkmeyer) chocolate chip cookies, with Blue Bell ice cream in the middle. THE perfect way to round off an hour of craziness on 6th Street.

As we were driving back, I saw someone on a bike and did a double-take. I said to Blake, "Is that a girl in a bikini on her bike?" We got closer to the bike, and realized that, no, it was not a girl on her bike in a bikini..... it was a MAN, shirtless, wearing nothing but a g-string. It was terrible. Sorry folks, no picture of this one.... even though I did try. You can thank the weird flash on my phone for that. :)