Mini-tour recap and upcoming coffee reviews

The mini tour in Texas (see June 21 blog post for details) went very well on several fronts: positive gigs, finding exceptionally good coffee roasters, checking out some great (and one not so great) skatepark, and most importantly - being around some amazing and beautiful people!   So, I'll start by talking about the first stop of the tour: Denton.

We started our series of gigs on Friday night at Killer's Tacos - which was about to be sold off and turned into a different venue.  Killer's vegetarian menu was pretty outstanding -- and I should know because I ordered four of their vegetarian tacos! I thought the sound system was really good and the vibe pretty chill. I've been told that when the place re-opens later this year, the vibe will still be the same.

Saturday morning, I checked out two coffee places and both were beyond amazing.

[NOTE: Photo of my coffee haul at the bottom of this post. I'll post extensively about the coffee roasters I visited in an upcoming post.  There's a lot to discuss!]

After coffee, I went to my first skate stop: Roanoke Skatepark.  I had been to Roanoke before (see post on March 31) and wanted to check it out using my new-ish Texican deck.  You know, I need to write about the Texican deck and the main man before the craft, Frank Gardner.  Again, I'll put a pin in that statement for a future post.

Watauga Skatepark

As last time, Roanoke was super fun, although I didn't go into the bowl this time as it was busy with other skaters.  Still a first class park and very well maintained.

Next park was the Watauga Skatepark.  It's a small park (see photo) but perfect for a beginner / intermediate level skater.  The small covered bench area was highly appreciated as the temperatures was reaching close to 95!

After that, I drove from Fort Worth to Waco and checked out the Sul Ross Skatepark.  Oh man, this place was my favorite of the three this day - mainly because of the long pool feature.  Super clean park with lots of subtle ebbs in the concrete that makes riding a blast.  I wish I could have spent a lot more time here but (a) it was almost 100 degrees outside and (b) I kinda really needed to get back on the road to Austin for a gig that night.  But man, I can't wait to find an excuse to go back there.

My weapon of choice: an IYV 300 Guitar

The gig in Austin was at a house called Arnold House... because it's on Arnold Street.  House shows can be loads of fun, but a major challenge for me as I need a serious PA system to help push the drum machine at level with the guitar.  

Luckily, I have known the people in Shipwrecked and Self-Checkout Renaissance and I asked if one of their members could play an impromptu minute set with me.  

Josh from Self-Checkout got volunteered to play drums for my set and we played a cracking 30 minute impromptu kraut rock set.  I was super pleased with how it turned out and so was everyone else... who thought it was my normal set!

Sunday morning - got up and out to pick up a bag of beans at Greater Goods... but... I saw a review for a place called Progress Roasters that was on my route to Greater Goods and... well... I had to check it out.

Progress Coffee Roasters is located near downtown Austin, just off the highway.  It doesn't have a great view, but man oh man, what a great coffee place!  I ordered a cup of standard black - which was a Central American blend.  Normally, that's not my thing, but it was well done and flavorful.  I picked up a bag of their Ethiopian and hit the road again for Greater Goods.

Now, in my post from February 14th, I made note about a coffee I enjoyed at the Bernie Bean.  Bernie Bean featured a re-branded coffee from Greater Goods as THEIR coffee... but after a little digging, found out that their coffee was sourced at Greater Goods and the coffee I fell in love with was a Costa Rican bean.

Arnold House  (Austin, TX)

So, as you can imagine, part of my objective for this tour was to make a stop at Greater Goods and pick up a bag of this incredible batch.

And now... with treasures of coffee beans safely tucked away in the car, I sped off to find the next series of skateparks.

My first skatepark of the day was at Mueller Skatepark. I noted that while Google Maps notes the park as Gaylord Sackler Memorial Park, all the signs at the park say Mueller Park.  Apparently - the park has both names officially.  But... what's most important was how nice this park is.  AND, it has a pump track!  I really had a blast at this park, even though it was freakishly hot.

My next stop was at the Jackson Tyler Norris Memorial Skatepark (see photo below).  I loved this park too!  Nice ramps, clean and well maintained, and so much fun.  I thoroughly enjoyed this park and was disappointed when I couldn't spend more time there due to being super hot and tired.

So, with a couple of bottles of fresh, cold water in the car, I drove off to Houston... but had a note to stop in Sealey as I wanted to see their park next.

Jackson Tyler Norris Memorial Skatepark
& my Texican deck

However, I knew there was a park or two on my way to Houston -- specially at a place called power plant skatepark.  More specifically, the Smithville Powerplant Skate Park.

Once I arrived, I was intrigued as it looked kind of small, but well used.  However, once I got wheels on the ground, it was apparent that the park suffered from a lack of maintenance.  The graffiti didn't bother me at all, it was the crumbling concrete and dirt build up all around.  If you click on the link to the park - you'll see photos of how it looked when it opened.  But today, it's a sad and neglected.  I hope the city / parks board does something to give the skatepark a little love.

So, I didn't spend much time at all at the Smithville Powerplant Skatepark and was back on the road to Sealy, Texas.  That park was diametrically the opposite of Smithville!

Both are small, but Sealy's skatepark is very clean, well-maintained, and great for beginners.  Smithville looked rough around the edges, but expert skaters might enjoy the challenge of the place.

I enjoyed the Sealy skatepark a lot... mainly because I could skate it without getting stopped by rocks / broken bits of pavement.  Nice but also nothing special.  If you're traveling near Sealy, Texas and you have your deck... give it a spin!

Anyway, I made it to Houston and got to the venue just in time to get set up and soundcheck for the set.  The gig went well, but it was super sad to note that it was Shipwrecked's last gig for a long time as their drummer is moving to (ugh) Santa Monica.  :D

All in all, a great three day trip with friends, coffee, and lots of skateboarding... and almost dying from heat exhaustion!!! 

Self-Checkout Renaissance (Houston gig)

Shipwrecked (Houston gig)

Look at all that roasted bean goodness!!!