Originally I’d planned to join other hikers/walkers from a Meetup group at the tail end of the Green belt. Then, out of nowhere, a filmmaker friend came along with the SXSW swell. Just so happen that the only mutual free time we had was the hours before my planned hike. Of course, I invited him along.
Since I didn’t want to be late for the hike, I messaged my out-of-town friend that I’d pick him up at 3 PM. Then I texted him that I was on my way. So, when I arrived and he announced, “Oh, I forgot you were coming,” in a hazy, post inebriation fog, I wasn’t the least bit surprised. I parked myself on his friend’s sofa as he got himself together, which required showering away the partying- until-6-AM funk.
Miraculously, he didn’t take as long as I thought and traffic wasn’t as heavy as I’d suspected. Even after stopping so he could get two bottles of water for the hike, we were still an hour early for the group hike. I made the executive decision to send a message to the organizer that I’d started an hour early with a friend. Then we descended into the Greenbelt.
Gravity pulled us down the loose gravel and jutting rock trail. After about 15 minutes, we heard the ambient sound of rushing water even though we couldn’t see a body of water yet. Once the sound became louder, we veered off to the right on a side path and came upon a small waterfall.
With my hiking Meetup group, we would’ve continued for two miles and trekked back two miles. Instead, I posed for a few pictures and we parked ourselves on a rock and just enjoyed nature and caught up for a while until I was ready for dinner. As I suspected, the walk back took twice as long although it’s always safer to walk uphill than downhill.
We came across the Meetup group who hadn’t descended yet and I greeted the organizer. He hadn’t read my message yet, but at least I was accounted for. We dashed down the street to my car and off to eat brisket and creamed corn.
Since barbecue varies with every region, even within Texas, my friend thoroughly enjoyed the brisket. For a change of pace, I’d also ordered spicy chopped barbecue since I’d never tried it in all the time I’d gone to that restaurant. That turned out to be his favorite.
Definitely time well spent since I hung out with him, hiked in a beautiful park, ate delicious barbecue and took home the leftovers!