Eating and drinking in Austin...and, uh, researching. And whining.

I have been running circles around the Episcopalian archive, trying to get them to let me see their records. They ignored me for a good six weeks. They also refused to send me their finding aid. Now I find out that there is actually a gap in their records, right around the time period I'm interested in (or, in which I am interested, for the grammaticians out there). I really wish I had known that six weeks ago...But, I can't be too mad, because their web site tells me that 2/7 of their staff positions are vacant, and the guy I talked to on the phone was very nice. Such are the travails of research.

At UT, things have been okay. I found one diary of an army private from San Antonio who was slightly quirky. There were a few colorful entries, including one about how he and his buddies sneaked off their boat when it was moored in Havana harbor, to go explore the city. And he wrote an entry about how seasick he was, complete with a ---------------- in the middle, after which he wrote "I just fed the fishes." Good stuff. I like quirky documents.

Tomorrow I will probably go to the Texas State Archive (I wonder if it is bigger than the National Archive, just because it's in Texas--maybe I'll ask) to look at a few things. I have one more box at UT, but it's being delivered from offsite storage and won't be there until Thursday. Then, since the Episcopalians are unhelpful, I guess it will be on to St. Louis!

Oh, and today Stacy took me to Draught House, for a post-archival drink, and then we went with her parents to County Line, for some TX barbecue. SDLB says that to really get a feel for all there is to eat in Austin, you need to stay for a month. Clearly, she is right.