It’s been seven days since my husband and I spent the day with Chris Lengquist and we’re having withdrawals!  If you haven’t met Chris yet, he’s a really fun guy to hang out with- he has a great sense of humor, amazing grasp on investing and is one of the most humble people I know.  So, I want to tell you how our day went 7 short days ago and I doubt the order is right (I’m a little scattered right now):

First, I met Chris in the Hilton lobby (knew it had to be him- his head shined from across the room and he’s dang proud of it) chatting up some brunette who was probably also a KW Mega Camper.  He hopped in the car and quickly announced that he’d walked most of the downtown district.  Sweet- we could zip through and just tell him what the heck he had been looking at.  

I have to take a detour to let you know that if you think you know what pride is, you’re wrong (unless you’ve met an Austinite).  If you think Texans are irritating about our state pride, just wait until you ask an Austinite to take you for a tour of the greatest city on the planet… our heads barely fit inside a car!

We drove through downtown Austin and had to show him all of the new condo developments, the bar and club streets, have a beer at the college hangout Spider House, and then immediately headed out to the Hill Country.  We went to the city overlook and Chris took pictures (I’m hoping he’ll post them on his site- they were probably great).  We learned that Chris used to be a private investigator, has been a pro photographer, prefers gross dark beer and loves live music, college towns and urban life (a lot).

After the scenic overlook, we went to the 360 bridge, Mount Bonnell and the hills of 2222 (where Chris was sad that he didn’t have his trusty Mini Cooper to wind the curves in) and eventually landed at Hula Hut for some Tex Mex with Hawaiian influences.  Chris had some beer that wasn’t dark (despite his insistence that he’ll down a grody Guinness), my husband had a Shiner and I had a Corona because that’s not a sissy beer and you can put a lime in it.  We clicked really well and spent time on the pier admiring multi-million dollar lakefront estates from the comfort of our padded chairs.

Of course we had to drive to the new Domain, a luxury multi-use development which Chris wasn’t nearly as impressed with as he should have been- I mean we have a real Louis Vouitton, Tiffany & Co., Bailey Banks & Biddle (say hi to Matt when you visit), and Ruehl.  Anyhow it was dark and the 2nd to 5th floor condos above luxury shopping didn’t look as sexy as they do in the daytime (but there were attractive residents working out in the glassfront gym, so it wasn’t a total loss).

We rounded our way out to the Arboretum to check out the scenic view, the marble cows (that Chris was a good sport about riding while being photographed), and dark chocolate ice cream at Amy’s.  By then it was muy late, so we decided to call it a night and took Chris back to his fancy hotel.  I’m surprised that he hasn’t moved here yet (well, I’m surprised when ANYONE visits and doesn’t move), but we look forward to years of friendship with him.  It’s amazing how many “side effects” (as I prefer to call them) to blogging exist.  It’s not just connecting with clients but with other industry professionals. 

So, I challenge you to meet a fellow blogger this month.  Whether in your own city or the city you’re taking your last minute vacation in.  If you can’t do lunch, pick up the phone when you’re waiting in traffic- branch out!!!  And thanks Chris for a fun time- come back anytime!