After receiving a call on short notice, I was assigned a flight back to Austin, Texas. We arrived around 1pm, so I had the rest of the afternoon. This time I had my running shoes, so I went for a run along the trails next to the Colorado River. Despite some rather strong winds, it was a very enjoyable excursion, but naturally I did not have my camera. I did learn something from that van ride in, however. The Frost Building pictured here is modeled like an owl. Don't see it? I didn't either at first. But if you imagine that the two circles toward the top of the building are eyes and the corner is the beak, you can sort of . . . see it . . . if you try real hard. And now you know. For dinner, I went to Gus's Fried Chicken, the same chain I visited in Little Rock. The atmosphere of the one in Little Rock was superior, as was the quality of the chicken. Austin overcooked theirs a bit. I should have known. This is beef country. Whereas I had an easy day in Austin that entailed a mere 26 minute flight from Houston, the following day would be a bit more challenging starting with my alarm going off at 3:50am.
After flying the return leg to Houston, I took us down to Mexico City, which is historically one of the most challenging airports for any number of reasons. This time, the GPS did not lose signal and the controllers didn't throw any abnormal procedures at us at last minute. In fact, it was a fairly pleasant experience. The weather was uncharacteristically clear and smog-free. I could actually see the airport as I banked away from the mountains and lined up with the runway from 7 miles away.
