Mindy and I just got back from Texas. The main point of the trip was to attend a personal finance creator conference (FinCon), but we flew out a little early and went to the beach.
I don’t like to sit still. On a typical day, I get about 20,000 steps in, leaving the house multiple times for random walks and excursions.
I also like to get out of town. Longmont is lovely, but it’s nice to see old friends in other parts of the world. For this trip, I booked an Airbnb near the ocean and invited old friends to stay with us.
Port Aransas
I had never been to the Texas Coast and multiple people warned me when I told them about my intentions to go there:
The beaches suck.
The water is murky.
Hurricane season!
The beaches suck: I thought that they were great! A beach is a beach. Life is great and it’s a little bit better when you get to hang out near a big body of water.
The water is murky: This turned out to be true, but so what. See the previous point.
Hurricane season!: I’m a dope for not researching this one. It was a close call as hurricane Nicholas made landfall shortly before we arrived. However, Nick was a hurricane underachiever and quickly turned into a tropical storm and died out. Close call!
Our first stop in Port A was to stock up on “provisions”:
Mindy and I took long walks every morning:
Frugalsaurus and Spendosaurus loved hanging out at the beach:
We hung with the wildlife:
I’m a sucker for a good sunrise:
I hope to see you again soon Texas Coast!
Austin
The last time I was in Austin was 20 years ago. This. Place. Has. Changed.
Skyscrapers.
Big Tech.
Autonomous cars (Argo AI).
And hipsters.
5am Joel and How To Money Matt share a tender moment:
Yes, it lived up to the hype:
Another early morning walk:
FinCon
And then there was FinCon. The conference was sedate this year with many choosing to stay home because of COVID.
Mindy and I were cautious, staying outside as much as we could and masking up. For an extra layer of protection, I taped a flamingo to my head:
What’s up with that dude with a flamingo on his head? He’s probably unstable! Let’s keep our distance.
Amberly, Diania, and Doug hanging out:
And I actually got some work done:
Jillian Johnsrud gave a pretty great talk (check out her new book):
Tesla Gigafactory
Tesla’s Austin factory was supposed to be producing cars already. When I planned this trip over one year ago, my plan was to fly to Austin, take delivery of a new Model Y, and drive it back home. I neglected to account for the fact that the Gigafactory timeline was on Elon Musk time. If Musk says “July 2020”, it actually means sometime in 2022. Maybe 2023. Musk usually gets the job done, just not on time.
Maybe in 2022, I’ll fly back to Austin and take delivery of a white Model Y with a structural 4680 battery pack. Maybe not. Until then, I get to keep an extra $50,000 in my bank account.
Friends
The best part of these trips is seeing old friends. Even us introverts suffered in COVID times, so it was good to venture back out into the world, if only for a brief amount of time.
More 1500 Days!!!
You can also find me (and the dinosaurs) at:
Mile High FI podcast:
Also here:
- EconoMe: Hey look, I’m speaking at EconoMe later this year!
- Facebook: Facebook group and page
- YouTube: My channel is mostly devoted to home improvement, but I have some other material coming up soon too.
- Instagram: Pretty pictures of dinosaurs, sunsets, and nail guns!
- Twitter: Spontaneous, often insane, ramblings
- Coworking space: On the surface, MMM HQ is a coworking space. Look a little deeper and you’ll see that we’re really building community. The members of MMM HQ are some of the finest people I know.
Other resources I like:
- Camp FIs are amazingly fun! I hope to attend Rocky Mountain and Joshua Tree this year. See you there?
- Need to learn how to invest? The Simple Path to Wealth is all you need.
- New to FIRE? Need some FIREy guidance? Check out Fiology and the accompanying workbook!
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No matter what you write you always inspire me to be a better person, thank you.
That’s a very kind comment and I’m not worthy, but thank you!
Going forward, I believe we should all stop booking conferences and trips in Texas, as our Country moves closer to the Republic of Gilead. The only way politicians listen is when businesses suffer, and Texas businesses need to be made aware that draconian voting laws and a 6 week abortion ban are unacceptable in modern society.
Wow great trip to Texas, I have heard that “Elon Musk time” comment a few times. When are the Cyber trucks coming?
20K steps a day is impressive. I got to up my game. You are making my 10K steps per day look like I am slacking.
The first Cybertruck probably won’t be produced until 2023 with volume production in 2024. Sigh…
We enjoyed Port Aransas since it was one of the closest beaches when we lived in San Antonio. We were closer to the beach in California, but the Pacific Ocean was a shock to the system after the warm Gulf of Mexico. It’s always fun to see cameos from Uk Chautauqua speakers and attendees!
Yeah, the gulf is like a hot tub compared to the Pacific!
You’ll see many more cameos in Ohio!
I don’t know that I’ve ever commented, but I always read! I lived in Texas for 8 years and went to Port A several times. Even spent a Christmas there, which included the first snow that Port A had seen in… 2004? Being from Chicago, it was a lot of fun to experience. Port A isn’t the Caribbean but it’s a nice beach town and I’m glad you gave it a try!
Hi Kate and thanks for reading!
Port A is pretty great and I’d definitely go back! Snow there would be awesome!
I’m from Chicago (and Chicagoland) as well. I’ve lived in Palatine, Hoffman Estates, Oak Park, and the Uptown neighborhood of the big city. Deep dish pizza… Mmmmm… I’d give big money for a Pequod’s pizza right now!
Looks like y’all really did make the best of it! Great to see. I’ve also never partaken in TX’s beach scene but those morning walks seem like they fit you two well.
The flamingo strategy probably paid dividends—folks either avoid you OR they know in advance that you’re just slightly crazy. Win-win!
Glad you made the best of it, and I’m looking forward to catch up on those Mile High FI podcasts—especially anything with J.D.!
Chris@TTL recently posted…What’s Your “Why”? (And the Point of FI)