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A Quest Achieved
In an idle moment, I find myself remembering a trivial experience.
In January of 2005, I found myself being sent on a business trip to Austin. It was not to be a leisurely trip with opportunities to explore — just three days of various meetings and presentations — so I wasn’t particularly excited about it. The possibility of getting some Texas barbecue was pretty much the only attraction.
But shortly before the trip, my wife happened to see a program on the Food Network about doughnuts. And this program asserted that the best doughnuts in the United States happened to come from a place called Round Rock Donuts in — of all places — Austin. This seemed like an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. At least, she implied that I couldn’t.
But could I actually swing it? Looking it up on Yahoo Maps, I determined that this place was not actually in Austin, but in Round Rock, a suburb to the north. And looking at my itinerary, it appeared that my only opportunity to make a side trip to Round Rock would be on the last day, during the time between the last meeting and my flight home. I printed out two sets of directions: one from the meeting venue and one from my hotel. (Consumer GPS devices were still relatively new, and I didn’t have one.)
I endured the three days of meetings. Well, two and a half: I decided that I could safely skip the afternoon sessions on that last day, which bought me a couple of hours. I snuck out to my rented Kia Rio and slipped away along Burnet Road. My first stop was lunch. I found my way to a nearby location of a barbecue place called County Line, so I was able to check that off my list, at least. But now it was time for the real challenge: Could I navigate to Round Rock Donuts, despite having never been in Austin before?
It is interesting to remember what this sort of expedition was like before we had GPS. I did not have directions from the restaurant to Round Rock Donuts, but by consulting the two sets of directions that I did have, I figured out where things were relative to each other and what I needed to do: I needed to head north on a road curiously named the MoPac Expressway, which would take me to I-35 and thence to Round Rock. (I learned later — actually, today — that the MoPac Expressway is so named because it was built alongside the Missouri Pacific Railroad.)
I had a brief crisis of confidence when I failed to find the expressway where I expected to, instead finding a highway known as Loop 1. But soon I deduced that the two were one and the same, so I headed north. Then I came to an area of heavy construction, and nothing matched my directions anymore. Apparently they were building some major new turnpike, and despite the beliefs advanced by Yahoo Maps, Loop 1 did not seem to lead where I expected.
I was out of my reckoning, but I wasn’t actually lost: I’d studied my maps enough that I knew I had to run into I-35 eventually if I just kept going. Sure enough, I eventually found it, and not long after that I took the exit that led me to downtown Round Rock. The doughnut shop was right where it was supposed to be, and after I parked the Kia, I walked across the parking lot feeling like a pilgrim arriving at a holy shrine.
The lady at the counter was busy helping another customer, but eventually a man who had been outside sweeping the front porch came in and asked me if I’d been helped. I told him no, and because I was so excited to be there, I told him my story: I was from North Carolina, I said, and my wife had seen something on the Food Network, and I had instructions to bring some doughnuts home. Yes, I had traveled a thousand miles for doughnuts! Among other things.
I ordered thirteen doughnuts: a dozen sealed up in a box for the trip home, plus one to eat right away. After disappearing for a few minutes to assemble my order, the man returned and handed me the doughnuts: “And we’ll treat you,” he said.
I’ll admit, I had considered the possibility that he might be so moved by my story that he’d throw in the thirteenth doughnut for free, but I never for a moment expected him to give me the entire order for nothing. Rather stunned, I thanked him inadequately and promised that we would be back the next time we were in town.
Getting the doughnuts home without getting them squashed was another challenge, but they made it home in edible condition. And they were good, as advertised.
Why do I so vividly remember that afternoon, when I don’t remember anything at all about the two and a half days of meetings that preceded it? Sitting in a room listening to people tell you stuff just can’t compare to the experience of taking on a challenge — even a trivial one — and successfully completing it. Would I remember that experience so clearly if I had had a GPS-enabled smartphone and Google Maps? I doubt it. I would have driven to Round Rock passively, with no understanding of where I was or where I was going. It wouldn’t have felt like a small adventure.
And it helped that the reward at the end was so unexpected and so appreciated. The fact that the doughnuts were a gift made a much bigger impression on me than the quality of the doughnuts themselves. And they were made even sweeter by the fact that I had to work for them a little bit.
Published in General
Thanks for sharing it.
I’m such a Neanderthal, I still don’t have GPS or a “smart” phone. I have many such adventures.
That’s a pretty nice memory. You know, don’t you, that you hit the mother ship of BBQ when you stopped at County Line? I’m not a donut fan, but remember plenty of stops at County Line of a Saturday afternoon when spending the weekend somewhere in or around Austin. Sausage, ribs, Mac n cheese. Beer even tasted good there. And it’s on Bee Cave Road. How can you beat it? A very nice memory – yours and mine.
For me, the gold standard is Bodacious Bar-B-Q in Longview. My dad’s family was from East Texas, so I have childhood memories of smoked brisket sandwiches from Bodacious. But when I found out I would be going to Austin, I googled to find out what my best option would be, and County Line was at the top of the list. It was great, and what a beautiful location right on the lake.
A favorite uncle taught history at SFAustin his whole career (beginning right after WWII, without an in person interview and arriving sight unseen from Madison, WI) and we were married in Nagodoches. His dissertation and early research was on the East TX wood industry as I recall. I had many a nice weekend with them when I lived in Houston. So many great TX memories. Thank you!
It’s a Texas welcome. May not be the friendliest state in the Union, but it’s close.
Coordinates or it didn’t happen!
30.509739111805473, -97.68001197529743
Great story, BXO!
But now I’m hungry.
For BBQ, or donuts, or both?
Is this pure coincidence, Bartholomew, or did you post this today because the first Friday of June is National Donut Day?
Why would You say that?
Who are friendlier than TEXANS?
I had no idea! What a missed opportunity. That would have been a good way to excuse such a pointless story.
I’ve got a cousin who is a dean at SFA. Most of my dad’s family was in Tyler, with one brother in Longview. I’ve never lived in Texas, but I’ve always felt at home when I’ve visited there. It’s in my blood, I guess.
Welcome to Flyover Country (except the big cities)!
Carolina Bar-B-Que in New Ellenton, SC is the best for me. Bobby’s Bar-B-Q Buffet in Warrenville, SC is a close second. The best BBQ ribs I ever ate were from the non-defunct KC Masterpiece Restaurant in downtown Kansas City . . .
Excellent
I used to visit my daughter frequently in Killeen (Fort Hood) during her army days. Austin wasn’t too far to the south. We would go there to hang out and listen to some bands on 6’th street. There is good BBQ everywhere around there. My favorite was at this little family owned farm in Killeen that had the best.
I love food adventure stories with a happy ending!
My long-distance food hunt to find an amazing confection of childhood memory was in my grandmother’s village in England. It ended with our finding that the whole village center had been replaced with a Tesco supermarket. It looked as if it had been deposited randomly by an alien space ship. Every road we tried , including the high street where I had expected to find the bakery, dead-ended at the perimeter of the parking lot.
NOT a “trivial experience.” Finding your way around in such a manner was/is an accomplishment worth remembering.
I remember a number of experiences when my mother and I explored Great Britain in the 1970s in which finding a goal involved a lot more dead reckoning and looking for tall landmarks than it did trying to understand road maps.
[As the joke goes, our ancestors found their way across oceans and continents without the benefit of even rudimentary maps, and even with GPS I miss my exit.]
Well, that’s a whole other conversation, if we’re going to start talking about South Carolina or Kansas City barbecue. Not to mention North Carolina barbecue, which is what we have around here. I don’t get into arguments about which is better, because I regard them all as different things entirely, and I like them all!
I think there must be several “National Donut Days” throughout the year. It seems every few months one or another of our local donut shops is promoting a “National Donut Day.” (-:
I am not one to oppose progress, but that’s just sad.
I do try to celebrate National Cream-Filled Donut Day (September 14) every year. Specifically, vanilla cream-filled, with shredded coconut on top.
Why we now live in Texas! (-:
Our son’s first posting as an officer in the U.S. Air Force was San Antonio, Texas (2010). After he had been there for a bit he insisted that, as I was preparing to retire from corporate employment, we consider moving to Texas, because the people in Texas were so friendly.
Among his examples was his experience in the first town he stopped in upon entering Texas as he drove from New York to San Antonio. The alternator on his ancient Subaru was failing, so he stopped at an auto parts store to buy a replacement. As he was replacing the alternator in the parts store parking lot, several locals volunteered to help, and pointed out there was a festival going on in the town center where he could get some good food. When he got to the festival, more locals offered to let him stay in their houses, and to stay not only overnight, but for the whole weekend, and to come to church with them.
After we did move here (2018), I quickly learned that I really had to up my politeness game if I were going to fit in. People held doors for each other (men, women, didn’t matter). The driver of a slow car moved to the shoulder so faster cars could pass. A stranger at a crowded gas station helped me get lined up with one of the few open gas pumps.
I thought Sundays were a day of donut obligation, when donuts must be consumed.
I’ve long been amused that the major independent donut shop in our daughter and son-in-law’s town is closed to the public on Sundays because their entire capacity is consumed by the churches in town. Donuts are certainly a big deal at our church on Sunday mornings.
But that’s not the only reason it might happen.
I held onto my flip phone a lot longer than most. I am on my second one now. You are indeed in Neanderthal.😆
look up Jack’s stack barbecue in KC. They’ll mail you something that you won’t believe. Anything on their menu is great. Their pork spareribs are outstanding. Brisket is delicious. And if you really want to splurge, throw in a crown beef rib.
We had a Ricochet Meetup dinner there! It was delicious.
TG, Hank Rhody, and Matt Balzer at Jack Stack