2016: AUSTIN “SPREAD THE STOKE”
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DAY 1: BACK TO TEXAS
This year's festivities take place in one of the coolest towns in America--Austin, Texas. If you like good music, tasty BBQ and college football, then Austin is the town for you. Luckily, the Paloozians happen to like all those things.
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DAY 1: ARRIVING PALOOZIANS
Clem, Wreck, Smalls and Allie make their way out of the airport, ready for another weekend of Paloozian hijinks.
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DAY 1: HOTEL CHECK-IN
The first stop is the Hyatt Regency, where the boys drop off their bags and admire the cool interior atrium.
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DAY 1: TEX-MEX TIME
Then the Paloozians make their way to one of the best Mexican restaurants in town—La Fonda for dinner.
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DAY 1: BILL IS BACK
Despite rumors to the contrary, Bill is right back on that Paloozian saddle after his harrowing experience in 2015.
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DAY 1: MARGS FOR EVERYONE
The boys get things rolling with a refreshing round of margs.
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DAY 1: MILO IS ALWAYS UP ON DAY ONE
Milo does his best chupacabra impression at La Fonda.
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DAY 1: TASTY START
Ok, now that’s one awesome looking chilli relleno. And it tastes even better.
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DAY 1: LIVE MUSIC
The boys begin their weekend-long music journey at The White Horse in the warehouse district of Austin.
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DAY 2: SUNRISE IN AUSTIN
Day two begins early for Smalls and Wreck, who volunteer to get in line early for barbecued perfection at Franklin.
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DAY 2: FRANKLIN BARBECUE
Meet the best BBQ joint in the world...and it ain't even close.
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DAY 2: THE LINE AT FRANKLIN
Sean and Craig arrive around 8:30am to get in line behind a few hundred people who have already beaten them to the punch. And the place doesn’t even open until 11am!!
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DAY 2: TAKING ORDERS
Two hours before the line moves an inch, they begin taking orders to ensure that people don’t wait in line half the day only to discover they’ve run out of delicious smoked meats.
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DAY 2: THE LINE BEGINS TO MOVE
Allie, Milando and Smalls are getting excited as they finally begin to inch toward barbecued glory.
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DAY 2: FRANKLIN ART
It's true--this drunk octopus is looking to throw hooks.
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DAY 2: WOOD FOR THE SMOKERS
The base of Franklin doubles as storage for wood that’s used to get those delicious smokey flavors in the meat.
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DAY 2: SO CLOSE
Milo can't contain his excitement as the Paloozians are now within striking distance of the world’s finest brisket.
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DAY 2: WAIT A MINUTE
Even Al appears to be smiling as we near the feast.
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DAY 2: ARE WE THERE YET
Clem impatiently waiting to get inside as he takes a breather on the outdoor patio.
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DAY 2: MMMMMMMM
Franklin has plenty of BBQ sauces to choose from and every one of them is tasty.
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DAY 2: MEAT IS FLYING
The line continues to move and the boys are finally inside.
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DAY 2: SO CLOSE
The Paloozians are now just a few feet from the order counter where they will unload an insane amount of money after waiting four hours for lunch.
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DAY 2: LOADING UP
The staff starts grabbing and cutting meet faster than you can think. And before you know it, you’ve walked away with roughly 13 pounds worth of lunch.
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DAY 2: OH MY
But alas, the feast arrives and the boys are quite hungry.
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DAY 2: OVERHEAD VIEW
The meal at Franklin features just an insane amount of food that not a single Paloozian present will ever forget.
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DAY 2: DIG IN!
The boys as they prepare to partake in the single greatest Paloozian meal ever recorded.
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DAY 2: THE CAPITAL BUILDING
After their feast at Franklin, the boys waddle over to The Texas State Capital with its iconic lone star flying high in the warm October sun.
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DAY 2: CHECKING OUT THE ROTUNDA
The boys competing for pics of the amazing rotunda in the state capital building.
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DAY 2: LONE STAR
Boy, these Texans really can’t stop letting you know that they'd have no problem going solo.
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DAY 2: GOVERNOR W
You know things are really out of whack in Washington when you see a portrait of this goof and miss the “good old days.”
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DAY 2: LBJ LIBRARY
From there, the Paloozians walk over to the LBJ Library to check out the goings on of our foul-mouthed 36th President.
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DAY 2: THE ENTRANCE
The main entry way inside the library is pretty cool looking.
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DAY 2: THE OFFICIAL PENS
These are the pens that LBJ used to sign civil rights sign bills, authorize Vietnam war moves, and approve BBQ deliveries.
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DAY 2: LBJ LOVED BASEBALL
LBJ had a baseball that was signed by Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmy Foxx and none other than Frank “Lefty” O’Doul.
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DAY 2: LYNDON'S OVAL OFFICE
All the presidential library’s have these true to size replicas of the oval office during each president’s time. Apparently LBJ liked George Washington, smoking, and avocado green.
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DAY 2: CONGRESS BRIDGE BATS
That night, the boys walk over to watch a few million bats fly out from underneath Congress Bridge. It was awesome.
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DAY 2: BAT MANIA
The red lights draw in the bugs and that turns the entire area into a massive bat feeding frenzy. Pretty cool to see in person.
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DAY 2: SOME CRAFT BEERS
After the bat show, the boys wander over to the many bars on Rainey Street. First stop is Craft Pride for some beers.
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DAY 2: PLAYING DARTS
Here's our boy Allie Wallie taking masterful aim at the dart board. I guess he really is part Irish and part Apache.
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DAY 2: THE MAIN STRIP
Rainey Street is an area in Austin that is basically lined with restaurants, bars and little music clubs. There are probably 25 stages featuring live music along the main street.
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DAY 2: DESSERT
The Paloozians made a late night snack stop at Little Lucy Donuts to ensure they got their veggies in.
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DAY 2: GREAT TOWN FOR MUSIC
The boys stop at this club to have a cocktail and watch a band.
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DAY 2: GOOD NIGHT FROM AUSTIN
The boys squeeze in together for a group shot from Rainey St.
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DAY 3: SAN ANTONIO
Up bright and early the next day, the Paloozians head south to San Antonio. Their first stop is for a quick lunch on the Riverwalk.
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DAY 3: THE...UMMMMM
The Paloozians visited this fort, but none of us remember what it’s called.
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DAY 3: BATTLE SCENES
This model of the Battle of the Alamo Is pretty cool. People were huge back then.
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DAY 3: THE TEXAS PALOOZIANS
Another lovely group shot of smiling Paloozians, this time in front of The Alamo.
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DAY 3: BREWERY TIME
After a long, warm day of sight-seeing, it was time to hit a brewery before heading back to Austin.
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DAY 3: SOUTHERLEIGH BREWERY
The brewery building was originally Pearl’s Brewhouse, built in 1894 and at one time the largest in Texas. It was the only Texas brewery to survive prohibition.
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DAY 3: AL FIRES UP A HALF SMILE
Al is in his happy place (yes, this is “Ecstatic Al”), just moments before the fresh pint of craft beers arrive.
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DAY 3: I'LL TAKE A PUTIN'S REVENGE
Out of the blue, Clem wanders outside of the brewery, rips off his shirt and begins riding a horse. Sweet nips, Clemmie.
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DAY 3: BILL CHILLING
After Bill’s rocky 2015, he’s just happy to not be connected to an EKG as the boys roll past the mid-way point of the trip.
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DAY 3: BACK TO AUSTIN
The Paloozians travel back to Austin and check out another area dense with nightlife—Dirty Sixth. They start the evening at Easy Tiger Beer Garden for dinner and drinks.
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DAY 3: WHISKY SHACK
The highlight of Easy Tiger is the Whisky Shack they have on the back patio. They poured some solid Old Fashioneds.
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DAY 3: DIRTY SIXTH STROLL
Lined with dive bars, restaurants, food trucks, and lots and lots of live music, Dirty Sixth is noisy, rowdy and nocturnal.
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DAY 4: HICKORY SMOKED SATURDAY
Saturday gets rolling early as the Paloozians ramble over to Texas Memorial Stadium to get in some Longhorn tailgating.
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DAY 4: ARE YOU GUYS PALOOZIANS?
The Stillhouse Whisky Girls can’t believe they were in the presence of such greatness.
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DAY 4: CHEERS!
The Paloozians settle in at their reserved tailgate tent. Staying true to their roots, the boys get things rolling with some Coors Banquet Beers.
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DAY 4: BEVO BOY
Donning boots, 501s, a burnt orange shirt, cowboy hat and leather chaps, this guy is either going to be chasing around Longhorn mascot Bevo today or he’s on his way to Sean’s private after-game dance party.
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DAY 4: TAILGATE TACOS
Clem and Milando crush some pre-game tacos.
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DAY 4: UT TAILGATERS
Longhorns fans have a distinct uniform. Jeans, burnt orange top, trucker hat and photo of Matthew McConaughey in their wallet/purse.
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DAY 4: STADIUM WALK
Another solid tailgating session in the books, the Paloozians walk through campus to the game.
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DAY 4: GAME TIME!
The pre-game festivities and pageantry of college football are the best. There’s that lone star again.
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DAY 4: ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT
The guy holding the lone star flag in one of the suites is Matthew McConaughey, UT's biggest fan.
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DAY 4: HOOK 'EM HORNS
The Paloozians enjoying the back and forth action.
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DAY 4: TEXAS 35 - BAYLOR 34
Texas and Baylor battle back and forth all day but it is D’Onta Foreman’s 250 yards that lock in the win for the home team Longhorns.
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DAY 4: EVENING IN AUSTIN
The sun sets as the Paloozians leave the game.
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DAY 4: PASS THE MEAT
The Paloozians extending a tradition of steak dinners at Austin Land & Cattle.
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DAY 5: OFF TO HOUSTON
Clemmie heads home to Denver, while the rest of the Paloozians venture on to see the Lions and Texans play in Houston.
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DAY 5: BUSH TOSSES THE COIN
George H. W. Bush, in one of his final public appearances, is brought out to perform the game's opening coin toss for his hometown Texans.
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DAY 5: HOUSTON 20 - DETROIT 13
The Texans jump out to an early lead and then hold on for the win. That’s it for the 21st Palooza!
Inside Colopalooza: Sean Kahr