Burlesque Road Trip 2

Back in January I had the opportunity to partake in yet another burlesque road trip with burlesque beauty and bestie, Jolie Ampere Goodnight. While I was hoping to make a break into the burlesque and pin up industry before we left on our trip, I have to take a step back to make sure our ducks are in a row for our upcoming backpacking adventure.

This time around Jolie decided to take her parent’s Miata as our form of transportation up to Dallas/Ft. Worth. Her amazing parents are musicians that have been touring through Europe and the car needed a good drive to get it back into shape. We should have known how this trip was going to end up through our first of three incidents (remember, everything comes in threes!). We were initially supposed to leave town at noon but it was pushed back due to the car having a dead battery. Luckily for us it wasn’t the alternator and we were quickly on our way!

We arrived in Dallas gussied up in our vintage pin up glory just in time to grab a plate of yummy enchiladas and an extra large margarita before seeing some friends/colleagues perform at The Lakewood Theatre (coincidentally, the same place the previous show was at). We promptly headed out to Ft. Worth to stay at Jolie’s cousin’s house. This is when I came to the realization that I like Fort Worth much more than Dallas. They couldn’t be more opposite! Dallas is full of fast paced drivers trying to drive you off the road while Fort Worth has more of an Austin, laissez faire method of driving.

We spent the day preparing for Jolie’s upcoming performance that was going to be at a swanky little rockabilly bar called The Basement Bar in the Stockyards in Fort Worth.

You know how some neighborhoods are named willy nilly? That is what we thought The Stockyards was about until we took a wrong turn on a Saturday night to see handsome cowboys in full regalia walking into… WAIT, IS THAT AN ACTUAL STOCKYARDS?! IS THIS WHY PEOPLE THINK THAT EVERYONE IN TEXAS WEARS A COWBOY HAT AND RIDES HORSES?!

There is was, in all its glory – People unloading stock to sell on a Saturday night.

Well I’ll be damned.

Jolie’s show went off without a hitch. Not only had the ladies rocked the crowd but I was asked to dance by an older cowboy gentleman  in a button up Texas shirt. We two-stepped our way through the swing band that had the audience in a frenzy.

I had forgotten how spoiled I had become with non-smoking bars in Austin and for the first time in years came home smelling like I had quite the night. It was late that night when we were looking at the weather and realizing that it was supposed to snow that next afternoon.

Have you ever driven a Miata without snow tires in the snow? Not good.

So after a quick Sunday brunch with some of Jolie’s family members, we made our way to Austin. As we were pulling out of the driveway, Starbucks in hand, ready for the trip home, we heard it. Omen number two of our trip:

FLAPFLAPFLAPFLAPFLAPFLAPFLAP

Crap. Flat tire.

Luckily Jolie had AAA, and after a small scare thinking we had lost the rim keys (they were removed) we waited for the AAA guy.

And then it started snow. Big, fat flakes took over the sky. We don’t get snow in Austin so it is always a nice thing to see. Realizing the ridiculousness of our situation, we started singing and dancing in the car. Honestly, what can you do after that point but laugh?

An hour later the tire was changed and we slowly made our way to a tire shop. It turns out they didn’t have the tire we needed on hand but were able to find a tire that would work. That was when these amazing gentlemen went into the back and found us a pair of pristine, used tires that were the exact kind we needed. After the tires were placed on, the owner made us promise, in his Jordanian accent, to drive slowly and safely to Austin. He hated to see damsels in distress and we were eternally grateful.

We threw our suitcases back into the trunk.

Omen number 3:

The trunk refused to latch.

So there we were, two travel wary ladies, hauling ass down the highway, jamming to music with a pair of new tires and a trunk flapping in the wind and popping up over every bump.

It definitely was an interesting road trip.

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All pictures below were taken by me. Thank you ladies for being so amazing and giving me the opportunity to capture your performances.