Austintatious

One more state travelled since our last post. Nearly all 881 miles of I-10 across Texas. We chose Austin as a place to explore because of its motto (Keep Austin Weird) and because of its glowing reviews by Kimmie and other TX PCVs. (For those who don’t understand the lingo, that means Texas Peace Corps Volunteers) Really, we just wanted to see what the city was about. What we found was:

*UT campus, which is practically a city in itself. We really wanted to take a tour of the Tower, which is where Charles Whitman barricaded himself on the observation deck with a rifle for a 96-minute standoff that resulted in 14 people killed and the formation of S.W.A.T. teams. But unfortunately for us they only give tours on the weekends. We also toured the Harry Ransom Center, with it’s Tennessee Williams exhibit, one of five complete copies of the Gutenberg bible in the United States (and one of 48 surviving in the world), and the very first photograph ever taken. We also saw the massive football stadium.

*Shopping on

S. Congress Ave.

had its array of antique shops, boutiques, and alternative stores. Here we had lunch at Home Slice (a pizza joint) and enjoyed dessert - a nice strawberry cupcake - from Hey Cupcake! in the Trailer Park. This area is slightly similar to the Fall Festival where vendors sell their goodies out the sides of trailers, such as a 1967 Airstream.

*We wanted to visit Barton Spring which is a natural spring that stays 62 degrees year-round and is open to the public for swimming. The weather was slightly cloudy until late afternoon, at which point we just wanted to relax in a park under a shade tree. Therefore we chose the shade tree and relaxing combo over the swimming in the spring.

*For dinner, there was Matt’s World Famous El Rancho with its incredible Bob Armstrong queso (loaded with beef and guacamole).

*The largest urban bat colony in the world is not very spectacular in early spring. It is said that 750,000 bats flock to the S. Congress bridge every spring where they live all summer, while the pregnant mothers have their babies and teach them to fly. In late summer, such as the month of August, all 1.5 million bats are seen at dusk as they leave their home under the bridge to dine on insects. We didn’t get the dramatic swarm we were hoping for.

*As much as we would have liked to enjoy the Austin nightlife, these long days of walking for miles really wears us out. By 9 o’clock we are ready for beddy-bye (since Andy poopy-pants -his new nickname for when he’s grumpy- insists on waking up before the sun rises).

Our hosts in Austin, Aaron and Emily (friends of Kimmie) graciously allowed us to eat their food, wash our clothes, and play with their dog, Charlie. Thanks to them we had two less nights of sleeping in the car, eating cold sandwiches, no showering, and pooping on the side of the road. THANKS GUYS! J

 
 

Some thoughts: when leaving Texas….

It’s crazy/creepy/cool how the road disappears ahead of you. The mirage or the heat makes it just go away. I want Bill Nye or somebody to explain how that works to me.

In Indiana we don’t have road signs that say: CAUTION – STRONG CROSS WINDS. At times you literally had to fight the wind to stay on the road.

We did, however, like this sign: DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS - $1000 FINE FOR LITERING. Ha! Oh, Texas.

Also, the amount of rigor-mortis deer on the side of the road, like half intact, guts hanging out, feet all in the air, was incredible. At least ten. Granted we covered like 500 miles today, but it still seemed like a lot of dead deer.