Austin was pretty cool. While I had to work all week I flew in early Sunday morning so see as much of the sights as I could. Here’s what I was able to hit:

Capitol Build – Yep, that a big building alright. Lots of empty halls though. I kind of whish they would have had some museum trinkets around but I guess that’s OK since it really isn’t a museum.

Long horn statues – Looks like they took a clue from Chicago, or Chicago took a clue from them. On about every corner there was a painted long horn. Kind of cool.

Topless Hippie Chicks – While taking a picture of a longhorn status I looked right next to it and there was a group holding signs and protesting something. I then looked closer and the signs said stuff like ”Brest’s are for the family.” Then I noticed an older hippie chick with no top on. I guess Austin is a bit more liberal than the rest of Texas. Too bad they weren’t super models protesting. I might have stopped then.

I then went down Congress Ave. and walked around the “hip” shops. I got the kid a wizard hat from the “Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds” costume shop. Seems like a lot of them just sold high priced old farm items you could find at any country flea market. I was amazed at the prices. Must not be a recession in Austin.

Town Lake - Your right, while every river is dried up and all the grass is dead the river/lake was full. The stand up kayaks were kind of neat. Not something I would want to try unless the water was deep.

Hill country – Those are hills??? Well I guess in Texas they are. I finally saw a real Road Runner after years of watching the cartoon. It was actually on the road too. I stopped at a marina somewhere by Marble Falls and took a look at the almost gone river. One of the boat ramps was now a 60 foot drop off to the rocks below. All the floating boat storage rafts were huddled in the middle of the river. It looks like the water level was down at least 70 feet or so.

Barbeque in a gas station – My boss took me to a gas station that was also apparently famous for its barbeque. I can’t remember the name but it was good. They gave you a bole of barbeque and some bread and you made your own. I got the spicy but I was surprised that it really was not that hot. I thought Texas was known for its hot food.

Looks like I’ll probably be going back in a few months. Hopefully when it’s no longer in the 100’s during the day. It was 107 went I flew out. I have never been in that hot of weather in my life.

Thanks again for the suggestions