After dropping Ariel off at the airport I tried to get to the Tabasco factory but they were closed. The plant and the ecological preserve on Avery Island seemed well worth a stop so I'll add it the the massive list of things to see for next time I'm crossing the country. I continued through Louisiana and into Texas where, given my strong aversion to setting up a tent in the dark that night, I found a rest area outside of Houston and hunkered down in the car. You can imagine it's not the most comfortable sleep to be in the passenger seat of a vehicle on a balmy Texas night so I woke up a few times throughout the night. Each time I was surprised how many people were either resting as well or had stopped for a bathroom break. Families and and all sorts of people were busy at 1 am, 3 am, and 7 am when I got started and left for Austin.
Austin turned out to be the fun city it's advertised as. I met my sister's friend Natalia for lunch when I got in town and she recommended Barton Springs so after some food I checked it out, hoping to beat the heat. The $3 entrance fee was well worth it and I enjoyed swimming and wading in the cool water of the springs that have been corralled into a nice public pool. People were doing flips off the diving board and laughing, all around it was a great time. I then drove over to Natalia's and showered before heading back out to explore the town. We met up again for pizza and some local brews and she gave me a few directions to wander such as Sixth Street which is the main attraction and it has a few different elements. There are sports bars and live music clubs and venues near the downtown, and then some hipster bars and interesting eateries on the east side of the interstate. It was still a little early in the night so most music hadn't gotten started so I pretty much just wandered.
After doing a little Facebook browsing I found out that Al from NOLA was having a "hurrication" here in Austin with a couple of her friends to avoid Hurricane Isaac which was supposed to touch down that night. I sent her a message and the four of us met up at a bar with a couple others. It was nice to see a couple familiar faces since my hostess for the evening was busy in band practice, and we had a couple beers and chatted.
Later on in the night the music picked up and I was pretty thrilled with the overall scene. It's called the "Live Music Capital of the World" and I can now see why. I'm not sure I could live in Austin for the lack of recreation outside the city and the stifling heat, but it sure was fun to spend some time in such a vibrant night scene.
Austin turned out to be the fun city it's advertised as. I met my sister's friend Natalia for lunch when I got in town and she recommended Barton Springs so after some food I checked it out, hoping to beat the heat. The $3 entrance fee was well worth it and I enjoyed swimming and wading in the cool water of the springs that have been corralled into a nice public pool. People were doing flips off the diving board and laughing, all around it was a great time. I then drove over to Natalia's and showered before heading back out to explore the town. We met up again for pizza and some local brews and she gave me a few directions to wander such as Sixth Street which is the main attraction and it has a few different elements. There are sports bars and live music clubs and venues near the downtown, and then some hipster bars and interesting eateries on the east side of the interstate. It was still a little early in the night so most music hadn't gotten started so I pretty much just wandered.
After doing a little Facebook browsing I found out that Al from NOLA was having a "hurrication" here in Austin with a couple of her friends to avoid Hurricane Isaac which was supposed to touch down that night. I sent her a message and the four of us met up at a bar with a couple others. It was nice to see a couple familiar faces since my hostess for the evening was busy in band practice, and we had a couple beers and chatted.
Later on in the night the music picked up and I was pretty thrilled with the overall scene. It's called the "Live Music Capital of the World" and I can now see why. I'm not sure I could live in Austin for the lack of recreation outside the city and the stifling heat, but it sure was fun to spend some time in such a vibrant night scene.
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