It was really good to see H & L together again! They are good sisters and enjoy each other a lot.
I am happy to report that Austin is lively (and weird) in the winter, too. This city is active! The events are possibly a little more sparse than summer, but not much. Here is a sampling.
One evening (at the full moon) we went down to the Zilker Park Barton Springs Pool. Rumor had it that every full moon there is a "Howl at the Moon" night. Nobody was howling, but the pool was beautiful in the moonlight. We also went down to the pool during daylight. As cool as the temps were at times (flurries in the air one day), there were always lap swimmers doing the length of the pool!
During Christmas season the park is decorated. Austin retains a Moon Tower in the park, a remnant of an earlier lighting scheme that placed lights on a high tower to cover a wide area. In this season they dress it up as a Christmas tree, strung with lights. It is quite impressive. If you stand inside the lights, as a whole crowd does, the effect is dizzying.
Here is a peek in the kettle corn (popcorn) tent. These guys were going a mile a minute, popping and emptying the kettle. They stirred continuously, with the popcorn inactive until it burst all at once, filling the kettle with sugary corn. The light was low, so you can't see the the individual corns.
A little earlier in the stay we went to see the Chuy's Christmas Parade on Congress Street. Chuy's is a well known TexMex eating place on Barton Springs Road (the site of some embarrassing behavior by one of the Bush twins). Chuy's sponsors a parade each Christmas.
This was a pretty big parade, with lots of participants of many types.
It's a toys for tots kind of parade. Many kids attend, bringing toys to put in trucks and shopping carts that are part of the parade.
Among the bands, choirs, tiny ponies, etc. are some examples of "Keeping Austin Weird", a continuing theme stemming from the 1960's and a bohemian atmosphere that has persisted.
The armored 'dillo is a mascot here. This one squirted flames out its nose on occasion.
We were at the end of the parade and got to watch the balloons go horizontal to pass under wires on the Congress Street bridge.
Austin is certainly all about music. They have a LOT of free concerts. We went to see a City Hall Plaza concert while we were there. There is a really nice setting with sunshade (not needed that day) and a stage for bands. The group at this concert was Chicken City Strut, a funk and jazz band. They play at Guerro's regularly. The music was really good, reminiscent of the 60s and my early days. The guys were fairly young, except for the keyboardist, but they had a really good feel for this music. We enjoyed it a lot.
Another day we went back to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center for a free day. This place is captivating! The stonework is really nice. There is something soothing about limestone. A favorite spot is this pond at the entrance. In the summer there is wildlife. In winter it is less populated, but still draws people.
There is quite a bit of sculpture around, and it changes from time to time. I would call these whimsical. Good to see that Americans can do whimsical as well as the French.
We didn't do as much hiking this time as last, probably due to H & D working as well as our own sloth and laptop addiction. We did get to the Wild Basin, a preserve close to Austin. This one is only here due to a stubborn group of women dedicated to keeping some wildness around as Austin grows. It is a nice area with several trails traversing the limestone hills and a beautiful creek area. We enjoyed it a lot, even getting a giggle when we passed a freakshow next to some limestone boulders. A guy with a beard was laughing along with his girlfriend, under a sheet on the ground. They were smoking a J and getting it on, interrupted only momentarily as we passed. Things are dry in Texas this time of year. Be careful with your roach!
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