It was just so pretty there!, originally uploaded by estacey.
Austin was awesome. Honestly, I could live there. Even the grackels are awesome there; seriously, we have them here but they just make noise. There, they make music!
We spent the first day walking around Austin, watching birds and turtles, petting strangers' dogs, drinking coffee, and, finally, watching the bat spectacle. (It seems everyone sums Austin up in two words: music & bats. So maybe y'all know about that. If not, read this.)
Bats!
Saturday we went drivin' into Hill Country. This made me very happy because it was definitely not Florida. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my Sunshine State, but I never go anywhere else. Austin was a breath of fresh air, but most of the scenery could've been anywhere (read: buildings, only with more little stars everywhere - seriously, these
are on the garbage cans). But a few minutes of driving outside of Austin and it started to become apparent that we were, well, in Texas. :) We visited Perdanales and Guadalupe River State Parks. At the latter, I saw an armadillo in person for the first time in my life. They're such cute little tank-like creatures, hopping as they make their escape.
Perdanales State Park
There's something about Texas that I like very much, beyond how pretty it is there, and beyond all the country music on the radio. The only bit of Texas I saw that I wasn't too crazy about was when we passed what was surely a canned hunting ranch. Some big multi-horned ungulate was standing in a field beyond a fence, and it was certainly not a native one. I consoled myself with the fact that it didn't know it's just there to be "hunted" for money. Hopefully many months of sun-filled grazing pass before some dope from Tennessee forks over a couple of thousand dollars to shoot it.
Arkey Blue's Silver Dollar Bar
Anyway, Saturday night we went to Bandera, the "Cowboy Capital of the World." We ate at O.S.T. with a bunch of genuine Texans (cowboy hats, boots, western shirts, mullets), listened to some old-timers singing country & western music at Arkey's, then walked around the town for a bit before heading back to Austin. I really loved Arkey's with all the little locals all dressed up for their night on the town. But oh, I'm kickin' myself for not getting a pic of the guy with the spurs on his boots. Mark thought ahead to research these state parks and Bandera, so thank gosh I had him or I would've probably spent the whole weekend sharing Which 'Wiches with the turtles by the bridge.
Sunday was a travel day, so there wasn't much worth mentioning except the enormous, gorgeous Whole Foods Market (thank you for your comment/suggestion, Easternair) where we bought lunch and soap. I've been to a few Whole Foods Markets in my time, but this one was unreal -- so bright and clean and pretty!
Now I'm home and in need of a day or two to rest up!
Pictures: http://flickr.com/photos/jisou/sets/72057594092054322/
