Am I dreaming?

We always find a spot at the Elks Lodge when in Austin. The parking lot is not large and is quite sloped except for along the top portion. There is no electricity provided and they accept our donation. We were fortunate to get a spot there as there is only room for three rv's on the level portion.



We have a room with a view for sure. We look north at the Austin skyline and are about a mile from downtown. We just ride the bikes two blocks down the steep hill and cross over to the park and bike trail. A wonderful breeze blows from the south as we gaze across the greenbelt.



This year we had the place to ourselves at first and then a 41' toy hauler pulled in. This was to be the shuttle service for the crews that worked much of SXSW doing the lighting or whatever needed to be done. Each afternoon about 90 workers would arrive donning their black crew t-shirts and would be shuttled to their assignments for the evening. At midnight they would be brought back to their cars and leave. The guys running the operation seemed nice and offered to shuttle us anywhere we needed to go. However, we ate so much while there that we needed to bike or walk!



One night at midnight I heard "if you come back up this hill we will put a f@$&ing 9 mm bullet in your head!". Nope! I quickly realized I wasn't dreaming. I woke Leon and he looked out to see three guys running around in the woods with pistols in hand. They kept yelling down the hill daring the tramps to come back up. Little did we know that about 250 homeless people live along the greenbelt at the bottom of the ravine. Some had realized the trailer was there and were trying to pry open their bays where some very expensive lighting was stored. You might know, Leon had accidentally left ours open and they wanted nothing we had.

At first we were a little worried and then I decided we had all the protection that we needed and a gunfight probably wouldn't happen because the hoboes probably didn't have guns. Afterall, we are in Texas. I felt well protected and slept quite well. It is amazing how well you sleep after lots of hiking and biking!

SXSW

Again we find ourselves in Austin during south by southwest, not exactly by design, but it just happened. So again we wandered over to enjoy the weirdness. One of these days we will catch a ride. Only $10 each but we need the walk. It was only four miles from where we were camped at the Elks to the far side of the festival in 6th Street and back.



We did stop at one point in the Driskill Hotel for a break.





Odd is the order of the day so we just walked and gawked.















The music portion of South by Southwest is all about discovery for many bands. They are on most street corners along 6th, which is blocked to traffic, and anyone can play. Just beat on some buckets and you might make some wine money.







Wherever a band, or a magician, happens to be a crowd quickly gathers.









And as is the case in Austin, bicycles are everywhere weaving thru the crowds.



The free concert at Auditorium Shores entertained us on our last night in Austin. Not realizing how much and what scrumptious looking food the vendors would have, we biked over to Chuys for some Tex-Mex first, we were not disappointed. Then on down the lakeside trail we went.






There were shops, games for kids, the Texas lottery games, plenty of bike racks, food and more food, and hours of music. We listened to most of it after we got back to the Elks.



Goodnight, Austin.

Waltz across Texas

Well it is time to waltz down to Austin and check in on two week old Finn, my great nephew. We stopped in Athens along the way and visited my friend Pat.  He homeowners' association even provided an rv park for us! 

In Austin we settled into our handy home for the week at the Elk's Lodge along with 5 other rv's in their tiny parking lot. But it did not matter once we squeezed into our spot because there was a lot to do and see.  We started with South Congress and some of the odd shops there. We still haven't figured out why people back into the parking spots.

We learned once we were there that the well-known South By Southwest Festival would be happening and what excitement that added to the local flavor.

A favorite slogan around Austin is "keep Austin weird" and many folks give it their best shot!

At dusk we descended on down the hill to watch the bats fly out for their evening meal from the Congress Street Bridge.  This only happens in the spring and we had several missed opportunities on other trips into the city.

The crowds gathered both below and on the bridge and waited patiently.

And at dusk the bats came out in droves, right on schedule! They seemed to keep coming forever. I can't imagine there is room for them all under that bridge!

 Another day we rode our bikes on the Lady Bird Johnson bike trail along Barton Springs Road. We eventually made our way to Zilker Botannical Garden and enjoyed a tour with several rest stops.

On back down the trail we rode! We should have stayed several more days to ride more but we did not want to overdo it since we had not been on the bikes since fall.

Downtown transportation was quite handy during SXSW with so many people flocking down to  Sixth Street to the various music venues. We enjoyed people watching and made sure we tried a STRONG Mexican martini (a margarita served in a martini glass). 

 This group of youngsters drew quite a crowd but had to leave the area due to their being under age!

As fun as all the activity was, Master Finn was the reason for the trip. He is just such a cute and good baby with parents who seem to know exactly what to do!

Even Finn's grandpa was in town and it was such a delight to visit with all four! They are a beautiful family. 

We loaded up the bus so as to now wear out our welcome and headed further south.