Austin

This morning I spent a few hours ambling around Riverwalk in San Antonio. Then I made the short drive to Austin, where summer hit me in the face. It was 77 degrees F this afternoon. I had to break out a short sleeve shirt! I walked over to the Pfluger pedestrian bridge , which turns out to be a happenin’ place in the late afternoon. I’m really impressed with how friendly everyone is in this city. I spoke with a number of people, amongst them Jimmy and Claudia. They were also visiting from California. Jimmy is studying data science and Claudia has a degree in biology. They like Austin so much they hope to settle here eventually.

Because of the tech invasion, Austin has expanded beyond its capacity. Traffic is awful. The streets just can’t handle the increased load. But the city is, nevertheless prospering.

The Aloft Austin is a lively hotel with a thriving bar scene. I went down to get a drink and some dinner. I first spoke to Joey, originally from Delaware and currently residing in Philadelphia. He is here on business with - yes - a tech company. He gave me a number of good tips for Delaware. Colin then sat down on my other side. He is originally from Colorado, but has lived all over the world. However, he has called Austin home for the last 12 years. He works for Still Austin, a local whisky distillery. Colin had a lot of interesting insights into Austin and into Texas in general. He believes that the impression many outside the state have of Texas is driven by fringe groups living on the outskirts of the major metropolitan areas. The majority of the population centers comprise folk with liberal values, in large part accounting for the political shift of Texas as a whole. Folk who live in the many and vast truly rural communities are just trying to survive. Their politics, he believes, are driven by basic needs rather than dogma or allegiance to any political party. Those are interesting insights. While I will not have the chance to visit any of the more rural areas on this trip, I can say that, so far, everyone I have encountered has been nothing but open and friendly.

These images are temporary placeholder taken with a phone.  Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to download and post photos from yesterday and today.