SATURDAY // AUSTIN
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In reality I spent Friday night in Austin too but I’m going to lump it all together for the sake of simplicity. Mmmkay?
Austin – the Texas state capital whose unofficial motto is “Waiting in long lines for tacos–the new American pastime.”
THE TEXAS STATE CAPITOL… WITH AN ‘O’
The Texas Capitol building… another spot where I looked for someone to pay where there was none. Brooke must wonder what’s wrong with me–just anxiously trying to give money away everywhere we go. In other words, touring the Capitol is FUH-REEEE!
I also walked through the metal detector, straight to the officer on the other side and put my arms out. I basically begged him to frisk me even though he repeatedly waved me off. Actually, what is wrong with me?
Inside the Capitol you’ll find:
- Supreme Court courtroom
- agricultural museum
- guy protesting in the middle
- government offices [that were all closed because it was Saturday but that didn’t stop me from trying all the doorknobs anyway. And they thought they didn’t need to frisk me. Ha!]
- Pictures of all the Texas leaders of yore–including this guy fist-deep in a super-size order of fries:
OK but just look at it real fast…
- the Senate chamber
- the House of Representatives chamber
- the Treasurer’s business office
- And I’m just going to keep saying this stuff and pretend I know what it all is…
BULLOCK TEXAS STATE HISTORY MUSEUM
[Photo credit: muh friend Brooke]
The world’s largest crocodile whose jaws I could fit comfortably inside of.
The Bullock Texas State History Museum showcases everything that has made Texas what it is today.Here’s what I learned: slaves, space, cotton, oil, civil war, Mexico, cowboys, westerns, giant reptiles. They have a great (but temporary) exhibit on Big Bend, some really pretty place out in Western Texas that Brooke just adores. (She hugged the sign.) When she told me they had an exhibit on Big Ben she wanted to see, I thought surely this museum was off its rocker.
But arguably the most fascinating aspect of the museum was the Capitol Goddess.
Here’s the Capitol Building again. As we approached, Brooke mentioned that the statue on top is supposed to be really ugly but she had never seen what it actually looks like. Well hang on to yer britches errbody–the Bullock has the original Goddess on display and she looks like this:
Does she, or does she not look like a Simpsons character?
Yowza! Now, I understand a thing or two about art from traveling the world with my art teacher friend, Amanda. I know these guys made her like this so that her features would appear “normal” from far below. But I ask you… can you even see that she has a face from this far away:
uhhhnooo. Go home Detroit architect Elijah E. Myers, you’re drunk.
Also, a tip. This isn’t advertised on their website but admission on the first Sunday of every month is FUH-REEE! I visited on a Saturday so I paid the regular $13 admission. Finally! Someone who will take my money!
CONGRESS AVENUE BRIDGE BATS
Don’t be fooled – this is a picture of a bat in Guatemala. Just go with it…
If you’ve heard of this, then I don’t need to explain myself. If you haven’t, then I’m just not going to make much sense.
So there’s this bridge in downtown Austin… and under it live a million and a half Mexican free-tailed bats. It’s actually the largest urban bat colony in all of North America. They hang out under there (heh) from March until November and come out every night at sunset to feed. Read this: Guide to Bat Season in Austin
Watching a million bats flying around in an insectivorous twister is really… freaky. Trying to photograph the spectacle from the bridge in the dark is… a waste of time.
There are a million bats in this picture I swear! They’re too dang fast. Now, if you’re wondering about all those people in the boats… and whether or not they’re getting pooped on like crazy… I have an answer for you. I consulted another friend who had watched the bat feeding from a boat and she says yes, you’re getting pooped on constantly. BUT since they’re teeny bats their turds are just as tiny and she compared the feeling to sprinkling rain. So there you go. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. Ew, only don’t.
Austin ⇢ Dallasn : 2 hours, 55 minutes
Check out more blogs from this experienced traveler at My Wanderlusty Life
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