Lonely Planet describes Austin as an 'eclectic pick-and-mix of retro funk and new-age entrepreneurial spirit...a mystic soup of social consciousness and capitalist development, tattoo- covered artists ad internet millionaires. Quality of life reigns supreme.'
We'll buy that. It looked pretty cool in the two days we were there. In August it is also scorchingly hot - 100 degrees hot (38C) - but full of funky bars, live music, mexicali cafes, and the largest wholefoods shop and restaurant in the US (we visited three times in two days and fell on the salad bars as if we were in the first stages of scurvy - which we probably were after the deep-fried South). The people look wealthy but are in shorts, on bikes; and, after 100s and 100s of miles in which you wouldn't know there was a presidential election coming up, we saw election posters again. Austin is a little Democratic oasis in a heavily Republican state.
We met up with friends of Kent and Meredith: Denise and Ariel and their children Leo and Lucas. They live downtown in a leafy suburb near the University of Texas, where they both work at the Law School.
We 0pened a bottle of NZ pinot noir and drank to the health of absent friends.
Dinner at a local market. More salad for us. Denise and Ariel both focus on immigration cases in their legal work and teaching. We talked about the wall proposed for the border between Mexico and Texas - designed in part to push illegal migrants into attempting to cross in areas even more inhospitable and dangerous than those along the Texas border.
Soccer made friends out of the small boys.
We really enjoyed meeting them, visiting them in their house, and talking about immigration, so thanks for bringing us together K and M! I hope to stay in touch with them both.
After Austin, West Texas : many miles, just like this...
Thunderstorms, again.
Tonight, margaritas and burritos at Sonora.
Tomorrow, Carlsbad and the caves.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Austin and Sonora,Texas
Posted by KGBH at 8:59 PM
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1 comments:
So glad you guys met up with Denise, Ariel and the boys. And glad that you wound up at Whole Foods -- kind of like Moore Wilson on super steroids. It's always one of our first stops when we go back to the US.
Great shots of the West Texas highway, too. It sure looks like Western Nebraska ...
Please tell us all about Carlsbad Caverns; we've never made it there. And keep up the terrific blogging in general. It's not as good as having you here, but it sure makes for great reading!
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