A Town like Austin

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I’m already getting behind with my blog entries but before I start on Guatemala I have to quickly mention my week in Austin, Texas.

I stayed with my mate Lindsay, a girl from Arizona who studied abroad in Adelaide back in 2002. She lives in a gorgeous three story cottage with the ‘Star of Texas’ on the outside. She’s studying to become a acupuncturist in Austin but is on her summer break. Austin is definitely a world of its own. The locals claim that its nothing like the rest of Texas and I don’t doubt that. Its full of alternative, artistic folk who obviously love an organic, vegetarian, planet friendly lifestyle - a far cry from the Billy Bob hicks I was expecting to see traipsing around in their giant cowboy hats and boots. It’s hot too. Most days were around 40oC and humid. Lindsay had lots of errands to run but she still managed to take me to Barton Springs (the town swimming springs), for a walk around town lake, and to ‘Blues on the Green,’ a free concert in the town park.

Until now I haven’t made much mention of the food in the US - there is definitely no wonder it’s the obesity capital of the world! Food is so in your face - Burger King, Taco Bell, Jack-in-the-Box, Sonic, Quiznos, Chili’s, Starbucks - they’re so in your face! I was so drawn to it all too. Everyday all I could think about was food, it was awful. I didn’t sample everything but I did try Tex-Mex, Mexican, Texan, chocolate covered bacon, an incredible choc-mint vegan shake, breakfast tacos, and an enormous serve of Texas BBQ ribs. The tipping was a real pain but at least I could trust the ice and fresh fruit and vegetables!

Here’s an ‘only in America’ tale for you - actually Lindsay swears it’s more of an ‘only in Texas’ tale... After hearing about it from a friend during the week, on the Sunday afternoon Lindsay took me to a tiny little ‘Dive Bar’ (a colloquial term meaning a dark, scungy, dingy little bar) to see Chicken-Shit Bingo. I kid you not - after ordering drinks we lined up to get out bingo square to then watch a chicken wander around a cage perched on the pool table, its floor covered in numbered squares and a ton of chicken food, waiting for it to decide just which square it will leave its mark in! Lunacy!

My tales of Austin wouldn’t be complete without mention of the car accident. Don’t stress - no one was hurt, but it did create a very decent amount of frustration and inconvenience for Lindsay. Yep just three days before leaving for a 6 week holiday in Central and South America, some baby-faced 19 year old moron on his way home from work, ran a red light causing Lindsay to T-bone his Camry. Lindsay’s Suzuki 4WD lost its entire front bumper and had a couple of lights smashed in but all in all it wasn’t too bad. The airbags actually didn’t even go off. I remember saying to Mum that she needn’t worry about me too much while overseas because there is far more chance dying or getting hurt in a car accident than from terrorism, crime or while travelling. It never occurred to me that I could end up in a car accident, caused by someone committing a crime, while travelling!!

Aside from the useless drivers though, Austin is a funky cute little city. I had a great week and want to shout out a HUGE thank you to Lindsay for having me :-)

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Photos

Blues on the Green
With Lindsay's mates Lydia and Agnes

The damage
Lindsay's car

South Congress
Downtown Austin

Texas BBQ ribs
I can't believe I consumed all of that!

Chocolate covered bacon?!
Sweet yet salty

Town Lake
Actually its a river?!

My acupuncture treatment
Look closely and you can see the needles

Killing time in a HUGE costume shop
Mocking local patriotism (tongue in cheek!)

Comments

[gia]

Nice blog
I enjoyed your blog entry. It was fun and refreshing!

[Nanna]

Chicken ---- Bingo
We have three chickens, 2 brown and 1 old white one. Do you think they would be suitable for a CH SH Bingo Dive here in Willunga? Bob's Andrew is always looking for new ways to make money. Perhaps he would like to take this on. Is there a franchise, do you think? XXX