OK, so how did I spend my day, and what did I learn?
Did a lot of walking. Visited the state capital building and the adjacent grounds. Saw a lot of statues and monuments to those who fought for the Confederacy, and learned the South was in the right, and only through trickery, coercion and overwhelming numbers did the North prevail. Old wounds run deep around here.
Austin is a vibrant, bustling city, and is growing faster than any other metropolitan area in the country. Music is alive and well in the countless venues in town, food trucks and wagons abound, and outdoor patios line the sidewalks. How one makes a choice with all the eating options available is beyond me. Staying here much longer would do my wallet and my waistline no good.
On some of the wider main avenues, on-street parking is 'back-in angle' which makes perfect sense since it eliminates potential accidents when merging into traffic. Also, a side benefit is that drivers who can't back into a parking stall won't endanger themselves or others, and will go somewhere else.
There are successful Car2Go and Bike-Share programs, and wide bike lanes on many of the main streets. With the UT students cycling everywhere, the city truly is bike friendly.
All the walking convinced me it is time to replace my aged sandals, so I visited REI, tried on numerous brands, found three styles I loved, couldn't choose, and then used the excuse that the exchange rate would add too much to the end price, and walked out empty-handed. Maybe I'll have better luck in Kamloops, but most likely won't find the variety of choices that had me drooling this afternoon.
And that's pretty much it. Tomorrow's another long day, 75 miles, so I'll probably join up with a few of the others, grab a pizza across the street, and make it an early night.
No comments:
Post a Comment