Austin, Capital of Texas (and still weird)

We made it to Austin late in the afternoon and checked in to the Holiday Inn Austin Town Lake. The lake itself is right downtown and is a beehive of activity for outdoor enthusiasts who row, run, bike and walk around the lake at all hours.

Keep Austin Weird is a slogan adopted by the Austin Small Business Alliance. They say that in a mostly conservative Texas, Austin is “Weird” because it continues to be progressive in the arts and music. Many people feel that the “Keep Austin Weird” slogan reflects a desire to retain the city's distinct character in the face of increasing pressures to homogenize.

This is the Iron Works barbeque, right downtown, where we enjoyed a decent meal that, of course, was no match for the Salt Lick!


Here is one of two Austin locations for Hey Cupcake! http://www.heycupcake.com/story.html

Weird, but good.

In case you can't read it, the napkin holder message says "Wipe that icing off your face, you big disgrace."


The next day we ate at Chuy's a Tex-Mex favorite with locations throughout the state. We had the Chicken Taquitos, pictured below. Very tasty!

Decor at Chuys Barton Springs location

Chuy's entrance

That afternoon we visited the Lady Bird Johnson Wildfower Center, a delightful spot founded by Lady Bird and actress Helen Hayes to protect and preserve North America's native plants and natural landscapes---a worthy mission. It is now affiliated with the University of Texas.

http://www.wildflower.org/

This work is a cross between origami and watercolor.

A giant scorpion, the centerpiece of one of the gardens.

A formal setting.

And a more natural one.

We had to try Blue Bell ice cream, a Texas favorite. We liked it.

This is the flagship store and headquarters for Whole Foods.

The Blanton Art Museum at the U of T, funded in large part by a generous grant from the prolific James Michener who was born in Doylestown PA and lived in Austin for many years.

http://blantonmuseum.org/

A young New York artist ( I didn't record his name) rendered this young dude, after the style of the Dutch Masters

African tapestry created from metal liquor bottle strips

Detail of lobby wall

Birth of the Cool: California Art, Design & Culture at Mid-Century

Custom Fender guitar with image of Dave Brubeck and friends

We had a great lunch at the Magnolia Cafe, joining Travelzine friends Diana Ball and Lou Matthews, who were so generous to us in helping with information about Austin and Texas.

At the LBJ Museum and Library on the U of T campus, there was an interesting exhibition about the space program in the 60's

LBJ automaton, mouthing folksy words of wisdom

White House watercolor, signed by all living presidents at the time (2004)

Lady Bird's office at the museum, preserved as she had left it

Presidential limo