Two weeks ago we noticed that the swimming pools were drained at the nearby W hotel/condo complex. After checking his favorite downtown real estate websites, Bill learned that two glass panes had fallen from the upper balconies down into the pool area.

A few days later the Austin American-Statesman reported: “Glass panels fall at W Hotel, injuring four“. This explained why the pools were still closed. 

This morning’s newspaper led with the headline: “More glass falls at W“.  No one was injured. This explained the traffic jam yesterday.

This evening the Statesman reported that two more panes fell today (no injuries) and that the “W Austin Hotel is closed until further notice“. This explained the news conference at 8 PM tonight. 

And according to the Statesman: “Lawsuit filed against W over falling glass.” This explained the closed lanes and the sidewalk covers that are hastily being assembled around the building. 

Butler Park Pitch and Putt is just south of Lady Bird Lake and within walking distance of downtown Austin. Bill and I used to take our children here many years ago. Recently we decided to play a round on this nine-hole, par-three course. Nothing much has changed. I’m pretty sure the club house looked just like this when we first played here in 1996:

Here are my tips for playing at the Butler Park course: 

Tip #1. Take all  “Fore!” warnings very seriously. This course isn’t very big. Most likely you are about to be hit by a golf ball. 
Tip #2: Don’t worry about overhitting the greens on Holes 3 and 5. We’re in a drought. There is no water in that drainage ditch. 
Tip #3. Avoid the water hazard on Hole 7 by using my strategy of hitting into the adjacent fairway. Refer to Tip #1 when using this strategy. 

Tip #4: Be patient when playing behind The Slowest Foursome in the History of the World. Just enjoy being outdoors on a sunny 100-degree day! 
Tip #5: Keep your dog at your side if your dog is playing a round too. NO EXCEPTIONS!

 

Central Texas is suffering with extreme hot temperatures and extreme drought. According to local meteorologist, Jim Spencer at KXAN, we’ve had 13 100-degree days so far this year, with tied or broken records for 12 of the last 23 days. 

In spite of such adverse conditions, our local farmers are amazing! Here’s a sampling of the locally-grown fruits and vegetables on display today at the downtown Austin Farmers Market:

So let me explain…this week Bill and I attended an outdoor performance called Devotion  by Blue Lapis Light. According to the program: “Devotion is dedicated to the waters of our planet.” Our Austin friends might remember that this troupe performed at the abandoned Intel building a few years ago. 

Through next weekend, Devotion is being staged at the Power Plant Intake Building for the downtown Seaholm Power Plant. The main Seaholm building is a concert venue now but the intake structure right on the lake is vacant. Bill and I have been monitoring the preparations for several weeks now and watched the dancers practicing last weekend. 

The audience views the performance from the south shore or in boats on Lady Bird Lake. Admission is charged for the fenced-in prime seating area or for seats on the sightseeing boats. But the show can also be viewed for free from private boats or other spots along the lake.

Performers include Trapeze Dancers, Wall Dancers, Ballet Dancers and Rowers. Props include canoes, bungee cords, swings, ropes and spotlights. Dance forms include ballet, bungee-jumping, swinging, trapezing, rappelling, and diving. Music includes Be Still My Soul, The Protecting Veil and Chopin Piano Concerto #1.

Devotion starts after the 9 PM freight train rumbles by and lasts about an hour. Performances are scheduled through next weekend.

Celebrating downtown Austin flags today… 

Texas State Capitol

 

 

The Driskill

  

 

As the Live Music Capital of the World, Austin was home to an impressive guitar-art collection long before those Play Me, I’m Yours pianos appeared last month. 

Stevie Ray Vaughan‘s guitar at Auditorium Shores is the most famous outdoor guitar in Austin. He played Fender guitars; Stevie Ray Strats are still manufactured. An entire Wikipedia article is actually devoted to Stevie’s musical instruments. (I’m sticking to guitars here but I’ll write more about Stevie Ray and Auditorium Shores in the future.)

Back in 2006, Gibson sponsored AustinGuitarTown. Ten-foot guitars were decorated by local artists and celebrities and then auctioned for charity. Lots of cities did something similar…I remember seeing elephants and donkeys in Washington DC a few years earlier. Some of these guitars are still scattered around downtown and several are in the baggage claim area of the Austin-Bergstrom Airport.

A whimsical guitar sculpture, Killer Riffs, sits at the end of Third Street, just outside of Austin Music Hall. This “kinetic sculpure”  was created by artist LaPaso. The piece was commissioned when the nearby 360 condos were built.

Lady Bird Lake is part of the Colorado River which runs through downtown Austin. Motorized boats are prohibited except by permit. Bill and I have been surprised at how many vessels are on the water, especially on the weekends.

Local high school and college crew teams practice in the mornings and afternoons. 

 
Rowing classes are held on the lake too. There are two rowing schools within walking distance of our apartment. I think the instructors double as traffic cops to prevent mid-water collisions.

Stand Up Paddle (SUP) is very popular. Think big surfboards without the waves. Sometimes we also see Dog On Front (DOF).

 

Lots of kayaks and canoes are always floating around…plus an occasional remote-controlled toy boat (on the right in this photo). 

A new vehicle joined the armada last month: Austin Water Bikes. These bikes can also accommodate Kid On Side (KOS).

 
Tour boat season is now in full swing, with cruises for watching sunsets and bats every evening.

President Obama visited our neighborhood in downtown Austin earlier this evening. He was at the ACL-Moody Theatrer at the W Hotel for a Democratic fundraiser. I watched the exciting preparations all day, including tent raising, roof searching, security checking, helicopter hovering and dump truck maneuvering. (I added “movable blockades” to my Uses for Dump Trucks list.) 

Around 5 PM Bill and I went downstairs to get a closer look. Police officers and dump trucks were everywhere. From what we could tell, there were two major protests: students protesting immigration policies and wheelchairers promoting Medicaid reform. The students were louder because they had a microphone. (I added “bring portable sound system” to my Preparations for Protests list.)

We noticed some Austin officials were hovering near the corner of Lavaca and Third so we moved to hover there too. At 5:22 PM the crowd stirred and we caught a glimpse of vehicles entering the W hotel. Here is what we saw (if you look closely, you can see the top of a black SUV to the left of the dump truck):

After this exciting experience, we decided to go back upstairs to our apartment. Democrats started leaving the theater around 6:15 PM and Obama’s motorcade of about 20 vehicles left about 30 minutes later. (I added “2 ambulances” to my Vehicles for Motorcades list.)

Here is our upstairs view of Obama leaving the area: 

Today a new movie theater, Violet Crown Cinema, opened just two blocks from our apartment. And yes, we have already been there.

Violet Crown is a locally-owned theater showing “art, independent, documentary, and international films”. We watched Circo, which followed a small traveling circus in Mexico. Bingo! Fits all four categories! With subtitles as an extra bonus!

Violet Crown’s entrance is tucked in-between the Malaga restaurant and the BoConcept furniture store on Second Street. The box office and theaters are upstairs. All seats are reserved in advance at the four small theaters. Food and drinks from the adjacent cafe and bar can be taken into the theaters. The comfy seats have attached table trays. Parking is free in the attached Amli garage.

Just when Bill thought downtown life couldn’t get any better…

The Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge in downtown Austin is the summer home to the largest urban bat colony in North America. Between 750,000 and 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats live in the crevices under the bridge. Most of the colony headed to Mexico for the winter back in November and just returned to Austin a few weeks ago.

The Congress Avenue Bridge has a definite bat guano odor but we can’t smell anything from our apartment. You can hear Bat Squeaks (or whatever you call bat language) if you stand on the Hike-and-Bike Trail directly underneath the bridge. But the bats don’t emerge until after sundown, when they swarm downstream in search of food. These little critters ensure that downtown Austin doesn’t have much of a bug problem.

Our apartment is one block upstream from the Congress Avenue Bridge. Each evening Bill and I watch the crowds gather around sundown on the bridge sidewalks and river banks. I suspect most of the bat-watchers are tourists but I’m SURE the ones on the upstream side of the bridge aren’t locals…since the bats head the other way!

Bat-watching cruises are popular with the convention/conference crowd. I walked over to the bridge a few nights ago. Looking down from above, the bats were hard to see against the dark water. I think it’s easier looking up from a boat or the shore because the bats contrast against the lighter night sky.

Bill and I are looking forward to Bat Fest on Saturday August 27! Maybe Adam West will return?