The Austin Record Convention turned out to be a good indoor choice for the stormy Memorial Day weekend. Covered parking was available next to the Palmer Event Center (desirable in case of tornados or hail) and the admission fee was only $5. In-between thunderstorms, Bill and I joined a decent-sized crowd there on Sunday afternoon.
Decent weather on the morning of Memorial Day allowed two legs of the Lifetime Tri CapTex to still be held. Lady Bird Lake was not fit for swimming due to Saturday’s storms, so that portion of this annual triathlon was cancelled. Major downtown streets (Congress, Cesar Chavez, South First, Riverside) were closed again this year for the biking and running parts.
As predicted, Central Texas was hit with more severe thunderstorms today. Starting around 1:30 PM, three major storms came through the downtown area. Saturday’s storm was more severe, but today’s storms brought more rain to our already-saturated city, as much as five inches in four hours.
While the rest of us were enjoying three days off, our 84th Texas Legislature was hard at work over the Memorial Day weekend. Our state’s elected representatives, affectionally known as “the Lege” (pronounced ledge), only meets for 140 days on odd-numbered years (although governors can call them back to Austin for special sessions). The Lege is working overtime to finish before this year’s regular session ends on Monday, June 1.
For the past week, local forecasters had been predicting bad weather for Saturday. A fast-moving storm came through in mid-afternoon, but that turned out to be just a gentle warm-up for the evening’s activities.
Over 260 artists and galleries participated in this year’s West Austin Studio Tour. WEST boundaries are generally west of I-35, east of Mopac, south of 183, and north of William Cannon. (November’s EAST covers east of I-35.) Armed with our huge WEST map, Bill and I headed out on Sunday afternoon to discover new-to-us artists and explore unfamiliar neighborhoods.
The 38th annual O. Henry Pun-Off was held last Saturday in the backyard of the O. Henry House on Fifth Street. Every year the crowd seems larger, and I’m guessing that close to 1000 people watched this year’s event. A few even perched in the giant live oak trees that shade much of Brush Square.
We’ve got a Flying Cucumber cruising over downtown Austin this weekend. This giant cuke is really a blimp advertising Hendrick’s Gin. There’s an associated contest to win a ride by posting photos of the blimp around town.
To celebrate Independent Bookstore Day, Bill and I walked over to our beloved local indie, BookPeople. In existence since 1970, the current store is located at the corner of Lamar and Sixth Street. With the nearby Whole Foods, Waterloo Records, 24 Diner, Counter Cafe, and Amy’s Ice Cream, this area is a fun destination and an easy one-mile walk from our apartment.
