Our city’s newest and largest hotel, the JW Marriott Austin, opened on Friday. This massive hotel takes up an entire city block between Second and Third Streets, except for a few small historic buildings that remain huddled together in one corner. With over 1000 rooms, this is the largest JW Marriott in the United States and the second largest in the world.
Boy Scouts from around Texas converged in Austin today for the annual Report to State Parade. As usual, the parade formed on the Congress Avenue Bridge and headed straight up to the Texas State Capitol. Today’s parade was shorter than usual, lasting only about one hour. Spectators were sparse, but there were several thousand participants in the parade itself.
When you’re running a 5K in a gorilla suit, you do not wish for a warm, sunny day. So this morning’s overcast skies and cool temperatures were just right for the fifth annual Austin Gorilla Run. Previous races were held downtown, but this year the event was moved to the east side Mueller development. Gorilla Runs are also organized in Denver and Cincinnati, all benefiting the Mountain Gorilla Conservation Fund.
We are surrounded by major construction projects in downtown Austin. Cranes, cement trucks, and heavy equipment are everywhere. Many surface parking lots have now become gaping holes surrounded by temporary fencing as the site prep work takes place. The towers that are further along seem to grow a new floor every week. There’s so much construction here that downtown neighborhood associations have petitioned the new city council to “limit” concrete pouring to 6 AM to 7 PM.
On Tuesday, January 20th, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick took the oath of office on the south steps of the State Capitol. A huge outdoors barbeque lunch followed the ceremony. That still left time to squeeze in a parade before the evening ball at the Austin Convention Center. I couldn’t attend the inauguration and I wasn’t invited to the ball. But I did walk over to see the parade.
This is the third January in a row that Alejandro Escovedo has produced a concert at the ACL Live-Moody Theater. Bill and I have attended all three shows. The first one in 2013 was a retrospective of his career and included local musicians Rosie Flores and Amy Cook. Last year’s show, The United Sounds of Austin: A guided journey through over 60 years of Austin’s history, was an ambitious undertaking with even more musicians joining him on stage. (Joe Ely and Lucinda Williams, to name a few).
Last week Bill and I played 18 holes over at the Zilker Park disc golf course. Actually, we played the same nine holes twice. Only the southern nine are open, after being replanted earlier this year to improve drainage and prevent erosion. Now the other half of the course (near Barton Springs Road) is closed for similar renovations.
As this year comes to a close, I’ve been reviewing my blog entries and reflecting on my favorite downtown activities over the past twelve months. Bill and I are very fortunate to live in a city that’s as vibrant and active as Austin. Here’s my Top Five picks for 2014…
Toy Joy is a fun place to visit any time of the year, but I especially like to go to this Second Street toy store during the holiday season. This year, this was my go-to store for stocking stuffers. And they definitely had the most unusual Christmas trees in town.
