Monday, August 28
1.5 Million Mexicans Living Under a Bridge in Austin
I’m just now coming out of the food coma induced by Friday night’s BBQ dinner at The Salt Lick. A socially go-getting classmate organized a party bus that transported us to and from The Salt Lick 45 minutes away from central Austin. Since the bus originated 10 blocks from my house and allowed us to consume beverages to and fro, Tania and I gladly signed up for $10 a piece. The BBQ was all you can eat and, of course, the school provided plenty of beer and wine. (I like these guys. They’re alright.) The BBQ sauce was amazing, inducing me to consume ribs, sausage, and brisket to the point of physical discomfort. (Oh, man. Eating to the point of discomfort. Does that ever take me back to childhood!) Anyway, I poo’d for two days.
But Rob, what’s up with the politically questionable title of this post? Do these Mexicans not have a home? (And, damn! Why so many?) Actually, their permanent residence is in Mexico. They come up to Austin each summer and spend their days sleeping under the Congress Avenue Bridge. They usually wake up a little before dusk and spend the night eating mosquitoes.
Oh, shit. Have I mentioned they’re bats? I should do that. Yeah, they’re Mexican Free-Tailed Bats. At 1.5 million strong, they form the largest urban bat population in North America. Because of their fondness for eating mosquitoes, Tania, a.k.a. “Mosquito Bait”, thinks they’re awesome. Even if they cause the bridge to smell like rat excrement.
Here are some pics of the bats flying from their bat cave, err... bridge, at dusk.
But Rob, what’s up with the politically questionable title of this post? Do these Mexicans not have a home? (And, damn! Why so many?) Actually, their permanent residence is in Mexico. They come up to Austin each summer and spend their days sleeping under the Congress Avenue Bridge. They usually wake up a little before dusk and spend the night eating mosquitoes.
Oh, shit. Have I mentioned they’re bats? I should do that. Yeah, they’re Mexican Free-Tailed Bats. At 1.5 million strong, they form the largest urban bat population in North America. Because of their fondness for eating mosquitoes, Tania, a.k.a. “Mosquito Bait”, thinks they’re awesome. Even if they cause the bridge to smell like rat excrement.
Here are some pics of the bats flying from their bat cave, err... bridge, at dusk.
Labels: austin, bars, bbq, pics
Sunday, August 20
Chicken Shit Sunday
Last Sunday (8/13), Tania and I took Toby on a run around Town Lake in the morning. Town Lake is the running spot in Austin. There is a loop trail around Town Lake and a number of connecting trails radiating from the lake along various tributaries. RunTex, a local shoe store chain, provides coolers of water at two ends of the trail, which makes running in 90+ weather bearable. There are also a few spots along the trail where dogs can cool off in the lake.
Prior to the run, Tobes swam around and Tania chatted up a fellow pooch owner who just moved here a couple weeks ago from LA. She seemed personable (in a suspicious movie industry kind of way) and mentioned that someone else had told her of an event later that day at a local bar. She didn't know which bar, but the event was "chicken shit bingo".
Obviously, I didn't care where it was taking place, I had to check out how the locals release a little steam. (And how local poultry releases a previous meal.) We googled it and learned the festivites took place at Ginny's Little Longhorn, just 2 miles from our casa. Awesome!
We walk in the door of Ginny's and learn they are celebrating Ginny's 25th year at the Longhorn. What does that mean? A kick-ass spread, on the house: hot dogs, chili cheese nachos, cookies, crappy little sandwiches, veggies and dip (hippies!), and cake. Frickin' awesome! And $1.50 Lone Stars. YES!!
We caught two rounds of chicken shit bingo and it works like this. There are 50 or so numbered squares on a piece of plywood covering the pool table, with a chicken wire cage covering the squares. Chicken feed is spread liberally around the squares and a chicken is brought inside the bar and placed under the cage. Whichever square the bird poops on is the winning square. Bar patrons can purchase a maximum of one square for $2. The "winner" takes the whole pot.
The first bird must have been fed mass quantities of caffeine just before it entered the cage because it pooped within 15 seconds. Gary, an easygoing local (and aren't they all?), assured me he had never seen such a quick drop of the deuce. He claimed the contests can last up to an hour. Thank God we didn't have to wait that long. I don't know if my ticker could have handled the tension. In the second contest, the bird took a more common 10 minutes to poo. For the record, both poos were much larger than I expected. But then again, everything is bigger in Texas.
Prior to the run, Tobes swam around and Tania chatted up a fellow pooch owner who just moved here a couple weeks ago from LA. She seemed personable (in a suspicious movie industry kind of way) and mentioned that someone else had told her of an event later that day at a local bar. She didn't know which bar, but the event was "chicken shit bingo".
Obviously, I didn't care where it was taking place, I had to check out how the locals release a little steam. (And how local poultry releases a previous meal.) We googled it and learned the festivites took place at Ginny's Little Longhorn, just 2 miles from our casa. Awesome!
We walk in the door of Ginny's and learn they are celebrating Ginny's 25th year at the Longhorn. What does that mean? A kick-ass spread, on the house: hot dogs, chili cheese nachos, cookies, crappy little sandwiches, veggies and dip (hippies!), and cake. Frickin' awesome! And $1.50 Lone Stars. YES!!
We caught two rounds of chicken shit bingo and it works like this. There are 50 or so numbered squares on a piece of plywood covering the pool table, with a chicken wire cage covering the squares. Chicken feed is spread liberally around the squares and a chicken is brought inside the bar and placed under the cage. Whichever square the bird poops on is the winning square. Bar patrons can purchase a maximum of one square for $2. The "winner" takes the whole pot.
The first bird must have been fed mass quantities of caffeine just before it entered the cage because it pooped within 15 seconds. Gary, an easygoing local (and aren't they all?), assured me he had never seen such a quick drop of the deuce. He claimed the contests can last up to an hour. Thank God we didn't have to wait that long. I don't know if my ticker could have handled the tension. In the second contest, the bird took a more common 10 minutes to poo. For the record, both poos were much larger than I expected. But then again, everything is bigger in Texas.
Friday, August 18
The first few days
Disclaimer: this posting was taken word for word from an email I sent to a few people early last week. If you already read that, don't waste your time here.
Thought I'd give a "hey, what's up" to ya and let you know that Tania and I made it to Austin just fine. The drive took 2.586 days and was cooler than expected. First night on the road was spent in Blythe, California, and the second in Van Horn, Texas. Both are highly recommended!!
We rolled into Austin around 3:30pm Tuesday. Our containers from Door to Door arrived not so quickly behind us at 10:30pm. So, we saved the furniture unpacking for Wednesday, which coincided with Tania's parents and two youngest sisters arriving from Minnesota. So they helped unload/unpack/put together the surprisingly large amount of stuff that we (i.e., Tania) brought to Tejas. And that was very cool.
Thursday, we spent most of the day visiting Tania's grandparents that live an hour south in sleepy New Braunfels. There, I had the occasion to honk at a crappy driver. I can happily report that my honk was returned with a fearful avoidance of eye contact, not the blazing gunfire that I had been warned about. That's the kind of intimidation the Cali-plated Toro Verde creates here in the Lone Star state. The next day, the family gave us a day off, going to San Antonio without us. And we had a pretty nice little Friday. We went to Target, Ross, Home Depot. We even hit Bed, Bath, & Beyond. Yes, we had enough time.
The high in Austin has been upper 90's to 100 every day, and the humidity has fluctuated from "somewhat painful" to "not too bad." I think I'm getting used to it mentally, if not physically. Toby is having a harder time adjusting. He pants like never before after exercise. Tania took him for little run at a huge field nearby and he was panting for 15 minutes. If you're wondering about Tania, she's too preoccupied with avoiding mosquitoes to worry about the heat.
So, that's been pretty much our life these first few days: unpacking, setting up the house, entertaining the family, and eating fish tacos whenever possible. But the house is coming together and there is a guest bedroom waiting for ya. And Texas is #2 in the coach's poll, so all is well in Austin.
Thought I'd give a "hey, what's up" to ya and let you know that Tania and I made it to Austin just fine. The drive took 2.586 days and was cooler than expected. First night on the road was spent in Blythe, California, and the second in Van Horn, Texas. Both are highly recommended!!
We rolled into Austin around 3:30pm Tuesday. Our containers from Door to Door arrived not so quickly behind us at 10:30pm. So, we saved the furniture unpacking for Wednesday, which coincided with Tania's parents and two youngest sisters arriving from Minnesota. So they helped unload/unpack/put together the surprisingly large amount of stuff that we (i.e., Tania) brought to Tejas. And that was very cool.
Thursday, we spent most of the day visiting Tania's grandparents that live an hour south in sleepy New Braunfels. There, I had the occasion to honk at a crappy driver. I can happily report that my honk was returned with a fearful avoidance of eye contact, not the blazing gunfire that I had been warned about. That's the kind of intimidation the Cali-plated Toro Verde creates here in the Lone Star state. The next day, the family gave us a day off, going to San Antonio without us. And we had a pretty nice little Friday. We went to Target, Ross, Home Depot. We even hit Bed, Bath, & Beyond. Yes, we had enough time.
The high in Austin has been upper 90's to 100 every day, and the humidity has fluctuated from "somewhat painful" to "not too bad." I think I'm getting used to it mentally, if not physically. Toby is having a harder time adjusting. He pants like never before after exercise. Tania took him for little run at a huge field nearby and he was panting for 15 minutes. If you're wondering about Tania, she's too preoccupied with avoiding mosquitoes to worry about the heat.
So, that's been pretty much our life these first few days: unpacking, setting up the house, entertaining the family, and eating fish tacos whenever possible. But the house is coming together and there is a guest bedroom waiting for ya. And Texas is #2 in the coach's poll, so all is well in Austin.
Labels: austin
