Welcome to Austin

I arrived in Austin late – thanks American Airlines, had to wait in Dallas for a part for another plane stranded in Austin… um, FedEx? And did we really want to know you have broken planes on the tarmac?!? My contact from Rotary Club found me curbside and whisked me off to the Rotary lunch/meeting where we heard the new police chief of Austin speak about his goals. Excellent speaker, smooth politician, and 20 years experience… in L.A. Yikes.

I am doing a travel piece about Austin for The Rotarian Magazine and so I spent the rest of the day with Gaines Bagby getting a “windshield tour” of the place. Wednesday I will go through some of the sights up close. It was nice to get an overview of the city. A few lakes, University of Texas, Capitol building… wait a minute. Is this Madison? No, it is not. A bit bigger, a bit warmer, and rather than resting close to the Ice Age glacial ending line, Austin sits right on top of Balcone’s fault. Flat land ends, hills begin right through town. Very cool, very beautiful. Lots of rain this year so lots of green.

We tried to drive into the Capitol parking area… denied. Apparently, “a journalist writing for the Rotary Club” didn’t hold as much weight as we thought. Stopped for a local beer, Independence Brewery’s Bootlegger Brown Ale. The bar BB Rovers has a checklist of over 100 beers, most of them on hand on any given day. Drink 100 and you get the 101st free. I’ve seen better deals I guess, but it looked like fun. They in turn recommended that I check out Chicken Sh*t Bingo on Sunday. Unfortunately, I won’t be here, but it involves a chicken and a bingo card in a cage. You get the idea. What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon???

Now begins my tour of great places to catch live music while having some great food. Photos to follow!

Check out my other blog posts from Austin!

Austin: Day Two

Austin: Day Three

Austin: Day Four, the Finale

Read about The Best Places in Austin for Live Music and Food (plus an Austin video to match!)