We spent yesterday in Austin, riding the light rail train into town and walking around some. The heat was truly oppressive - 102, but that doesn't MEAN the same thing here, with the higher humidity. I had to stop and rest every block or so in the shade. There was a beautiful fountain downtown, but M saw the light in my eyes and diverted me across the street before I could even get my clothes off.
Stopped and bought a couple t-shirts for my kids (there goes the surprise, girls) and had some Real Texas BBQ (notable because we could sit in front of the swamp cooler) and walked the creek below the restaurant, where the turtles actually begged for food!
In the late afternoon we set sail for Huntsville, where I want to see the Phoenix Commotion houses. (Check out the TED talk if you don't know the guy.) Left the incredible heat and drove into a storm front with sudden very high winds and lashing rain - we seem to be weather magnets - and a twenty degree temperature drop, which was welcome. Took cover for a few minutes under a gas station canopy until it passed through, and continued on in cooler conditions. M could not refrain from mentioning that those are tornado conditions - when HE takes cover, I get nervous. ;)
I have to describe the country we passed through on the way to this little boonie campground. The place has huge churches about every fifty feet, and as many roadhouses, and the parking lots are equally full. The only vehicles out here seem to be trucks, and the little junk stores all say, "Jesus is Lord." Bible camps, seminaries, "Fuck You, I'm from Texas" bumper stickers, and cow fields with neon lit-up crosses in the middle of them - no church, just a personal statement. Christian RV parks and state road signs that say CHURCH like ours say SCHOOL CROSSING, so just in case you missed the last church 50 feet back you'll have another shot at salvation. For a Wandering Jew and a sometimes Unitarian with strong Papist affiliation, this place is truly spooky. At least at night. When our horns show.
Off today for I don't even know where, after we tour the houses. M says we will cross into Louisiana. We're still shooting for Charlotte on the 10th to join my cousin for the Charlotte Folk Society picnic!
