Austin City Limits

Miles driven today: ZERO!

We spent the majority of the day either hanging out at Ben & Stephanie's (eating cookies, sealing our tent seams, and/or being entertained by Jackson) or touring around Austin. We had some amazing tacos at a little place called Tacodeli for lunch, then drove down to walk around (and inside) of the capitol building.

If there is one thing that is most noticeable about Texas, it's that you KNOW you are in Texas. Texas flags fly everywhere..billboards proclaim this or that about Texas..and cars are adorned with Texas stars and bumper stickers. We learned that "Don't Mess with Texas" is not a slogan for big, tough Texas guys who are defending their state, but originated as a public service message played throughout Texas to discourage littering. Who knew?

Austin is a really cool place that seems to be a nice mixture of different cultures. At dinner tonight we saw everything from young girls dressed to the nines to t-shirts to cowboy hats. The city is a lot bigger than I expected, and a lot more hilly. We drove around the University of Texas' campus, and despite the fact that it is one of the largest universities in the country, it seemed pretty, green, and cozy.

The capitol building, which is larger than the US capitol building (on purpose?)

Inside the capitol. The republic of Texas? Are they going to secede?

Us posing outside of the capitol

There were stars everywhere. The elevators, the benches, the chandeliers, and even the fence outside the capitol were adorned with stars.

After we stopped sweating, we came home for a while, then headed out for dinner and some fireworks at the river that were being presented by a local restaurant. For some reason, it seemed strange to have lots of boats around in a city so far from the ocean. Tampa has brainwashed us. Tomorrow, we will see the city's fireworks on the 4th. Overall, it's a very cool place to call home for a few days.