So we arrived around 11am and headed for the campus of University of Texas at Austin (Go Longhorns! Who would pick orange as a college color?). Rumor was that there was a tower from the top of which we could see the area. We located a silent, dark building with a tower that we couldn't find our way up in... so so much for relying on random tourist booklets to guide us.

Next was the Texas State History Museum, where we looked at the exhibits (about as engaging as museums usually are) and watched an IMAX movie on Texas. That was awesome. Beside the sweet use of Lyle Lovett's “That's Right (You're Not From Texas)” (“but Texas wants you anyway!”), this film demonstrated reasons we should feel pride for this great state. There were musical montages including the state football championship (very Friday Night Lights), the glittering big cities, and sweeping aerial shots of really dramatic canyons and mountains. Very surprising, all this diversity within Texas, which is larger than a state should be. There was the Alamo, there were rustic border scenes. I actually felt a swell of pride, getting swept up in the emotion of being proud at where one comes from. But, really, what does being from Texas have to do with what one is? I don't see us ever being a couple that puts up the Lone Star flag in the window.

Now, Austin is smack-dab in the middle of Texas Hill Country. To me, this means one thing only – WINE. Though it was a bit of a drive (45 minutes) to the nearest winery, I think it was worth it. We did a wine tasting of about 15 wines (!) and bought two – a sauvignon blanc and three bottles of a dry rose. Then we went on a tour of the premises, seeing the machines that crush the grapes and press the juice out of them, as well as the vats and barrels where they are processed. If you have any interest in wine, you must do this. We rounded out the tour by looking warily at the grape-stomping bucket (Clint: “I don't want purple feet!”) and walking on by.

I've been inspired by the quote “Tourists see what they come to see. Travelers see what they see.” So we drove around a lot, getting a feel for the city, because we wanted to be blown about by the winds of wandering. And the winds tonight said “See the bats...” So - we stuck around all evening just so we could see the bats. This meant we sat in a tiny little sliver of park underneath the Congress Avenue bridge, along with little girls running after dragonflies and couples cuddling under trees. We waited, and we waited, and we waited for dusk. Finally, the first couple of bats emerged slowly, seemingly sniffing out the air for bugs. And then they just did not stop. There are 1.5 millions bats that live under this bridge, and until you see them actually appear, you would never believe it. It reportedly takes them 45 minutes to fully emerge. We snapped a couple of shots (and a great little video) then jetted out to avoid traffic and total darkness.

As we passed the famous Austin city limits sign, we could be spotted sipping gas-station lattes while belting “I remember the night we lost it, and the day she went away.... I bet Amy's back in Austin, and I'm missing her toniiiiight!”