I spent a long weekend in Austin visiting old friends in their new homes and celebrating birthdays. Yeah, I’m not the only one turning 30 this week… The hospitality was solid and I was glad to be in some warm(er) weather especially when the first real winter storm hit NYC last Friday. I was also fascinated by the rapid development consuming the metro area. It maybe more dramatic to someone who only visits once, maybe twice a year but Austin is a whole new city from when I left it in 2002.
Naturally, the new buildings downtown have altered the skyline but there were just as many - if not more large building construction sites close to and around downtown. New apartment and condo buildings have sprouted up everywhere along the I-35 corridor. I heard even Lance Armstrong has a residential tower on Town Lake under construction. I wonder if there are plans to paint the whole thing yellow?
I spent some time in North Austin as well, where I felt slightly disoriented the entire time. From my memory of the area circa 2000, it is unrecognizable. Unless I was looking at Texas highway signs, the consistent patterns of commercial and residential developments were confusing me to really get a sense of my point on a map. Then again, I am very directionally challenged and I am looking for excuses to get an iPhone before it goes 3G. The compass on my key chain may not be enough.
One thing hasn’t changed and that is the quality (and quantity) of food. Freebird’s still serves my favorite burrito. Polvo’s is still the best Tex-Mex I’ve ever had. And there is nothing quite like BBQ in Austin, even a place like Rudy’s that doesn’t have the clout of a Louie Mueller’s, Kruez or Salt Lick. But maybe my favorite thing to do is visit grocery stores like Central Market or just HEB where the produce sections seem larger than most of grocery stores in Manhattan. And everything is abundant, fresh and cheap (brings tears to my eyes).
I love Austin and I always will. But I felt the distance that has come between us. Perhaps both the city and I have grown up and become less…weird.
I was just listening to Ghostland Observatory - Dancin On My Grave