Barton Springs

Barton Springs is a spring fed public swimming pool in the city of Austin, Texas. The spring water comes from a nearby limestone aquifer.

The people who swim hear, on what I assume to be a regular basis, seem fittingly hirsute and or/ aged as if to blend in with the large slabs of limestone at the bottom of the pool and the algae covered man made interventions, like the hand rails and slimy steps down into water.

German Texas

At some point in the recent past Germans settled into this part of Texas (Boerne, New Braunfels, Fredricksburg, Comfort etc ). I'd like to think their responsible for the type of Barbecue served in the area and the kinds of clothing you find that they might have left behind in the thrift stores: functional and standard in every way. The Barbecue feels the same, but the emphasis is on craft, and perhaps a purist approach. The menus in the restaurants are to the point, only giving essential information.

The eccentricities of the German settlers may have been left behind in the Black Forest but not their love for kitsch and practicality. The sculpture garden near downtown Boerne can attest to this, where the meaning of sculpture has been evaluated by its most time tested expressions. These accepted forms bring to light the long legacy of representational sculptures of small children, larger than life renditions of prickly pears in steel, and chrome whirligigs.

The Saltlick:

blackberry cobbler with blue bell vanilla ice cream

the spread of brisket sausage and ribs on each plate served with top split hot dog buns, pickles and onions. The sides served with the meat were somewhat sub-par. The beans were a little unmemorable, the potato salad was warm with lots of mustard, hence the yellowish color and the slaw was just cabbage dressed with mayo white vinegar and sesame. But I guess you don't go to the Saltlick for the sides... Although, the moist brisket called 'marbled' brisket was a little lean for my tastes.

TX; part 2

We've been in TX for 4 days plus the night we came in. All the drinks I've had came in a Styrofoam cup. The sweet tea tastes like syrup, but in a good way. And the small size is large.

 

Fair Oaks Ranch is the the neighborhood where David grew up. It used to be one continuous ranch totaling some 5,000 acres. Now it's been divided into several different suburban communities like Deer Meadows, Fair Oaks Garden, or Windermere. The roads curve and wind and are filled with trucks, SUVs and deer, some dead.

Fast food, albeit is fast food, and I'm not here to tell you anything different. However, I sense there is a subtly to the fast food of Texas not as fleshed out in any other part of the country.  I might dare to say that the folks down here value their fast food, even uplift it to a different standard, as if to exist in world devoid of diabetes and obesity and filled to the brim with simple and basic olfactory pleasures derived from animal.