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Why Can't I Quit You, Austin?


texasdago

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Good God, BSP was a lifesaver last year.  It was so absurdly hot that on days when it was 105+, we would go down to Barton Springs, jump in for a swim and then you could sit in the shade and feel air conditioned for the next hour.  One of my favorite things about BSP is the community feel around the diving board... a mix of people showing off, doing crazy jumps, learning how to jump off of a board the first time and... the best... the whole pool cheering on a kid who is scared to jump off.  Its beautiful.

First visit to BSP this year was end of March...

image.thumb.png.ace07a4d7dfa82253ee3fad47155dc27.png

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Posted (edited)

NO NO! Austin sucks. The people in the suburbs in Dallas and Houston need to remember that Austin sucks. There's nothing here.

They need to tour Houston to see which refinery has the least polluting smoke coming out of the top and around Dallas suburbs to see which strip mall has the most parking.

Edited by crash_davis
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Well everyone knows the bottom of BSP is lined with liberal homeless people who had their bodies draped in LBGTQ flags.

...but when I'm not dodging them, give me a nice cold cocktail under the oak trees at Fresa's on S. 1st.  

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Posted (edited)

Good thread.  I often lament how Austin has changed over the last several decades, and the last 3 summers have seeded daydreams of moving somewhere cooler.  But at least once each season I have an experience that reminds me why I live here:

-My birthday is in January, and in the last few years I have started 2 traditions: I go to dinner with my wife at Fonda San Miguel on my actual birthday, and then the Saturday closest to my birthday, I go walk campus, shop the Co-Op, and meet friends for beers at Mockingbird Saloon (formerly Texas Showdown).  Fonda is a reminder that Austin has world class restaurants.  Walking campus and having beers down there is nostalgic, but even outside of that, the weather in January is often fantastic and the vibe of that huge college campus is something you don’t get in most cities.

-The Capitol 10k in March/April is always a reminder of my love of the city.  Tens of thousands of people gathered to do something healthy and fun.  Live music.  Free shit.  Beer.  And many times the weather is perfect.

-Barton Springs Pool, Hamilton Pool, Krause Springs.  As mentioned above, jumping into BSP on a 105 degree day is bliss.  During the aughts I had a tradition of going down there on the week the first college football magazines came out each summer; some of the best solo days of my life.  I can’t wait to take my girls to jump off the diving board now that they’re old enough.

-Every time I walk thru the concourse of DKR at the first home game, I get goosebumps.  Thats my Austin.  And the pregame scene is light years better than it was back when Austin was “cool”.

This list could go on.  ACL, UT baseball, UT basketball, RR Express, endless restaurant choices, live music (even if there’s less of it), running Town Lake, Mt Bonnell…

The traffic is shit.  The culture of the city has deteriorated.  Everything is too expensive.  The politics in Texas is stupid.  And the summer heat might end up forcing me to move in the end.  But I would still easily rank Austin among the 20 or so best places to live in the country overall, and for me personally, I’m still right where I want to be.

Edited by Snake Diggity
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Posted (edited)

Is this where we celebrate when Nic...er...the Rainey Street Killer is apprehended?

I'll add this area. I was lucky enough to live off the Butler Hike and Bike trail for a couple years, and it's a beautiful place to view the city.

 

PXL_20201004_015354220.NIGHT.thumb.jpg.7c4f6579f546cfeb0447584cbd76895f.jpg

 

Edited by gofuckyourself
Dammit SA. Beat me to it.
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Posted (edited)

Yeah, you know... its funny... we met up with my brother at Irene's about two weeks ago.  He was at UT in the mid/late 80s.  For me it was 89-93.  I loved Austin back then and let's be honest, I didn't really take advantage of everything it had to offer.  I left Austin for many years but would come back all the time and I watched it change.  Same goes for my brother.  The change was just that... change... and it didn't phase me. Living in Houston, I always laughed at Austin traffic.  It was piddly in comparison.  When we came back, I saw that it was worse but still so minor compared to Houston so I try to use that perspective.

Well, anyway, my brother and I were at Irene's and I asked him what he thought of the Austin of today and he said exactly what I was thinking...

"I love it even more today"

Yeah, its more expensive and that sucks BUT there is more live music than ever before and it is a broad mix of music.  The food is better than it used to be.  East side has all kinds of stuff going on.  Breweries throughout town.  Hiking trails and network has been improved.  BSP has not changed a thing.  There's more to do... UT has stepped up its gameday experience, Austin FC, etc. etc.  Oh... and I hate the 1980s skyline.  Lame ass skyline.  Fight me. The new skyline kicks ass.

I'm thinking of eventually leaving because of the climate and because of the dicks running this state but, for Texas, nowhere else I would rather be.

I'll raise a toast to y'all when watching a show this weekend.  Central Machine Works has some good bands both Saturday and Sunday if I don't make it to Psych Fest (or Briscoe tonight at Stubb's since someone is trying to convince me to go)

Edited by texasdago
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I was in Austin for the Ohio State game in 06.  Closed down the bars on 6th Street, ate tacos at 3 am close to our hotel and stood in the beer garden at Schmidt’s for many hours on Saturday.  Was fun.  Was hot.  Would do again.

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Paddle board Town Lake on a summer weekend. You get to cool off and see a band in the middle of the damn lake.

Also one of the best views of Austin is to paddle board/kayak Town Lake at night. Paddle to see the bats and city lights from the lake.

 

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OK... I have seen the DJ at Party Island but never seen the band.  That is hilarious.

Also love it when there is a band on a Saturday morning along the trail... usually there to support the Trail Conservancy.  https://thetrailconservancy.org/programs/music/#:~:text=The Trail Conservancy is thrilled,to your morning Trail routine.

 

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5 minutes ago, closetohumping said:

*sigh.  Damn I miss it.  But I feel like I"m too old for it.  

Remember being young in Austin and doing stuff and there were a bunch of old guys hanging around doing stuff too? You could be one of those old guys. Pull up a seat.

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6 minutes ago, texasdago said:

OK... I have seen the DJ at Party Island but never seen the band.  That is hilarious.

Also love it when there is a band on a Saturday morning along the trail... usually there to support the Trail Conservancy.  https://thetrailconservancy.org/programs/music/#:~:text=The Trail Conservancy is thrilled,to your morning Trail routine.

 

I like the Party Island, Brotilla, or whatever people call it. It's uniquely Austin and is a funny, spontaneous thing which was born out of Covid. I'm usually on my paddle board most weekends during the summer and about half the time on a weekend day, there's a band or some sort of music event happening on a barge/float.

What I don't like is all the shit that people leave on the lake when the sun starts setting: paddles, oars, popped floats, plastic bottles and trash everywhere. 

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6 minutes ago, chainsaw said:

Remember being young in Austin and doing stuff and there were a bunch of old guys hanging around doing stuff too? You could be one of those old guys. Pull up a seat.

im horny jack nicholson GIF

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10 minutes ago, chainsaw said:

Remember being young in Austin and doing stuff and there were a bunch of old guys hanging around doing stuff too? You could be one of those old guys. Pull up a seat.

As I said, I went to UT from 89-93.  I have no qualms going to anything... and everything.  F it.  I don't care.

(although I went to Latchkey with a group of friends... yeah, felt a little out of place there)

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1 hour ago, texasdago said:

Good God, BSP was a lifesaver last year.  It was so absurdly hot that on days when it was 105+, we would go down to Barton Springs, jump in for a swim and then you could sit in the shade and feel air conditioned for the next hour.  One of my favorite things about BSP is the community feel around the diving board... a mix of people showing off, doing crazy jumps, learning how to jump off of a board the first time and... the best... the whole pool cheering on a kid who is scared to jump off.  Its beautiful.

First visit to BSP this year was end of March...

image.thumb.png.ace07a4d7dfa82253ee3fad47155dc27.png

 

I made student documentary film back in the stone ages focusing just on Zilker Park, using B&W 16mm film.

I may have to dig it up and digitize it for the thread. It included a ride on the train back before they botched it all up, and potentially other interesting time capsule tidbits.

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1 hour ago, crash_davis said:

NO NO! Austin sucks. The people in the suburbs in Dallas and Houston need to remember that Austin sucks. There's nothing here.

They need to tour Houston to see which refinery has the least polluting smoke coming out of the top and around Dallas suburbs to see which strip mall has the most parking.

Haha, I applaud your consistent reflex to shit on Dallas and Houston consistently in these threads. 

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1 minute ago, YChang said:

Haha, I applaud your consistent reflex to shit on Dallas and Houston consistently in these threads. 

Getting ahead of the curve before some dude from Prosper tries to start shitting on Austin.

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I have an idea!  Why don't we leave both the preemptive thread-shitting and the reactionary thread-shitting to the doomsayer threads like ___ what the f is wrong with you and the great enshittification thread, and leave this one positive, as it was designed and intended?

I'll go again--

I grew up going here as a kid in the 70s/80s, and my kids have grown up going here as well.  And it really hasn't changed all that much, aside from 1/2 of it becoming an antique mall...

image.thumb.png.eac45feff63024cb302a233921e86fe1.png

 

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Posted (edited)
11 minutes ago, utee94 said:

I have an idea!  Why don't we leave both the preemptive thread-shitting and the reactionary thread-shitting to the doomsayer threads like ___ what the f is wrong with you and the great enshittification thread, and leave this one positive, as it was designed and intended?

I'll go again--

I grew up going here as a kid in the 70s/80s, and my kids have grown up going here as well.  And it really hasn't changed all that much, aside from 1/2 of it becoming an antique mall...

image.thumb.png.eac45feff63024cb302a233921e86fe1.png

 

Well, that and vintage clothing stores. 😉 So as to keep the positive going:

dansnlamar.jpg.45b182b260e7a3984aabd1535e528bc6.jpg

Edited by BurntEyes
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Any of you old timers ever eat at GM Steakhouse? Not the one on Lamar, the one near campus. 

You would order a burger with "everything". They would ask, you sure you want everything? You say yes, and they would whip out some random object, like a carburetor from an old Chevy, and slap that on your plate. 

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Just now, High Plains Drifter said:

 

Any of you old timers ever eat at GM Steakhouse? Not the one on Lamar, the one near campus. 

You would order a burger with "everything". They would ask, you sure you want everything? You say yes, and they would whip out some random object, like a carburetor from an old Chevy, and slap that on your plate. 

Yup.  They only had cheeseburgers.  If you ordered a cheeseburger without the cheese, they'd charge you extra.  But, the abuse from the staff, was free.

 

 

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Posted (edited)

Taco Shack was where I first learned about breakfast tacos.  I feel like it was called Taco Wars back then.  99 cent tacos.

One favor

Can we please please please not turn this into a "I miss old Austin thread?" 

I would love to keep this about Austin today... Austin in the present tense.

Not, "I miss going to the Black Cat... waaaaah"

There are other "I miss Old Austin threads" scattered through surly

Snl Begging GIF by Saturday Night Live

Edited by texasdago
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The GM Steakhouse, that was a fun place. I'm brain farting on the coffee shop right down the road with a bunch of smelly hippies and great beans and rice. It's over in Hydepark now, next to a great restaurant: 

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9 minutes ago, BurntEyes said:

msid-44857835width-96height-65_cms.thumb.jpg.edd41d4f248b9299b8a5b87510f626b4.jpgfood_feature1-2.jpg.1d41ad3fbda36b2e32f5cf3dfa9ca334.jpg1399535_166306470242620_1034049107_o.jpg.443f762e108bd4eb33e600df961a43ca.jpg1401740_166306290242638_2004624895_o.jpg.8d11b20f5d889c6effa5182bda961559.jpg1453228842.thumb.jpg.e3721bf8f40c070dfd609cb22a9f6a72.jpg

 

Some good memories, and some not so good, in those pics. A piece of me died when I went back to the drag years later and saw that the Showdown had closed. 

Also spent a lot of time, money, and liver and brain cells at Posse East (which was called "The Beach" when I first showed up on the 40) and the bar next door, whose name escapes me at the moment. Or maybe the bar next door was called the Posse East. 

 

 

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3 minutes ago, texasdago said:

Taco Shack was where I first learned about breakfast tacos.  I feel like it was called Taco Wars back then.  99 cent tacos.

One favor

Can we please please please not turn this into a "I miss old Austin thread?" 

I would love to keep this about Austin today... Austin in the present tense.

Not, "I miss going to the Black Cat... waaaaah"

There are other "I miss Old Austin threads" scattered through surly

Snl Begging GIF by Saturday Night Live

I'm with you hence why I tried to balance it with places still open. 

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Just now, High Plains Drifter said:

 

Some good memories, and some not so good, in those pics. A piece of me died when I went back to the drag years later and saw that the Showdown had closed. 

Also spent a lot of time, money, and liver and brain cells at Posse East (which was called "The Beach" when I first showed up on the 40) and the bar next door, whose name escapes me at the moment. Or maybe the bar next door was called the Posse East. 

 

 

Poss East also had very solid burgers. That was over by the Engineering buildings.

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