My tourist activity for my first day solo in Austin is the Capitol Building.
You need to know that I don't usually do "normal" tourist activities when I travel. I avoid the attractions that are likely to have crowds of people. I hate waiting in lines. I just hate being part of a crowd in general. Another reason is that I tend to get bored quickly and have a poor retention of details.
So, I have a few options on how to approach telling you about my Capitol Building visit. I could proceed to tell you a bunch of details about the Capitol: details about age, construction, history. Many of these details would bore you, and I would have to look them up anyhow because I have since forgotten them. Not to mention that these types of details are not the focus of my blog. If I bore you, you'll stop coming by to be entertained.
Or, I could just insert a handy link and let you look up the details at your leisure. In that way, I can write about the things that might interest you more.
Here is the link to learn more about The State Capitol Building in Austin: www.tspb.state.tx.us/tspb.htm
I am not sure if I mentioned it before, but what interests me in Austin this time is to define the phrase "Keep Austin Weird". It originated from a phone conversation between a librarian with the Austin Community College system and a local radio station. The librarian, Red Wasserich, and his wife used the phrase on bumper stickers and distributed them as a way to promote small business in Austin. The phrase was eventually trademarked in 2003 and shortly thereafter evolved into a tourist slogan. It is not unique to Austin anymore; it has been adopted by cities all over the country from Oregon to Florida to Virginia.
What is "weird" about Austin? And do the locals see themselves as "weird"?
The only "weird" thing about my visit to the Capitol Building today was trying to find parking.
Weird Austin Item #1 = Parking
Quite a few qualities stood out as weird in comparison to all the other cities I have visited, driven and parked in.
First, Austin has a limited supply of parking structures for a city with such a high tourist appeal. But, what's more, these parking structures are poorly marked from the street. I drove around the same four block area three times to relocate the structure that I thought I identified as public parking only by craning my neck into the darkened entrance as I flew past it at 35 mph. Combine this with the attention-hogging needs of navigating one way streets and bicycle lanes, and you have a recipe for frustration.
Parking costs in any big city are high. It seems just natural. What's "weird" about Austin's parking is that, while the parking structures are the most expensive at almost $2 per hour, there is copious, less-expensive street parking in a variety of pay options. Some are standard coin meters, which are highly inconvenient in this age of plastic money. I don't tend to carry 10 pounds of change with me when I travel. To accomodate that, there are many meters that accept credit cards.
Lastly, there are various lots around the city labeled LAZ. These lots are usually small and hard to maneuver in (so plan for difficulty parking that big Dodge Ram or Chevy Suburban) and are operated on the honor system. At the front of the lot, you will find a large box that looks like a big bird hotel with many slots that correspond to parking spots. A rate chart is posted in clear view. Several of these lots, particularly those on the West side of town, are monitored by either a parking machine, or a live human. Be careful of the humans though: some are a little on the weird side, literally. One lot I tried had a monitor who was so weird that I got back into my car and went to the lot across the street. Even paid an additional $2 for the privilege.
The rest of my Capitol Building visit was normal. I joined a tour group with a tour director named Josh, who was quite young and spoke too fast. I felt the urge to hit the pause button on his recital of whatever recording he was playing in his head. The tour hasn't changed much in the last 10 years since I took it last time and the building and grounds are still just as beautiful.
Back to the hotel afterwards. As I drive back to the hotel I wonder what to do for dinner. I hate eating dinner in a restaurant by myself. I hate even more to waste good alone time.
Who knows ~ I might meet someone new, traveling Austin solo, just like I am.
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