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Texas Trip - Day 9 - 5 Zeds and 1 million bats


captain

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excellent !

Some good photography too :-) That you or the grown up in control of the camera ? :teeth:

 

Just me and a Nikon D7000. Lenses are Nikon 35mm 1.8, 10 -20mm Sigma, Tamron 18-70 2.8 and Nikon 55-200mm. Nikon SB400 speedlight.

 

Lots to carry each day but worth it. :thumbs:

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Sounds and looks like you had a great time :thumbs:

Which was your favourite bit of the trip? I think I know ;)

 

Breakfast. :lol::lol:

 

:snack:

:lol::lol:

Ok then, let's rephrase that. Who would you like to serve you breakfast ? ;)

 

A hairy bear would have been good........... :lol::lol:

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Just found this on my lappy drive along with the 3,000 photos I took.

 

Apologies for quality of sound (vid is HD) but hopefully you can feel the spirit. They really were good.

 

Love the crazy stick girl, the hen night with the torch rings, the girl dancing with cowboy boots in the background and the lead singer's wife. :cloud9: Orange top, long legs sitting at the table in centre of shot.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHtLI69a17Y

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How sad do you have to be when your only dance partner is a stick :lol: Have really enjoyed the read & alll the photos, sounds like a great trip. By the way did you get bothered by anybody begging for money in Austin? My son did but claimed he had no money until later. On his return the guy was still there, had to give him a second excuse :blush:

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Just me and a Nikon D7000. Lenses are Nikon 35mm 1.8, 10 -20mm Sigma, Tamron 18-70 2.8 and Nikon 55-200mm. Nikon SB400 speedlight.

 

Lots to carry each day but worth it. :thumbs:

 

 

Cool, nice work :-) I too have a ton of gear to lug about but when I take some shots theres no regrets for the sweat and aching shoulders :#1: Nothing worse than seeing something and the right lens is in the car.... :rant:

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The top quality pictures really make this a great read :thumbs::thumbs:

 

Thanks Bud.

 

Day 8 ahoy.................Lazy Sunday in the Park

 

After last night's shenanigans, time for a little bit of class.

 

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Breakfast at The Driskill on 6th. OMG - talk about posh for brekkie. :scare: We had a bloody maitre d' and then 2 waiters. Complimentary mini-doughnuts was just what we needed after last night. :snack:

 

The lobby:

 

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The loos:

 

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I had a triple-decker breakfast burrito with EVERYTHING Mexican you can imagine (chillis, ground beef, guacamole, re-fried beans - with a fried egg on top) Yum yum!! Mel had the usual veggie nonsense, spinach omelette. :wacko: .

 

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Austin has some great parks right in the middle just South of the Colorado river. I think we were the only people "Strolling". Everybody else seemed to have a purpose be it running, dog-walking, swimming, canoeing etc...........must get a hobby. These Americans do make our approach to exercise ("Let's walk to that restaurant over there") seem a little lax....... :blush:

 

As usual, you'll notice the filth and mess these Yankees have to put up with on a daily basis in their public places.................

 

Stevie Ray Vaughan

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All round Austin there are pianos (there's one on the steps of City Hall) which musos just turn up and play on. Nice. :thumbs:

 

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Pedestrian bridge North across the river:

 

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Oooh. Nice M6, an old'un and one for the drug dealers amongst you:

 

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Up to the Capitol building. It's Texas so they built it a couple of feet higher than the one in Washington:

 

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Started the day with a Mexican so ended it at Manuel's restaurant on Congress Avenue. REALLY good meal and the best Margaritas we'd had so despite it being about 9:30, beddy time.

 

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"would you like some nachos and the cocktail menu, ma'am?"

 

"er........yes please"

 

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Day 9 - Five Zeds and a million bats.......

 

Austin is a nice enough place to "do nothing" so a lazy morning - Zeds everywhere!

 

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Then cheeseburger, fries and mucho beer at the Hickory Street Bar and Grill:

 

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So much beer that a lie down was needed. :wheelchair::wheelchair:

 

Up and out again and time to investigate "clean" 6th (West of Congress) as opposed to "dirty" 6th, East of Congress where we were 2 nights ago.

 

Lot more sedate but good bars all the same. Best cocktails I've EVER had at Ruth's Chris Steak House on W/6th. Including the bloody amazing Espressotini. If you've had a skinful and a burger for lunch, this is the puppy to get you going again at 18:00. Hiding here behind my Manhattan:

 

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Top barman as well. Customer service is on a different level in the US. Showed us how to make the cocktails, remembered our names, introduced us to other people etc etc. MInd you, for a $10 tip so he should...... :lol:

 

On to the Driskill for REALLY posh. Another fantastic barman (from Amarillo - he knew the way if you're interested).

 

Sitting there, sipping a Rusty Nail, leaning back in the cow-hide bar stool, I can't think I've ever been happier on a holiday and had another "America moment". It's an overpowering feeling of being part of something so absolutely "right". Let's not forget the second line of their Declaration of Independence levelled against the evil Brits:

 

".............that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness............ "

 

The pursuit of happiness. mmmmmmmmmm. Jefferson really was a great man. Think I'll have another Rusty Nail to celebrate. :thumbs:

 

 

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Sooooooooooooo. Time to wander off to the Congress Avenue Bridge to see the "world famous" (no, me neither) flight of "millions" of bats at sunset, which evidently happens every night.

 

Well despite looking as hard as I could:

 

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and Mel looking some more:

 

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there were no bloody bats. TBH I was a little :drunk: so had a little kip under the bridge but when I woke up, still no bats. :angry:

 

That's enough Bill Oddie for one holiday so a quick snorter and time for bed. Just caught this on the way home. I think 5 is a record for 1 day!!

 

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I've seen the bats...!! Absolutely amazing site - but it stank!

 

I think they're earlier than sunset though :shrugs:

 

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Did you make it to Chuys?

 

We were there way before sunset...... :lol: There were 100s of people on the grass under the bridge but the bats were clearly haveing a day off.

 

I'll show Mel the picture because she was very upset at the bat shortage.

 

And yes, it stank. :thumbdown:

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