The day started cool but by 2 PM (CST) it was about 25 degrees celsius. It felt like end of August, beginning of September in Toronto. Comfortable. The weather reports keep warning us of the deep freeze heading here on Saturday, when it'll drop to around 15 degrees. Still sounds nice to me.
The accents aren't as thick as I had hoped. It's pretty subtle for the most part, except for my waitress tonight, who is the same waitress I had last night. I went back to the same place because she kept calling me "darlin'."
Anyway, started at the State Capitol this morning. It opened at 7 AM, which was good scheduling for me. I took the first guided tour at 8:30, group of one--just me.
People here seem justifiably (in my opinion) proud of the Capitol building. They like to point out the dome is actually higher than the National Capitol in DC, and its colour is distinctive because of the stone used to build it. (As always, click on the photos to get a larger view of them).
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| Sun coming up on the Capitol in Ausin |
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| A closer view |
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| Detail of the building |
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Interior of the dome. Note Texas' symbol, the Lone Star. This one is 8 feet across, but looks a lot smaller from 200+ feet underneath it.
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| Detail of the rotunda. |
The people are really friendly here, but in fulfilling other stereotypes, security at the Capitol was armed like this:
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| Another quiet day at the Legislature? |
Not sure why that fire power is needed on a daily basis, but meh....
If you're wondering what I'm eating in Austin, I got around to some barbecue. This is one piece of meat I had at lunch. I don't want to say how much I ate....
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I hope this is the last photo I post of myself....
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I'm only in the photo so you know how big the beef rib was. It was massive.
The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum was really good. Comprehensive exhibits on how Texas came to join the US. Note, again the Lone Star; this time, in front of the building.
