Greetings From Texas!

Actually, I'm not in Texas anymore. I got back Saturday -- but am ready to go back as soon as possible! So much good food, good music, creative energy, neon and heat! I could have done without that last item, but otherwise it was a fantastic trip.

And, contrary to what these pictures might imply, real work was done! We had a really great conference on affordable workforce housing, and I learned a lot about the special problems faced by the South-Central US.

We stopped by the Texas Capitol after dinner Wednesday night at Stubb's Barbecue. It was beautiful, and, in contast to Indiana's, well-kept! We were surprised to be let in after 10:00pm, and also to find that Texas elected its first female governor in 1925.

Thursday evening, one of our presenters, Francie, took us out to the Broken Spoke, one of the classic honky tonks on the edge of town. We had so much fun drinking Long Star longnecks (the national beer of Texas) and learning the two-step! Though I felt pretty under-dressed without a pair of boots.

Friday night I walked out to Austin's own Miracle Mile -- a strip of highway lined by small cantinas and more than a few party stores. I had an excellent dinner, but no pinatas.

This is Barton Springs. It's a natural spring that the WPA built into a "real" city pool by damming it at one end and providing some additional deck areas. It was gorgeous, and just about the exact temperature of Lake Michigan. Felt like home.

South Congress Avenue is the "cool" district. I didn't have the cupcakes, but I did have "The South's Best Buttermilk Pie" according to Souther Living Magazine. And an ice cream float with homemade orange soda. And tried on a lot of boots at Allen's.