Now I See!

This graffiti is on the stairs down to the Hike and Bike trail near our downtown condo. Now, I think, I see, too.

Downtown Shapes

We were walking west on Third Street the other day and I was struck by all the signs and shapes at this one spot. The modern awning and signs are part of the Inteurban Development Office which has something to do with downtown development. The AMLI, the 360, street signs and a bit of the Hobby State office building provide other planes and shapes. Lower left corner has a gray human head. That would be FFP.

Clouds

Living downtown doesn't mean escaping the sky. Besides seeing the different skies out the floor to ceiling windows sometimes we will be walking around and notice an amazing juxtaposition of cloud and skyscrapers.

Urban Dog and Tower

The 360 looms over the parking garage and parking lot we can see from our balcony. Moments earlier we saw FFP step out on the balcony. I was out walking Zoey the Urban Dog the other day with my friend Urban Girl aka SuRu.

Tiniest Bar Spreads its Wings

A while back a tiny building on West Fifth opened as a bar and declared themselves the Tiniest Bar in Texas. Then they seemed to sprawl along the land the building occupies with outdoor tables and a little stage. I prefer a cool, dark bar with a Manhattan on the rocks, but this bar seems to be getting some business.

The Shadow of the Mighty Oak

This isn't in a vast verdant park somewhere but is itself a stone's throw from the 360 and Zona Rosa and Mellow Johnny's. The latter two are newer businesses partially or wholly in buildings that have been around a while. It is on a plot of land the size of the tree's canopy beside a bank drive through. This live oak tree, judging from its girth, is literally hundreds of years old. Zoey the Urban Standard Poodle (she has already memorized where the 'dog entrance' to the 360 is and stops there but looks pleadingly for another tour around the block) volunteered to stand by the tree to show its size. The tree appears to be wildly healthy (unlike another of its generation, The Treaty Oak on Baylor Street, which someone tried to poison a few years back). My upstairs neighbor (Zoey's slave) and I think this is a great place to bring her on her constitutional.

All That Jazz

Saturday night we went to a benefit for Aids Services Austin at La Zona Rosa (a club, not a district) across from our condo. The benefit was Viva Las Vegas their annual fund-raiser with bling, pretend gambling, etc. The entertainment was provided by some Ballet Austin dancers doing dances choreographed to Broadway tunes. It was a good time and then had an interesting auction and we saw lots of friends there. I think they raised a lot of money of ASA, too, for their legal fund.