Rustbelt Ramblings: Tour de Tejas

Well, Spring Break has arrived...and not a moment too soon. Of course, as I departed on my "Tour de Tejas", which was to take me from Lubbock to Austin to San Antonio to Rockport to South Padre Island to Rockport and finally back to Lubbock, the skies opened up and proceeded to dump rain on us from Lubbock to San Antonio. I had hoped to spend lots of time shooting Austin and San Antonio, but the weather just wouldn't cooperate.

I did get my first taste of 6th Street in Austin, but was rather unimpressed. By the time I was headed to my hotel at the end of the night I felt like 6th Street was no different than the strip in most college towns....with more neon. Don't get me wrong, I had a good time, and the people were nice, I just expected more. Additionally, I was lucky enough to encounter someone that should have their music fan license revoked. I was standing in a bar with my girlfriend, surrounded by guys in Stetson hats, cowboy boots, and the occasional frat boy in a Ralph Lauren hat and pastel oxford shirt when I suggested to the "DJ" (read: fat guy in a UFC t-shirt with his laptop hooked to the bar's sound system) that he play some Allman Brothers rather than the worst rap music on the planet. To this he replied, and I quote, "I don't have any country music on here." To this I replied, "you're fired." Seriously, in Austin, TX of all places, a guy considers the Allman Brothers to be country music? I thought Austin had a reputation for its great live music and great music scene in general; I happened to encounter the biggest douche that city I guess....I digress. Here are some pictures from the first leg of the tour.

Frost Bank Building - Downtown Austin