Travel Diary; Everyone Loves Austin…Except Me
Posted on June 19, 2008
Filed Under Travel Diary
In my travels over the years, I’ve managed to bounce all over Texas. From Amarillo (middle of nowhere), to El Paso (we should give it back to Mexico), to Houston (does anyone know why people move there) to San Antonio (see Houston), to Dallas (best of the bunch, but that’s not saying a lot), I’ve seen much of Texas, but somehow never managed to make to Austin. It seems Austin is the hip hot spot in Texas these days. Just about everyone I’ve met who’s been there just raves about it, so I was actually somewhat excited when business finally called for my first visit.
Everything is bigger in Texas -One thing I’ve learned about Texans is that they seem to have an inferiority complex about their state. Everywhere I turn there are signs and bumper stickers promoting how much bigger, better, etc Texas is along with the state motto ‘Don’t mess with Texas’. One of my co-workers proudly announced that the Texas state capital is bigger than the one in Washington DC. Geez people lighten up, your state’s no California or Florida, but you’re not Iowa either. We get it you’re a big state.
Keep Austin weird -This apparently is the Austin catchphrase, because it’s everywhere. I’m not sure why. Austin is lots of things, but as far as I can tell, it’s not that weird. Seriously if you want to see weird, head out to San Francisco, they’ve got the market cornered on weird.
My kingdom for some decent Mexican food -I’m going to go ahead and admit I’m partial to Arizona’s Mexican cuisine, there are some absolutely amazing restaurants in the greater Phoenix area. However, I’m not naive enough to think that good Mexican food does not exist outside of Arizona. Coyote Cantina in San Diego is one of my favorites. So I was optimistic that Austin would have some good options. I was taken to Guero’s, which was proported to be quite good. Ummm…not so much. It’s no Taco Bell, but it definitely fell flat for me. Granted one restaurant is not a definitive study, so I’m hopeful my next trip will bring better results.
Is this Dallas? This isn’t Dallas -As I mentioned previously, I kind of like Dallas. It’s a big metropolitan city with all the big city stuff that most people would want. Plus it’s kind of pretty in a flat Texas sort of way. Austin reminds me of a smaller Dallas with more rolling hills, so that’s good. Right?
They do have a nice airport -Given that I’m a business traveler, every city I go to gets at least partially judged by it’s airport. While some cities are great, but have crappy airports (see LA, San Diego and New York), some have great airports, but are crappy cities(see Houston). Austin has hands down one of the better airports I’ve been to. Lot’s of unique local restaurants and shops, which are nice when you’re killing time as I am today. Plus it’s clean and well maintained, so it’s got that going for it.
The verdict -I really wanted to like Austin. In the end, it’s just OK for me. That said, I do hope to come back and see more of it before I totally right it off. Maybe next timeI’ll find the weird part.
Until next time…
This is coming from the same guy who didn’t like Key West–I guess there is no accounting for taste! ; )
Jay Hargis’s last blog post..Lead or Get Out of the Way
I don’t recall not liking Key West. I certainly prefer it over Austin or any other Texas city for that matter.