Far
We’ve been traveling far
Without a home
But not without a star
Free
Only want to be free
We huddle close
Hang on to a dream
On the boats and on the planes
They’re coming to America
Never looking back again
They’re coming to America
– Neil Diamond
Friday 17 May, 2024
The stormy, rainy weather left us overnight, and it was a cloudy but dry start to the day. Plenty of heat and humidity, with a promise of sun in the afternoon and lots of it tomorrow and Sunday – temperatures in the mid-to-high 30’s Celsius, which is a little hotter than I would like.
We drove over to Lake Travis and the Lake Travis Zipline Adventures. The landscape around Austin is very different to the Texas you see on TV and in the movies. The politics of Austin are different to the rest of Texas, too. The city’s motto is: Keep Austin Weird.
Named for William B. Travis, a lieutenant-colonel in the Texian army at the famous Battle of the Alamo (which he did not survive – unfortunately, he was far from alone in that regard), Lake Travis (actually a flood-control reservoir) is a popular place for party boats and especially bachelor/bachelorette events. Although it was mid-morning on a Friday, there were already a few party boats on the water, their music definitely audible where we were on an island set up with five lines, including the longest and fastest in all of Texas.
ZIplining is great as a way to see the local area. I’ve done memorable ones in Tennessee, Missouri, Idaho and up north in British Columbia, Canada, and they’ve all been excellent. But this one might have been the best. It starts with a boat ride across the lake and involved a fair amount of hiking, including up to the final line, which was a dual one, so you go down with someone else, just a little way out of arm’s length, at over 65mph, I’m told.
I’m glad it wasn’t any hotter or less cloudy than it was, because walking up the decently steep and also rocky terrain would have been quite a punish in higher temperatures with less cloud cover. That said, the way they have the whole place set up is very, very impressive. Trails are easy to find, instructors are friendly and the views are epic. I am waiting on some photos that we got via the Zipline company, and will post when I get them. I didn’t take my phone with me…just in case.
Got back to the Airbnb mid-afternoon and I made the mistake of going out for some exercise. It was very hot and very humid and I kind of wish I had stayed inside in the air-conditioning. Not dealing with this Texas weather very well at all – Idaho’s climate is much more to my liking.
After that, we went downtown to get some dinner. We ended up at a sports bar for burgers, which is fantastic because there is plenty of good sport taking right now – hockey and basketball playoffs, plus baseball’s regular season – to keep you occupied at that kind of place. Capped off the night with a bit of a stroll along the Colorado River.
We are working our way through “Manhunt”, the miniseries about the hunt for Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth. Very good show, which has taught me a lot about the unfortunate event, and we ticked off another episode tonight.
Early to bed, big day at the track tomorrow.
kitchtrips 