Since there is not much to do in an empty house, we decided to head over to Austin yesterday, in search of amusement. Now, in Houston, we had something very cool called the Art Car Parade. Basically, a bunch of crazy people decorate cars or build strange vehicles from scratch, then drive them very slowly (because that’s all they are capable of) down Allen Parkway, while hoards of people cheer them on. Surprisingly, the vehicles are not really the main attraction. It’s the people that are attached to them. You usually have a driver and several groupies, dressed to match the theme of the vehicle, who walk alongside it and ham it up for the crowds, occasionally tossing out treats. I used to think it was just about the most fun parade ever, but that was before I discovered the Red Bull Flugtag. If you were to take all of the Art Car vehicles, add wings to them, and shove them off of a thirty foot ramp, into a lake or river, that would be flugtag. And, lucky for us, it was held right here in Austin this year. Once again, we discovered that it was the people, not the vehicles, who made this an event worth attending. While Corey Morrow entertained on stage, and John wandered from one flying contraption to the next, snapping photos, I found a nice shady area back in the trees where I could sit and watch as an endless stream of lunatics paraded past me - everything from cowboys with giant cockroaches, to prancing goats, hillbillies and leprechauns.
When it was time for the entrants to begin lining up for takeoff, John and I returned to the viewing area up on a bridge that had been closed to traffic just for this event. It would have been perfect, except for one or two minor things. First of all, I’m certain it must have been 110 degrees in the shade that day, if there had been any shade on that bridge, which there was not. Second, it felt as if tens of thousands of people were crammed onto the bridge, with their stinky, sweaty bodies smashed up against ours. Just when I thought I could not take another minute of it, I noticed that down on the shore, opposite from the takeoff ramp, there were a few nice, shady spaces tucked between clumps of shrubs and trees, where one might sit on the bank and enjoy the show. John and I decided to check it out. Quite a few people had got there well before us, spread their blankets and set up their coolers and lawn chairs, but there was still room for us to stand up behind them and get a good view. Best of all, it was blessedly cool compared to the bridge. Just as we were patting ourselves on the back, to congratulate ourselves on finding the perfect spot, a party boat floated into view, and parked itself directly in front of us, blocking everyone's view. Talk about an angry mob! Some of these people had staked out those spots hours before, and were not willing to surrender without a fight. They began shouting “Move that Boat! Move that Boat!” When that didn’t work, they tried “Capital Cruises Suck!”, and other things that I’d best not mention. Finally one guy stripped down to his shorts and actually swam out to the boat, and explained to them that if they just moved one length to either side, they would be sitting in front of shrubs and not blocking anyone’s view. Alas, his pleas fell on deaf Red Bull VIP ears. When someone picked up a beer bottle and hurled it towards the boat, John and I decided it was time to leave. We wandered back up to street level, and managed to see one or two take-offs, both of which did nosedives straight into the water, then decided that since there was such a long wait between each take-off, and since we were so blasted hot, maybe we’d had enough fun for one day. Afterwards we wandered over to the Hickory Street Grill and had supper out on their shaded deck, which had two major things going for it, neither of which was it’s food. First there were fans that not only created a nice breeze, but also emitted a cooling mist. Second, and most importantly, since we were outdoors, and the tables weren’t too close together, it didn’t matter that we were quite sweaty and stinky ourselves!
When it was time for the entrants to begin lining up for takeoff, John and I returned to the viewing area up on a bridge that had been closed to traffic just for this event. It would have been perfect, except for one or two minor things. First of all, I’m certain it must have been 110 degrees in the shade that day, if there had been any shade on that bridge, which there was not. Second, it felt as if tens of thousands of people were crammed onto the bridge, with their stinky, sweaty bodies smashed up against ours. Just when I thought I could not take another minute of it, I noticed that down on the shore, opposite from the takeoff ramp, there were a few nice, shady spaces tucked between clumps of shrubs and trees, where one might sit on the bank and enjoy the show. John and I decided to check it out. Quite a few people had got there well before us, spread their blankets and set up their coolers and lawn chairs, but there was still room for us to stand up behind them and get a good view. Best of all, it was blessedly cool compared to the bridge. Just as we were patting ourselves on the back, to congratulate ourselves on finding the perfect spot, a party boat floated into view, and parked itself directly in front of us, blocking everyone's view. Talk about an angry mob! Some of these people had staked out those spots hours before, and were not willing to surrender without a fight. They began shouting “Move that Boat! Move that Boat!” When that didn’t work, they tried “Capital Cruises Suck!”, and other things that I’d best not mention. Finally one guy stripped down to his shorts and actually swam out to the boat, and explained to them that if they just moved one length to either side, they would be sitting in front of shrubs and not blocking anyone’s view. Alas, his pleas fell on deaf Red Bull VIP ears. When someone picked up a beer bottle and hurled it towards the boat, John and I decided it was time to leave. We wandered back up to street level, and managed to see one or two take-offs, both of which did nosedives straight into the water, then decided that since there was such a long wait between each take-off, and since we were so blasted hot, maybe we’d had enough fun for one day. Afterwards we wandered over to the Hickory Street Grill and had supper out on their shaded deck, which had two major things going for it, neither of which was it’s food. First there were fans that not only created a nice breeze, but also emitted a cooling mist. Second, and most importantly, since we were outdoors, and the tables weren’t too close together, it didn’t matter that we were quite sweaty and stinky ourselves!
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