(no subject)
Last weekend was the Austin Celtic Festival. I wanted to go really bad, and none of my friends appeared excited about it, so on Thursday I bought advance tickets just for myself, for both Saturday and Sunday. John said he was going to have to work all weekend, anyway.
It was a perfect weekend for the festival, I thought. The weather was the perfect mix of sun and clouds, and the festival grounds were dry. I arrived in time to enjoy the Scottish Country Dancers and a couple of pints of Harp lager before Ed Miller took the stage. There were lots of Celtic doggies running around, too, as they held a Celtic Breed dog show there, too. There were three main stages of music going pretty much all day. I enjoyed Ptarmigan (the group playing in the picture posted here) quite a bit. Other local groups that caught my ear were Constant Billy and Beyond the Pale. The SCA was also in attendance, and their audience participation bit ("Shoot a Squire") for the kids was fun to watch.
The best bit for me was the first set by Ed Miller. I hadn't heard him live all this year, and was pleased that his voice is standing the test of time. He played all my favourite songs, including the one penned by Davy Steele about the muckle horses ("The Last Trip Home"). Here's a picture of Ed singing:
On Sunday, I was fairly tired, but still managed to drag myself out of bed. I decided that I needed some solitary time, so I headed down to Town Lake for a walk. I had never been across the Pfluger pedestrian bridge (which was built, what, two years ago, I think) that connects the North and South hike & bike trails around Town Lake. I was really glad I remembered my camera, as there was a wonderful view of Austin's new skyline from the bridge.
There's a new tallest skyscraper in town, the Frost Bank tower. I sorta like the way it looks. I wish I was able to get the Capitol building in this photo, but that wasn't possible from this angle. Notice the pretty railroad bridge; those are the Amtrack tracks. Two swans were sunbathing at the base of one of those piers, they're just visible in the main photo. Well, here's how they look when I zoomed in on them. You can even see the turtles on the rock next to them!
At the North end of the bridge, there is a wonderful spiraled bike ramp that I found visually intriguing. This photo has the old Seaholme power plant in the near background. There's talk of turning this wonderful Art Deco building into a museum, someday. In the other direction, one gets a beautiful view of the Lamar Blvd. bridge, which I cross a lot in the car. This is the bridge that all pedestrians and cyclists used to have to use to cross the river, before the pedestrian bridge opened. From this end of the bridge, I followed the trail along the North bank of the lake/river, to the Shoal Creek trail and followed that one into downtown. The skies were beginning to look ominous, so I left the trail near 9th St. and began to look for shelter.
I found shelter in an alcove across from the Bookpeople/Whole Foods shopping centre, just in the nick of time. I wish I could've made it across to the street to Bookpeople (Texas' only independent bookstore) and their 3 floors of cushiony chairs. Whole Foods' flagship store is presently the building on the right of Bookpeople in the photo. The new store is being built behind the present building --- the cranes are visible in the photo.
I took the bus back across the river, and then drove home to find the following waiting on me. I just melted into a book for the rest of the day. So, I missed the Highland Games at the Celtic Festival, but I had a nice walk instead --- which I desperately needed.
It was a perfect weekend for the festival, I thought. The weather was the perfect mix of sun and clouds, and the festival grounds were dry. I arrived in time to enjoy the Scottish Country Dancers and a couple of pints of Harp lager before Ed Miller took the stage. There were lots of Celtic doggies running around, too, as they held a Celtic Breed dog show there, too. There were three main stages of music going pretty much all day. I enjoyed Ptarmigan (the group playing in the picture posted here) quite a bit. Other local groups that caught my ear were Constant Billy and Beyond the Pale. The SCA was also in attendance, and their audience participation bit ("Shoot a Squire") for the kids was fun to watch.
The best bit for me was the first set by Ed Miller. I hadn't heard him live all this year, and was pleased that his voice is standing the test of time. He played all my favourite songs, including the one penned by Davy Steele about the muckle horses ("The Last Trip Home"). Here's a picture of Ed singing:
On Sunday, I was fairly tired, but still managed to drag myself out of bed. I decided that I needed some solitary time, so I headed down to Town Lake for a walk. I had never been across the Pfluger pedestrian bridge (which was built, what, two years ago, I think) that connects the North and South hike & bike trails around Town Lake. I was really glad I remembered my camera, as there was a wonderful view of Austin's new skyline from the bridge.
There's a new tallest skyscraper in town, the Frost Bank tower. I sorta like the way it looks. I wish I was able to get the Capitol building in this photo, but that wasn't possible from this angle. Notice the pretty railroad bridge; those are the Amtrack tracks. Two swans were sunbathing at the base of one of those piers, they're just visible in the main photo. Well, here's how they look when I zoomed in on them. You can even see the turtles on the rock next to them!
At the North end of the bridge, there is a wonderful spiraled bike ramp that I found visually intriguing. This photo has the old Seaholme power plant in the near background. There's talk of turning this wonderful Art Deco building into a museum, someday. In the other direction, one gets a beautiful view of the Lamar Blvd. bridge, which I cross a lot in the car. This is the bridge that all pedestrians and cyclists used to have to use to cross the river, before the pedestrian bridge opened. From this end of the bridge, I followed the trail along the North bank of the lake/river, to the Shoal Creek trail and followed that one into downtown. The skies were beginning to look ominous, so I left the trail near 9th St. and began to look for shelter.
I found shelter in an alcove across from the Bookpeople/Whole Foods shopping centre, just in the nick of time. I wish I could've made it across to the street to Bookpeople (Texas' only independent bookstore) and their 3 floors of cushiony chairs. Whole Foods' flagship store is presently the building on the right of Bookpeople in the photo. The new store is being built behind the present building --- the cranes are visible in the photo.
I took the bus back across the river, and then drove home to find the following waiting on me. I just melted into a book for the rest of the day. So, I missed the Highland Games at the Celtic Festival, but I had a nice walk instead --- which I desperately needed.