Austin

Day 9
Destination: Austin, TX
Route: Highway 35
Miles ridden today: 99.3    Total Miles: 2,789

Points of Interest:

• Congress Bridge
• 6th Street
• Pete's Dueling Pianos

When we arrived at San Antonio yesterday, Ralph noticed his headlight was not working. Bobbie's had been taken out by a rock the day before, so we started the day knowing we'd be looking for yet another Harley dealership. Bob and Mike weren't in for the hunt and instead, for some reason unknown to us, sought the warm water of the gulf and a cold beer (probably more than one). So off they went to Galveston, and Bud and Ralph headed north to Alamo Harley-Davidson. There they found Mike, the mechanic, who 90 minutes later gave us the bad news. It was not simply a bulb or a fuse. The entire wiring block had worked loose, and had melted together. Worse, they didn't have the wiring harness. But Mike was able to use his magic and his skills and improvised a solution, and another 90 minutes later (and a little cash) we were out the door again heading to Austin. Our mojo with the ride god looked like it may be fading, despite our donations to it, but the weather continued to be great. It always looked like rain is a mile away, the cloud cover kept the temperature at the mid to high 80's.

6th Street in Austin is the area known for the best music in Texas. At dusk, we walked the 6 blocks to the Congress Bridge, the temporary home to some 750,000 bats passing thru from Mexico. We waited over an hour, with over 200 people on and around the bridge, for them to take off and feed on the insects. Just our luck on this night, they were apparently having union issues and stayed in. Too bad, since it is supposed to be quite a site. So we walked down to Pete's Dueling Pianos, and watched some great entertainment. Austin is a great place to visit.