We traveled up to Austin, to see Zilker Gardens and the close-by Barton Springs, as well as the famous Congress Street bridge. The night we returned to San Antonio, we met our guardian angel, Rebar.
But back to Austin. What are all these people doing, on a bridge at dusk on a weeknight? 
An unintended consequence of a bridge improvement project years ago yielded a habitat ideal for migrating bats, that is now the largest urban bat population in the country. The Bat Flight. From the end of March, locals and tourists gather for a dazzling natural display, as the bats take wing at dusk to feed.
On the advice of a camping friend from Michigan, we also dined at the Casa Rio
on the famous Riverwalk in San Antonio, accompanied by mariachi music, and hundreds of grackles and other birds, dive bombing for scraps! An enchanting setting in a jewel of a town!
We also caught up with a former Greenbelter and member of the Crescent-Ridge Playground Gang, Sherry. She has made a life in San Antonio, and genuinely loves her adopted town.
Our car is now safely back with us, and seems to be running fine again. Next stop, Carlsbad!
My nephew Vaughn is in Austin with his family…tell them hello for me…lol
Donna – Sorry we missed the chance! We arrived in Albuquerque last night from a two-night stop in Carlsbad!
Okay the Bat Flight is very cool. Buuuuuut I have to know how did it smell? Mom had bat houses situated around the house in Pomfret. We all enjoyed the depleted mosquito population but the smell of bat guano was an unpleasant trade off.
Joan – I don’t know if it’s the prevailing wind or what, but we were only about 100 yards from the bridge, for probably 90 minutes, and had a picnic, and never spelled the poop! We learned in Carlsbad that apparently it makes amazing fertilizer. Maybe the city of Austin has the world’s largest air freshener, disguised as a cottonwood tree or something!
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