Segway Tour

Tracy and I did a downtown Austin Segway tour on Monday! It was really cool. The Segway is very easy to operate, although it takes a couple of minutes to get the feel for all the maneuvers. The capitol parking lot was empty when we first rolled through, so we really went fast all around there.

I had never seen the underground part of the capitol, the Capitol Extension. Very interesting building. They've made all sorts of architectural choices to maximize light for all the people who work there, including hallways with glass roofs barely visible above ground. They constructed the building underground so the view of the Capitol would not be obstructed. Cool. Here's a photo of the rotunda, which is the same size as the Capitol rotunda. The top railing is at ground level. It's just beautiful.

There is a Tribute to Texas Schoolchildren sculpture on the grounds that has two kids missing from it. They may be out for repairs or something. The guide said people always make a joke about "no child left behind" when they see it.

Did not know that Lance Armstrong owns the coffee shop called Juan Pelota. Juan. Pelota. Our guide said some tourists from Spain laughed before everyone else when he talked about that another day.

Also learned about the Moonlight Towers, which neither Tracy nor I had heard of in all our years here. There were 31 and now there are 17. They were built in the late 1800s to light up the downtown area, where women were being murdered by a serial killer at the time. They suspect it was a Jack the Ripper suspect, who was working here as a cook during that time. Interesting. We are the only city that has these lights now. They were refurbished recently.

We went from the Capitol down to the Convention Center and over the Congress St. Bridge. The Convention Center is another great place to just ride around. I learned a lot, too, which was a pleasant surprise!