SOC: The ATX Farewell Tour - Part II: Austin = Art

Sea Turtle
[Seeking title & artist]

If you've been checking things out so far, you've already read my "short" profile of Austin in a previous post. The Summer of Color (SOC) continues, then, with the main event for my final Austin revelries: touring art and history in Austin with my mom.

This part of the Austin Farewell Tour began with Mom's entrance via plane. She arrived, as always: pink outfit, purple (magenta, really) hair, and Supernatural-themed jewelry. Yep, this one belongs to me. I got my ticket claim right here.

After collecting bags and mandatory trips to the bathroom, we jetted outside to meet Jaya. I can't stress enough my appreciation to both my friends, BMFD - who allowed the use of his truck for us to jet around town - and Jaya - my dear brother who chauffeured us about. Without them, we could not have done nearly the amount of sight-seeing that we did. Mad love to you both, brothers.

The rest of the day passed in a whirlwind. We ran past where I'd been staying the last couple months, grabbing all my stuff and hot-footing it, through excruciating afternoon traffic, to our home for the next week: Chez Z (not to be confused with Chez Zee, the restaurant). The fun was just beginning...

Summer of Color: The ATX Farewell Tour - Part I: Home Is Where the Weird Is

Austin is known as the Live Music
Capital of the world.

Ah, Texas. Texas is...well, it's weird. It's so weird, that its capital even took that as its motto. No, really, "Keep Austin Weird" is a thing, and they're serious about that shit. It really is one of the most eccentric cities in the world, and no little part of that has to do with its relationship to Texas. As my brother Jaya and I have often said:

"This is Austin: individuality or death.
...but this is also Texas, so don't think we won't go for death."

Texas Bluebonnets

Texas itself is huge: it ranks second largest in both land size and population [according to 2013 census]. Within this enormous land mass there are multiple terrains & climates: desert, forest, plains, swamps, and even some beaches & mountains. It's broken up by winding rivers and a plethora of decent-sized lakes. It gets hit with droughts and floods, hurricanes on the coast, tornadoes on the plains, dust storms, and even snow. Driving across this vast state, you can't help but be hit with the marked differences...even if it takes most of a day to reach them. 

And set right there in central Texas's Hill Country is Austin, Texas's capital.