Ego Matters

Today we headed downtown to walk around. There is ALWAYS something interesting going on downtown on the weekends, and being the people watcher I am, I'm like a kid in the candy store.

We didn't have to search long for entertainment. We walked right into a WHITE LIVES MATTER rally being held right in front of the Capitol Building.

It was pretty exciting, since I've never been in the middle of public chaos before, unless you consider Mardi Gras public chaos. Considering the protest, I was surprised it was as peaceful as it was. There was a lot of "White Lives Matter", "Black Lives Matter", "Gay Lives Matter", Anarchists, Women's Rights, and some random crowd chanting here and there.

It was a lot of ego and drama. That said, I suppose it takes these kinds of people to keep things "fair" in our society, so I'm not judging the motives behind these kind of rallies. Everyone likes to be heard, and everyone has a side to their "story".

Interestingly enough, the WHITE LIVES MATTER rally was being held alongside the dedication of the Texas African American History Memorial on the Capitol grounds....

We finally bored of the rally and moved on taking in the downtown scenery....

Eric Johnson? Too bad I didn't know about this sooner. I remember listening to Eric Johnson's music in the '80's....

The Governor's Mansion...

Homeless man taking a nap on the sidewalk....

We also went into the Old Bakery and Emporium....

Lunch Time. We grabbed some lunch and Cactus Juice at the Iron Cactus....

It was fun watching all the people walk by and trying to access which ones were tourists, and which were locals. Cactus Juice was good, but Purple 'Rita's still have 'em beat.

When we got home Toby put our homemade fire pit together, for those cold nights we sit outside watching the night sky shows.

It was an enjoyable day.

Allen Park

Today Toby and I needed a short hike because Skye had boxing class later in the day.

I came upon Allen Park by accident while looking at information on another area in the "also recommended" section.

Allen Park didn't seem to be an actual park, but more of a short (approximately a mile) hiking loop. It was pleasant, desolate of people and shaded, so it was perfect for us...

In the middle of the trail were some nice picnic areas....

Contrasting colors....

There was even a slight view of  downtown's skyline...

It was a short but sweet walk.

Friday Night Lights

Tonight was family date night. We headed downtown for a little fun.

First, we walked around in the Driskill Hotel. As many times as we've been in it, we never tire of taking the opportunity to explore around. It really is a beautiful hotel.

We even took a family photo...

Next, we walked down and ate at one of our favorite restaurants downtown, Uncle Julios. After we ate, we headed to the Creek Show at Waller Creek.  I think curiosity had me more than anything. Waller Creek runs through the heart of downtown and is known to be one of the many homeless hangouts downtown. It smells of urine, poop, and a pile of vomit can usually be found somewhere along the path. I couldn't imagine a "show" down there.

The Waller Creek Conservancy did a good job of cleaning it up as best they could. I'm not sure how they managed to evacuate all the homeless out of there, but there were none to be found and only a hint of human foul could be detected.

It really wasn't all that much to it, but it was interesting to look at....

This was a tunnel on the creek. It was the first time we had ever walked through it. It was pretty cool...

It was a fun family evening.

Halloween and Rainbows

I know I'm a little late, but we had a fun Halloween this year. Toby trailed along behind me and Skye in his devil disguise while we trick or treated. We didn't go but a short block, because it was so warm and our costumes were making us sweat.

Toby and I playing with our paper masks we got at the parade last week....

We've finally had some much needed rain the past couple of days that produced some picturesque rainbows...

And some dramatic sunsets....

And luckily the rain brought with it a little chill in the air.