Austin, Texas
January 22–28, 2022
January 22–28, 2022
I made sure to reserve a long stay at my campsite in Emma Long Metropolitan Park because I’ve always heard such good things about Austin. I felt rushed through my time in Asheville, Knoxville, Savannah, and other favorite spots, and I was determined to give myself a little more leeway this time. I’m glad I did! I had enough time to check out some of the city sights and visit with a friend, while also taking downtime at the campsite and hiking around the park. The park itself is at the end of a very long, very windy, and very steep road through a super-affluent part of the city, and I felt a bit out of place, but I enjoyed being right on Lake Austin.
The hike in the park was short but full of haggard old junipers, interesting moss and lichen, and a slew of rusty beer cans from before the age of pop-tops. My campsite featured a massive live oak and cypresses with their bony knees. The dogs and I also took a stroll on the Lower Bull Creek Greenbelt Trail, tromping across the creek twice to see other parts of the trail and scrambling up rocks. Miso was highly skeptical of all the tomfoolery, but Mochi loved every minute.
In the city itself, I visited South Congress Books and Kinokuniya, ate a scrumptious meal at June’s (made even tastier by learning that my friend Shruthi’s design studio did their excellent branding, including the fabulous zine-style wine list), and strolled the adorable residential streets off of South Congress Avenue. I also worked from the fancy new Austin Public Library’s open-air rooftop garden one day and took the dogs on a late afternoon walk along the Butler Hike & Bike Trail.
One of the best parts of my time in Austin was finally getting to meet the magnificent Vic Rodriguez Tang in person! Vic is about to graduate from VCFA’s MFA in Graphic Design program, and we’ve spent plenty of hours together on Zoom calls during online residencies, but this was our first real-life meeting. We had such fun! We chattered up a storm during dinner, and then Vic accompanied me to get a little tattoo from Elias at a sweet new shop called Serenity. I also had plans to meet up with my beloved Shruthi Manjula Balakrishna, another dear VCFA friend, but COVID uncertainties foiled our plans. I am determined to make it back to Austin and get a redo!
The hike in the park was short but full of haggard old junipers, interesting moss and lichen, and a slew of rusty beer cans from before the age of pop-tops. My campsite featured a massive live oak and cypresses with their bony knees. The dogs and I also took a stroll on the Lower Bull Creek Greenbelt Trail, tromping across the creek twice to see other parts of the trail and scrambling up rocks. Miso was highly skeptical of all the tomfoolery, but Mochi loved every minute.
In the city itself, I visited South Congress Books and Kinokuniya, ate a scrumptious meal at June’s (made even tastier by learning that my friend Shruthi’s design studio did their excellent branding, including the fabulous zine-style wine list), and strolled the adorable residential streets off of South Congress Avenue. I also worked from the fancy new Austin Public Library’s open-air rooftop garden one day and took the dogs on a late afternoon walk along the Butler Hike & Bike Trail.
One of the best parts of my time in Austin was finally getting to meet the magnificent Vic Rodriguez Tang in person! Vic is about to graduate from VCFA’s MFA in Graphic Design program, and we’ve spent plenty of hours together on Zoom calls during online residencies, but this was our first real-life meeting. We had such fun! We chattered up a storm during dinner, and then Vic accompanied me to get a little tattoo from Elias at a sweet new shop called Serenity. I also had plans to meet up with my beloved Shruthi Manjula Balakrishna, another dear VCFA friend, but COVID uncertainties foiled our plans. I am determined to make it back to Austin and get a redo!
