Austin: Not Just Weird, but Wonderful

'Keep Austin Weird' is the rallying cry for Texas's capital, but this city is beyond weird—it's wonderful

A peaceful oasis is found at Lady Bird Lake. Christian Horan/Four Seasons

There was only one problem on that warm, sunny, very pleasant evening: It wasn’t bat season. Not yet. It would be a few weeks yet before thousands (and thousands, upon thousands) of these creepy-cool creatures fly out from beneath the bridge. Another problem was the lake—it’s not really a lake. But we will get to that in a minute.

I was in the capital of Texas, Austin. With a metro area with about 2.2 million people, this city is only the fourth most-populous population center in the state. But this is a place that proudly offers a diversity of experiences. “Keep Austin Weird,” is a local rallying cry. But it actually goes way beyond that.

Old New Town Lake

My boat made steady progress through the city center, the glassy skyline reflecting back a sun that was fading from brilliant to a slow ebb. “We’re on the Lower Colorado River,” said the boat captain, clarifying that it’s also not the famous waterway that flows through the Grand Canyon. But no matter its name or form, it was busy. Our little craft steered around all sorts of pleasure boats, from hard-working rowers to small peddle boats, kayaks, and also people actually fishing from paddle boards. Nothing that leaves a wake is permitted on Lady Bird Lake.