June 2014: Austin, Texas

Many years ago, I used to visit a friend in Austin and I also went there a few times in the 90's for work.  First impression upon arriving in mid-June from Colorado:  Wow, it is hot as a furnace here, and I even used to live in a place with temperatures like this.  Not sure I could take it anymore.  

The second observation was how big the city has become.  I had no idea it is the #11 largest USA city now, larger than San Francisco, Denver, or Boston (proper).   Some of these skyscrapers are new since I've been here last, and the skyline is dotted with cranes building new ones:

Texas State Capitol Building, made from red granite quarried from nearby Marble Falls:
 

I tried but didn't get to see the bats on their nightly evening launch from Ann Richards Congress Avenue Bridge:
 

Lady Bird Lake on a sweltering day, with the construction in the background: