ESA 2011, Day 0

Austin is a shorter drive than I remember it. But maybe that’s because it was a Sunday afternoon, and maybe the traffic was ever so slightly less congested than normal.

My blogging at this conference may be less regular than I was hoping because I am staying in is one of those evil hotels that want $10 a day for Internet access. Fuuuuuu...

I have to say, though, that there are compensations.

The hotel has a T.G.I. Friday’s on the main floor. And it has a balcony that faces south, overlooking a bridge. A bridge that is famous for having a massive colony of bats that leave at sunset in a spectacular departure every night.

One they started pouring out, they kept coming for probably a good 45 minutes.



(You have to see this picture full size to see the bats clearly.)

And so my friend Anita (who I used to work with before she left me for another university) and I sat and ate good food, had good conversation, and watching the bats.

T.G.I.Friday’s call their balcony the “batio.”

It was a lovely evening.

Tomorrow: Science!