Batfest '09

Sarah, Heather and I with Batfest's version of Captain Jack

Sarah and I lovin' on Alpine.

Hoss and Alpine (photo courtesy of David Weaver @ Austin360.com)

Heather and Sarah

Hoss getting attention from a little boy.

The South Congress Avenue bridge is known for the world's largest urban bat population. It's were Austinites and tourists gather at dusk to watch them fly out from the crevices underneath the bridge, which are ideal housing for the Mexican Free-tailed Bats, and into the air in long swarming trails. As creepy as it may sound, it's actually quite a beautiful site to see. Since the refurbishing of the Congress Bridge, which allowed a perfect environment for these great pest controlling animals (they eat bugs!), bats have become one of the biggest icons for Austin. And, apparently, like almost anything else (ie. the Art Car Parade, Eeyore's Birthday Festival, and the Hot Sauce Festival to name a few), it gives Austinites a reason to celebrate. In this case the Batfest was born.

This year was a first for me to actually attend the Batfest. I'm always open to trying out new things and this just seemed like a perfect opportunity to take advantage of getting outdoors, hearing some live music and people watching.

My coworker and friend Heather spent the night at our house the night before (we had happy hour and she has an hour drive home). So, we had an eventful day that consisted of a long walk around Ladybird Lake, pedicures, shopping and of course the Batfest.

At the Batfest met up with our other friend Sarah from work, who had two 100+ lb. dogs in tow - Hoss and Alpine! They were such a hit, with everybody, especially the kids, as you can see from the video and photos. Devo, being over 100 lbs. himself gets a lot of attention, but having two dogs that size makes you feel like you've got paparazzi around you!

The three of us, or five if you count the dogs, watched a local band Vallejo perform, of whom Heather was a big fan and was very excited to see. After that Sarah took off with the dogs because they were exhausted from the heat and excitement, while Heather and I capped of the night with a beer at The Gingerman with our other (coworker) friends Jason and Xochitl. It was quite an eventful and exhausting day in the end, but well worth it. It was a great day! Thanks especially to Heather for stickin' with me day and night and having a blast together.

Sarah's dogs were getting lots of attention, especially from the kiddos.