It was hot, really really hot.  90s.  We need to get this AC fixed before we die.  Guess that’ll have to be bright and early Monday wherever we are.  Tomorrow’s a Sunday so I don’t think we’ll find anything open.  And we’re gonna be in really dinky towns.  I stopped in at a Firestone in Bryan today and he said, without looking at anything, that it could be a quick fix — but most likely will be a big deal since the lines are not easy to get to.  Christ.  I have to get the AC repaired every year and have dumped thousands of dollars into it — is this normal?  Found streams here and there for the dogs.  But this is just far too exhausting for me.

Everything else is good so let’s roll ’em.  Lots of stuff from Austin.  This tower is at the old airport site — looks like they’ll be keeping it – yay!

 

Nearby is this giant spider sculpture from 2008:

 

This guy is on the roof of the Wheatsville Food Coop:

 

More changes in town.  This former Burger Chef building housed a Hill-Bert’s Burgers place when I was here last.  Note the plastic panels around the roof and the basic shape still revealed the building’s origins:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42444189@N04/4020061950/

 

And from today — my, oh, my!

This new canopy has a wedge shape which mimic’s the old Burger Chef roof.  Some of the old BC locations did have a canopy somewhat like this (well, without the cut-outs and exaggerated poles, of course):
http://agilitynut.com/eateries/bchef.html

 

Moving on to some signs in Austin.  Milkshake Media has adapted an old sign.  Sorry, don’t know what the original was or looked like.  The bullnose parts (the rings on the edges) flash in a 3-part sequence.

 

An adapted old Arby’s hat sign (covered wagon building long gone):

 

I don’t know how I’ve always missed this until today — since 1964:

 

Some funkier Austin signs for you.  What remains of the building is more interesting than the whitewashed sign now:

 

Apparently, started out as NOT the Texan Motel:

The secondary Texas Motel sign.  Weird faded peeling character at lower left.  I had to leave the old VW buses in.  So Old Austin.  I had a couple of these vans back in the 1970s.  They didn’t have air conditioning OR heat.  But I lived near the beach then and never drove them to Texas!

 

Austin-ites — what the heck was this building originally?  Sort of  Polyneisan IHOP-y meets Stuckey’s.  It’s on Airport Blvd. across from Lamme’s Candies:

 

A mix of plastic & neon:

 

I can check this off the list.  Finally, a kolache.  Actually I bought three.  This is the raspberry & cream cheese.  To sample later will be apricot and… forgot the other flavor.  They had maybe 10 choices plus the meaty choices.  They were bought at the “Kolache Capital Bake Shop” in Caldwell.  So I assume they’re pretty authentic.  Nothing tremendously special but good.  Reminded me of the danishes that we had back in California — which were soft — not crunchy like the NY versions.  We used to get packs of a dozen that pulled apart looking like this.  They had cinnamon with gooey white icing, cherry stuff in the center like this:

 

Neat old hardware store in Bryan:

 

Also in Bryan:  the Queen Theatre.   Very sad — but it looks like some locals are trying to save it:

 

More food!  But not mine.  This was at the Hullabaloo Diner (see my Flickr posts tonight).  I asked the couple if I could take this photo of their “Elvis Fries”.  That’s sausage gravy under the cheese.  Not my thing since I’m vegetarian.  But I did get a strawberry shake to go.  Haven’t had one of those for maybe 15 years but with the heat, it made sense today.

 

Last one for the night — a really fun building (don’t know if there are any others) in  Liberty Hill:

 

So, tomorrow — more scooting around between Austin & Dallas.  I know Waco stuff is on the list tomorrow.  There were six “packs” of TX stuff for this trip.  I’m about 3/4 the way through Pack #3.  Dallas/FW is in Pack #4.  I doubt I’ll even touch #5 and #6 in the remaining alloted week for TX.