Austin, Texas

This week, I traveled to Austin, Texas for work.  When I travel, it is difficult to find time to enjoy the city as I juggle all day meetings and dinner functions.  However, this week I was able to get out and check out the city one night.  One of the big attractions in Austin is the "flying of the bats".  When I first heard of this, I was grossed out by the idea of 1.5 million bats flying above me.  I like animals, but bats are not something that I actively seek out.  In fact, we have spent the last year trying to get rid of the bat family that has taken camp in our house up in Canada.  My hotel was located right outside the Congress bridge so at dusk my boss and I headed down to check it out.  To my surprise it was really impressive.  It is the largest population of urban bats in the United States and each night at dusk, the 1.5 million bats take flight.  Before they fly, you can hear (and smell) them under the bridge, and then all of the sudden, they take off into the sky.  Not something you see everyday! 



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAKcYvkiBX0&feature=fvst