Warm weather starts sometime in the middle of February in my little bit of Texas. It gets broken up with weeks, then days of gusty cold until late March. Sinking into May though, Spring is almost over and the world is so impossibly bright a shade of green, you just know that tomorrow you’ll wake up and everything will have suddenly burned into the particular brown I believe should be the state color.
Its probably not for everybody, but extreme heat is in my blood. I feel a kinship with lizards and snakes sunning themselves on hot rocks in the desert. I even love the kind of heat that’s so dry and fierce you can feel your eyeballs drying out a little as you walk from work to your car. It will be so hot in a month or so that I won’t do anything strenuous outside while there’s any sun showing at all. On those days I’ll spend my non-working daylight hours slathered with SPF 30, and soaking myself beside some body of water.
In New Braunfels, that means toobing (spelling intentional) on the Comal river. A friend works the river, so I can usually get my tube for a few dollars or a few beers. When that doesn’t pan out, the 2 or 3 hours spent in spring fed water with a cooler of beer is well worth the $11. My favorite toob bin is Texas Tubes. www.texastubes.com
When I’m in Austin, like today, I enjoy flinging myself on the shores of Barton Springs. This is a beautiful natural free flowing swimming hole in Zilker Park. The people watching is fantastic, with occasional visits by the head to toe tattooed couple, countless topless sunbathers in the bathrooms, and a cadre of Austin oddballs. The water is often filled with a gauzy green moss, and an endangered salamander lives in the muck. I’m not a fan of chlorine, so this is a perfect spot for me. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barton_Springs_Pool
Tags: Austin, Barton Springs, summer, sunbathing, swimming, Texas, tubing
Not The Knowing One 
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