Where You Spending the Fourth?
Nothing says Independence Day more than getting in the car and heading for some far off destination. To celebrate the Fourth when I was 22, I got in a car with my then girlfriend and drove ten hours just to see a show at Red Rocks (Blues Traveler and the Allman Brothers), and then we returned the very next day. When I lived in Eugene, Oregon, I drove an hour to the coast just to get drunk and watch high-school kids shoot bottle rockets at each other (and on one unfortunate occasion, me). Strange to think that such holiday road tripping is quickly becoming a luxury most of us can’t afford.
But I wouldn’t have it any other way. Instead of looking at the impending “energy crisis” as a bad thing, why not celebrate the benefits of the Death of the Car Culture? The mainstream media is starting to catch on. In a special report, Time magazine lists “Ten Things You Can Like About $4 Gas.” I feel like I could name twenty more.
So where am I going this weekend? I’m staying right here in Austin, enjoying my house, maybe doing a little work outside. The farthest I plan to go is Barton Springs, a world-class swimming hole less than ten minutes from my house. I could drive two hundred miles or fly half way around the world, and I wouldn’t find a better swim spot.
Tags: Barton Springs, Energy, gas