cooldice23

but mississippi terrified me, and i did not want to stop as i passed through, even for gas. ‘missing hippie’

was 2 days after rita hit. that place was messed up but got back on its feet very quickly. very pretty.

i was backpacking around the u.s. (pre-katrina) and squatted here from the day before christmas until the day after mardi gras. you’re an idiot if you can’t stay well fed and stay drunk if you want to. a lot of violence, a lot of homeless and gutter punks. very seedy. the cops were hard-asses and very corrupt, very eager to arrest people they felt like, regardless of an actual crime being committed. worth going to if you’re comfortable in a hard city… i consider it to be like detroit.

austin is one of my favorite cities. people are reasonably nice and approachable, the music and food scenes are out of this world, the weather is great in the winters and tolerable in the summers. tons of beautiful women. i encourage everyone, especially those who live in the u.s. to visit austin.

i was ‘backpacking’ and found there were a lot of ‘backpackers’ who would winter there. reality: a lot of hippies and gutterpunks because it’s so moderate in cooler months. there was a lot of black tar heroin being used by the street community. people were friendly, but i definitely only saw one side of life when i was there, and it was at least a little bleak.

i lived in a tent on baseline road at a land trust called baseline mansion. there was much partying and few showers to be had. i found that pretty much everybody here was nice and that the heat was bearable if you drank lots of water and tried to stay out of the direct sunlight. people seemed to be pretty arty and progressive.

i squatted in a tent near a bunch of concrete structures (that i think were) called the drunkyard. a couple of days in, the local fire department had live hose drills and flooded my little slice of forest. i still had fun. i saw a riot and went to a party held by kids who worked at magic hat. good music if you’re into indie folk / jam bands.

i’ve been there quite a few times. i wouldn’t say there’s anything wrong with warrensburg, but you’re so close to two towns that are both cool in their own right that i don’t know why you’d choose it (saratoga and lake george). it’s the home of the world’s biggest yard sale. there are some cute antique shops if you’re into that.

i would only go back for work or if a relative moved there.

if you’re traveling through (especially as a young person / backpacker) try to meet / make friends with people from the local co-op scene. generally down to earth and cool, you may get invited to a party or be offered a place to stay. there used to be a great bar in wc called ‘hole in the wall’ but i hear that it’s now closed. i love to stay in wc when i go to austin because it’s got a great mini scene all to itself, and is definitely walking distance to 6th st, where the major bar / music scene is.