A Night Out in Austin

OK, so I've heard so many people rave about Austin over the years -- it's so cool! It's so fun! The music! The nightlife! -- that I was sure I was going to get some great recommendations for restaurants and bars to go to. I didn't. Somehow I failed to connect with all my Austin peeps before making it out, so there we were, stuck and completely clueless as to what to do.

I turned to my brother after checking into the hotel and said, "Too bad you're not a heavy drinker." (Which he's not, for those of you who don't know him. He doesn't drink. At all.) To my total surprise, he said he would forgo the teetotaling for a night and sample the scene with me! Shocking and awesome!

We strolled down the main drag, 6th Street, and marveled at all the young'uns all dressed up and raring to go on this balmy Saturday night. (Hey you guys, remember dressing up for a Saturday night out?? I still have backless tops hanging in my closet... my god.)

The bar we picked, The Library, seemed the least fratty -- or maybe it just appealed to the nerd in me. It wasn't so bad. Kaii and I enjoyed our Blue Moons -- $2 each!! gah! -- but overall the scene was a little fratty for me. We walked back to the hotel and asked the nice young kids behind the front desk where to go off 6th Street and if maybe there were some gay bars around (for Kaii).

They pointed us in the direction of the Warehouse District, which kind of felt like the Meatpacking because all the bars/clubs were gigantic and in old warehouses (obviously). Not the "alternative" scene I was imagining, but OK. The gay bar we ended up at was called Rain and was actually a lot of fun. Of course, any time there is a DJ playing anthem-y "gay" music and people start dancing, I have a blast, so I am easy to please that way, but I did like the scene. All ages, gays as well as lesbians, groups of straight girls as well as couples -- there was kind of a big mix of people. We really had a lot of fun! Yay Austin!