I've actually been gone about the same, used to read Tarot Cards on 6th Street back in the mid-90s outside Paradise Cafe (which at least last Spring was still there though I believe they may have changed names now), a lot has changed since the mid-90s. There are hardly any vendors along 6th Street now and it has gotten pretty rough according to my friend Sam who up until recently had sold Roses on 6th for something like near 26 years or so....you probably know him, he's a short guy w/blonde hair who used (and maybe still does from time to time) set up at 6th and Trinity. The cops are less than friendly now as they were back then as well which makes it a bit more awkward in general also. Also, there's a whole new development of Condos along Rio Grande which has replaced a lot of the affordable student housing in West Campus...build, build, build.

We still have a great time when we go to the SXSW Film Festival each year, the music has exploded so that even w/ badges and/or wristbands you're not guaranteed entry into gigs so we started doing the Film fest and the free fringe stuff around the Music aspect of SXSW, some of the best is at the Four Seasons Wed-Fri 5:00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M., yes A.M., of the Music weekend in March.

Sadly, hardly anything remains the same, so many things have been lost, it's sad.

New high rise buildings downtown, most of the clubs on 6th Street are now defunct or else have changed ownership, etc. Not as many views of the Capitol from places like Auditorium Shores, etc. Not nearly as much fun and/or entertainment type district as it was back in the 90s. Major projects have been going on on all the freeways around town for some time and while some areas have seen improvements, Construction is still an ongoing trend as is tearing down and rebuilding downtown. I hurt my foot pretty bad last year on a street near the Convention center as the streets are torn to shreds but the focus there is on building bigger and better it seems rather than Safety which is truly disappointing as well.

I don't mean to be a downer and at times I almost wish I still lived there as well but it's so gorgeous out here and the air is clean and the people are kind, all of which are very limited realities in Austin these days. There are still lots of cool events and cool people as well, one just needs to know where to find them in order to survive there these days.

The latest loss was Mojo's but also Ruta Maya moved to far South, several new high rise hotels have popped up with even more scheduled to tear down Las Manitas and Tesoros for a big Marriott, Austin City Council is trying to come up with an Icon rating to avoid the tear down but so much has already been lost in that vein, I see it being a rather difficult objective especially since most of the others, including the Electric Lounge have been torn down and rebuilt into something new and shiny. Ouch. Also with all the new influx of people from many different regions including New Orleans, Austin as most places has seen a drastic increase in the crime rate here recently as well which is very sad, it was always such a cool laid-back vibe there. Austin did pass a non-smoking ban in the clubs which has been interesting and the Continental Club, the Saxon and the Broken Spoke still remain at this point and time, thankfully so. Last year the Paramount was asking people to help save it from demolition during one performance I attended there as well, pretty scary when they start talking about doing away with the Paramount on Congress, they've pretty much done away with everything else including that cool Mexican Rest. across the street that had the Salsa lessons back then, never took Salsa but their food rocked my World, very sad to see it was gone.

We still make the best of it though and Austin still has some of the best and most hip poetry scenes and live music venues alive today.

Anyway, as far as I can tell the two coolest spots still remain 78704 and Hyde Park as far as neighborhoods go.

We go each Spring and it's always different, lots more traffic, pedestrians are at a greater risk as folks don't even stop and look before turning right on red or turning left across the walk, etc. I have a good friend who lives just outside the City so she keeps me pretty well up to date as well. Of course that's also an issue in most big cities so its not fair to pick on Austin solely in that realm.

Definitely a calmer World out here where we are in NorCal. The Sierra's are beautiful though we're not too fond of Quincy any longer. We're in Arcata which is awesome and I absolutely adore the Trinity Mountain range.

Well that is it for now, I hope this doesn't make you sad but you did ask how much had changed, better you know and expect it ahead of time than after arriving. I grew up in Ft. Worth and went back about a year ago, Austin hasn't quite reached that proportion of change as of yet as Ft. Worth is totally gone and rebuilt as far as the downtown I remembered as a child and even as an adult, places I went as a child are gone, places I worked as an adult are gone and there's no longer any shopping, etc. save for a new bookstore, the whole area has gone rather Historic and is now mostly rest./clubs in an area downtown calls "Sundance Square,", the museum is however way cool and held a lot of memories from the past.

Okay, gotta run but loads of love and hugs your way.

Bright Blessings,
Sharla