I am planning a solo trip to Austin, TX this summer and wonder if anyone knows when they great Blues Festival there is. And is anyone interested intraveing with me. I live in San Francisco and would really love to. Are there any nightspots that should'nt be missed? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

First of all, let me tell you that Austin is my favorite city in the world and you will have a blast there(I lived there for 5 years as a student at UT and would move back there in a heartbeat if given a chance!)....secondly and maybe more importantly,July is going to be EXTREMELY HOT AND HUMID,(think Africa--even we native Texans will be miserable and avoid outside activities-excepting those involving water- during the summer days!)and especially for someone coming from San Francisco. Is there any way to postpone Austin until the Spring? I would just hate for you to melt down here instead of enjoying a great city. If you are dead-set on July, i think the festival you're referring to (that takes place during the summer,versus the spring's South-by-Southwest music and film festival) is called "Aqua Fest" and it's either in July or Aug, i'm not sure which. In terms of things to do in Austin there are so many great restaurants and night-spots that I wouldn't even know where to begin. If you give me an idea of your tastes and expectations I could definitely recommend some places of interest.e-mail me.amy

Ditto on the HOT. You might want to take a side trip to Gruene & Fredericksburg--German influence as well as very different scenery than San Francisco--very pretty. You should check out San Antonio (1 hr. south). Along with SF, it is one of the 5 unique cities in US--Mexican influence. If you have never been, you must go, being that close.

Linda, what are the other 3 unique cities?

Linda, what are the other unique cities?

According to Will Rogers, they were San Francisco, New Orleans, San Antonio, New York &, I think, St. Petersburg, Fl.

Definatley New Orleans is. If it gets too hot in Austin go to Barton Creek. I thinks it's about $4 to get in but man, that cool water upwelling feels so good.

I think you probably mean "Barton Springs" (not "creek"--and although there is a Barton Creek,Barton Springs is the natural spring pool that i think you're referring to).And the year-round 68 degree water will take the bite out of the summer heat, you're right about that!Other sites of interest along these lines are Hamiltons Pool (another natural pool with a great waterfall)and Lake Travis, of course (both about 20-25 minutes from downtown Austin).

Yes...July is HOT in Austin. I just moved to LA from Austin a couple months ago. I admit that I don't miss the heat at all. Keep in mind, that it doesn't cool down much at night either. Lot's to do though. If you are looking for nightlife, just go down to 6th street. On that one row, you will find every type of live music...including blues. Ask around, and any of the locals will direct you to good spots. Check out the Oasis on Lake Travis. A little expensive, but it sits about 350 feet above the lake. I also agree that a day trip to San Antonio is worth it. Email me directly, and I can give you many good restaurants and clubs to go to. Austin is also an interactive town, so there are a lot of good websites!

Esther's follies is a good place to go. It's a variety show on 6th street and is a definite crowd pleaser. I agree with the whole Barton Springs idea, Austin is too damn hot in the summer. One more thing, you must get ice cream from Amy's ice cream parlor while you're there. They have the BEST ice cream on the face of this earth (I'm glad I don't live there anymore or I'd be eating ice cream every day). My personal favorite is Belgian Chocolate, yum! Don't forget about the Mexican food while you're there.

One thing I really enjoyed and is great on a hot day is tubing in one of the rivers around Austin. We drove to New Braunfels - about one hour away and an interesting little town itself - and went tubing on the Comal River. They also do it on the Guadalupe River. It was very relaxing and refreshing - no big rapids for the most part - you just float along. I would recommend going on a weekday because I understand the weekends are pretty crowded. You could visit Gruene the same day. It's a neat town with interesting shops. They have an old fashioned dance hall there that I believe is open on Saturday nights. I haven't been but would like to on my next visit. I also recommend Fredericksburg. As for Austin, some of the neat places I have been include the Broken Spoke, for two stepping; Salt Lick BBQ; and the Oasis, which has expensive mediocre food but a spectacular view to watch the sunset. Austin is such a fun city.

I went to Austin at the end of June this summer. Here's a warning: there is NOT enough water to go tubing down the Guadalupe right now. I thought we'd never make it out of that damn river. Not to mention the two unairconditioned vans we had to take to get dropped off at the river from the tube rental place. NO, NO, NO. Not worth it. I have had more pleasant experiences in the past, but since we've had no rain, you are basically scraping yourself along rocks for three hours.

The club scene is on 6th street. 2 good eclectic places to eat are Thundercloud Subs and the Magnolia Cafe.

For Southern food, go to Threadgill's. For Mexican, go to Chuy's.