the stars at night

I'm not sure if they're actually big and bright, here, deep in the heart of Texas, because so far they've been obscured by clouds and outshone by lightning.
I've been in Austin through the weekend (and for the next few days). It's my first time to visit the Texas capital (second, actually, but I had maybe 36 months of life experience the last time I was here, so I didn't catch some of the nuances the city has to offer). Mostly so far I've eaten. Far too much. This seems to be a running theme for my visits, and one I'm not particularly motivated to change. Had one night down in the famous 6th St. nightlife district, although I didn't catch any music that distinguished itself.
Downtown has the scenery down, with park space along the river and the capitol dome dominating the center of the skyline, despite its proximity to much taller buildings. I was slightly surprised, however, that most of the establishments downtown were clearly showing their age; not poorly, but they hadn't been spruced up and given the slick modern facelift most of the areas in D.C. (which, admittedly, are generally much younger) seem to universally have. I'm generally a fan of the grit a few decades of service brings. But I'd heard Austin has been booming, and that led me to expect the artificial gleam new money and population often brings.
I think I'll have to come back for a longer trip to be able to talk about Austin's character with any real knowledge. But I can say they've got plenty of food, plenty of beer, and it's far, far cheaper than where I came from. All that is good.