Life is full of hard decisions, especially at the Austin City Limits Music Fest. Passion Pit or Dirty Projectors? Kings of Leon or Yeah Yeah Yeahs? Mos Def or Levon Helm? What’s worse, there’s always a third option: to jump in Barton Springs and freshen up a bit. And while that might not seem imperative at the 1:15pm Raveonettes show, by the time the Decemberists play, a temperature drop might be just what the festival gods demand. Don’t be surprised when the temperature drop isn’t as far a fall as you’d like. Perhaps you heard that the chilly waters at our city’s liquid heart aren’t quite as chilly as the urban legend would have you believe. So it’s not 68 degrees year-round – hovering around 71 degrees these days – but just try and tell that to your sphincter as it tightens despite the slightly warmer temperature. The hardest decision you might have to make is cannonball or swan dive.
Barton Springs Pool, 2101 Barton Springs Rd.
Hours: 5am-10pm; closed for cleaning on Thursdays, 9am-7pm
Admission: $3, adults; $2, juniors ages 12-17; $1, kids 11 and under and seniors over 61
Free admission for everyone, 5-9am & 9-10pm
Call the Barton Springs hotline at 867-3080 for information on pool closings due to rain. No food, drinks, or smoking allowed.
This article appears in October 2 • 2009.
