Mozart's

Today I went to Mozart's. Everyone who lives in Austin has heard of Mozart's Coffee Roasters -- the coffee shop on Lake Austin, down Lake Austin Blvd. They roast their own coffee, which is delicious enough, but the main attraction is, at least in my opinion, the outer deck of Mozart's, which is right next to the lake. You can take your steaming cup of coffee out in the open, sit under a tree and feel the breeze from the lake wash over you. That's what I did today.
I've been planning to go to Mozart's ever since I bought the car -- did I mention I bought a car? I did, a silver Mazda3, but I digress. Ever since I bought the car, I've been planning to drive to Mozart's, but somehow or the other the plan was always canceled. But today was such a beautiful day -- cool, dark, overcast -- that I knew I'd regret it if I didn't go today. So I fed in the destination to my GPS, and off I went.
I wound through an awful lot of streets to get there. Some of them sloped alarmingly, and the entire journey reminded me of my 'adventure' through Rain Creek Pkwy (that story some other time). I finally wound up at Lake Austin Blvd, and from there, Mozart's was just a short distance away. I parked, and went over to the little complex that contains the little coffee shop.
I had evidently reached there early -- too early or too late, for the outside deck was nearly deserted. I ordered my coffee -- which was served by a cute guy who looked too much like Ian Somerhalder for me to not stare -- and took the cup outside. There was a two-person bench right next to the parapet, so I took my coffee mug there, and settled myself. As I stirred the coffee, the cool breeze from the lake washed over me, and ducks swam around with wild abandon in the water. One of them scuttled across the water, leaving a white trail of spray across the smooth surface. Another dived into the water, and remained with its tailfeathers sticking out in the air, its head under water. Ripples spread out from its tail, and I choked back laughter.
I took out my handy Moleskine notebook, and began to draw. I used the thinner black pen today, for I wanted to get some details, rather than a broad overall sketch. As I drew, a terrific wind kicked up, and leaves lying on the ground swirled up and around. I hurriedly flung my hand over my coffee cup, for I did not want to be drinking coffee with leaves in it. My hair whipped around my face, and the pages of my notebook flapped wildly. Finally, the wind died down, and everyone started drinking their coffee again.
There was a middle-aged couple opposite me. I think they were on a date, and I'm pretty sure they met on one of the online dating sites -- Match.com maybe? -- for the gentleman mentioned, "I don't like the concept of 'winks', I prefer real communication," and the woman nodded sagely. I think their date didn't really work out, for the man said something to that effect. I didn't eavesdrop, though, honest. He was really loud, and sound tends to carry across water.
A while later, a lady came in with a furry little dog. She tied it up to a chair, and the poor little thing didn't protest even a whit. It even bore another gust of wind in silence, while its white fur flapped around. When she left, a young woman came over and sat right behind me. I could feel her stealing gazes at what I was drawing, but she didn't bother me. All people seem to have a strange curiosity for artists at work. I admit it myself -- when I see someone else drawing, my feet seem to magically go over to that person.
A couple of young men came in after a while, and sat down at the bench to my right, right under the big tree in the center of the deck. They looked like Computer Science grad students to me, for some reason. My senses are usually attuned to sniffing out other CS grads, and these two felt like it. One had long hair tied in a ponytail, and the other one was a stout young man with short hair and a beard. They both booted up their laptops and got to work.
Elsewhere, a young lady sat chatting with her friend, with her baby next to her in a baby basket. It was tucked up in a mauve blanket, and waved its fat fists around, its eyes following every motion curiously, its mouth curling up with glee every now and then. It was an adorable baby.
Right in front of me, a branch waved in the wind. The tree was mostly bare, but baby green leaves were starting to sprout on it. I thought it was an oak tree, but I'm not sure -- isn't the oak evergreen? Anyway, the pale green leaves twirled around in the breeze, spinning round and round, but still staying attached to the branch. It was a very charming branch indeed.
Right above my head, a plump squirrel was ferretting about for nuts. It kept jumping from one branch to another, its bushy tail flicking as it looked around. I was half afraid it would jump on my head, but it didn't. The branch it was on swayed alarmingly in another gust of wind, and the little creature was startled and bounded away.
I sat there for a long, long time, admiring the view, the animals, the people, the breeze -- just the vitality of the place. Finally, I packed in my things, and got up to leave. I cast one last glance at the place -- it was still just as beautiful, and a white boat had drawn up next to the boathouse -- and turned around, and walked back up the street to the parking lot, and back home.

(Other sketches from the day)