A bad, grainy cellphone shot of a portion of the overflow crowd at the "Everyone Wants to Live Within Walking Distance."

If today has a theme so far, it's "Standing Room Only." I can't be in more than one place at a time (of course) so I can't vouch for the at-capacity nature of every session, but everywhere I've gone has been chock-full of preservationists. And the speakers haven't disappointed - interesting presentations and lively question-and-answer sessions are have also been the order of the day.

On a personal note, Austin did its very best to live up to one of my personal stereotypes today: that delicious food trucks lurk around every corner. I fervently believed that if I wandered aimlessly for a few minutes I would find tasty tacos as surely as gold at the end of a rainbow. And, after a brief stroll up Congress, Emily's Dive appeared before me and a delightful plate of tacos al pastor were mine. I love being right!

Around the Internet

• The importance of preserving history (Stephanie Meeks, special to the Austin Statesman)
• National Trust asks residents to reflect on local identity, preservation of culture (Vidushi Shrimali, The Daily Texan)
• “Even if You Do Everything Right….Without Time It Won’t Ring True” (Priya Chhaya, ...and this is what comes next)
• National Preservation Conference – Review of Plenary Session (Kayla Jonas, Adventures in Heritage)

On the Twitters

My delicious taco lunch!

Today's keynote session, a lively conversation between Kennedy Smith, principal of the CLUE Group, and Charles Buki, principal of CZB, spawned a lot of conversation on the #PresConf hash tag, as did several later sessions today. We've also gotten a few messages letting us know that people not in attendance really are following along, which is great to know!

@k10death How can we preserve the stones and still have a comfortable place for the stonecutter? #nextamericancity #presconf

@callmebutton "are we still creating communities?" - Charles Buki #presconf

@urbanmatt To paraphrase Dixon, the greenest thing you can do - more so green bldg, etc. - is build new housing in existing urban cores. #PresConf

@JJ_PresNation Advocacy point in Preserving Public Housing....removing the housing project does not remove the social problem. #presconf

@ballestrem That's a solar roof on front of historic house. Wonder what people think? http://twitpic.com/31o4q8 #presconf @VisitAHC

ATX Vids

Over the last few weeks we've shared the promotional videos for the Austin Unscripted project going on in conjunction with the conference. Last weekend, the #ATXUnscripted team ran around town, interviewing nearly 100 Austinites about their city. This week, they've turned the cameras toward our fellow preservationists.

Austin Unscripted: "Austin's Currency Is Creativity"

Check back later tonight for a recap of the annual Candlelight House Tour... or maybe tomorrow morning. If I find a cozy looking bedroom in one of those houses, I just might crash out for the night.

Sarah Heffern is the content manager for PreservationNation.org. Now that she's found a taco truck, her quest will move on, but to what? Cupcakes? Margaritas? Tune in tomorrow...

Sarah Heffern is the social media strategist for the National Trust’s Public Affairs team. While she embraces all things online and pixel-centric, she’s also a hard-core building hugger, having fallen for preservation in a fifth grade “Built Environment” class.

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