This post is a little longer than most because in less than 24 hours we experienced as much as we could! That's why I titled this post "Austin on Fast Forward".
First and foremost, once again the Texas heat is rearing it's ugly head and it's not even summer there! We're told that July through September is the worst and most of the time you get outside early morning and evening. The rest of the time you're usually in an air-conditioned vehicle or building. We were exceptionally hot because we were out all day in the sunshine and on our bikes often in traffic. Walking downtown was nice and in the shade was really pleasant. The nights were warm and wonderful!
Robert took us downtown to an eclectic Mexican restaurant and after dinner we walked the neighborhood. There's lots of bars, restaurants and even an ice cream shop along with quirky gift and clothing shops. A fun place to hang out and another great people watching area. We checked out the retro Continental Club which is featured on Sirius Outlaw Country Radio.
Neon is everywhere in Austin and virtually every bar and restaurant has a neon sign either vintage or made to look vintage. They are very cool!
We also took our photo at the "I love you so much" graffiti wall.
That night Robert and Holly made us a list of everything we should do in Austin and on Tuesday we tackled and conquered a lot of the list. We got up fairly early and hit the road and had a great day of sightseeing.
We parked downtown and the whole area is full of interesting old buildings, with vintage signs. Our photos don't really capture the complete essence of Austin as there are hundreds of bars, restaurants and stores downtown. We're sure the nightlife is hopping!
Austin is motorcycle friendly and we learned that if you park in a paid metered space...motorcycles park for free! Yes, free! If only Salt Lake City could take a cue from Austin!
We checked out Buffalo Billiards, first to enjoy the air conditioning and secondly because Randy likes to play pool. If we lived in Austin, you'd find Randy hanging out here, free parking and billiards. The lunch special included an an hour of free billiards. Great deal, plus it was nice to see my friend Jack Daniels again.
Just walking downtown, 6th & Congress we saw the Texas State Capitol, great cool building sitting majestically and surrounded by lots of modern buildings. We didn't have time to tour the capitol but I'm sure it's equally gorgeous inside.
The Driskill Hotel is an incredible old building built in the mid 1800's. It's said to be haunted but we didn't see any ghosts! We did walk around the entire hotel looking for them, but I bet that after a night of haunting, they rest up during the day.
The lobby area and stained glass are incredible, note the Texas star in the stained glass. The floors are highly polished and there's soft light, leather couches and Texas artwork everywhere. The bar area is warm and intimate and I could just imagine Texas oil barons and cattlemen sipping whiskey and making deals.
We lunched at the Hula Hut on Lake Austin and with the grass huts, made us feel a little like we're in Hawaii! We were in the shade and the breeze was fabulous. The restaurant was built over the lake giving us a great view of the huge carp and turtles swimming below.
To cool off we jetted over to Barton Springs Park to cool off in a natural spring river. Perfect for a hot afternoon plus the sign stated that it was the "soul of Austin".
The park wasn't crowded however on the weekends or when school is out, I bet this place if full of people. The water is around 70 degrees, and even though we were extremely hot, the water was COLD! I was so hot that I couldn't believe that it was too cold to just dive in! Randy immediately hit the water and it took me awhile to venture in.
On the other side of the pool area, is the free acess river and it was packed! Not just with people but with dogs too! We watched the dogs both huge and teeny scamper in and out of the water.
After our dip in the river, we wanted to try some local bar culture so we stopped off at Red's Porch (I like the name a lot) to enjoy their upstairs deck. The view was cool and the beer was icy cold! This bar was awesome! They had board games and lounge areas with couches and TV's - you felt like you could be in your own living room. They also had a huge TV screen that showcased all the beers they had on tap but the interesting thing is that it also showed each keg and the amount in the keg. We loved it.
One of our favorite decorations was the type cases filled with board game pieces - a great way to use vintage type cases and old board games. Very cool!
We had a full day enjoying the Austin sights and we didn't even get through the whole list! We'll have to come back to finish it up.
That evening we hung out with Robert & Holly. Holly is a hair stylist and she gave me a fresh new "do" great color and cut off all my raggity, dry ends. This trip has been hard on my hair. After Holly worked her magic, it looks fabulous!
The next morning we packed up and headed to San Angelo, but before leaving we did a fun selfie with Robert, Holly and their daughter Scarlet. We all just woke up and I think we look great for an early morning. We also grabbed a quick shot of Otis, the labradoodle...he is sweet but he is huge!
Thanks Robert & Holly for a fun visit! We loved Austin and we'll be back soon!
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