FROM THE AIRPORT -
DAY 1 -
The Texas Capitol
We just parked in a downtown parking garage, so we could leave the car there and walk around. What's not to like about this? It's usually open, it's free, and it's pretty inside. If you want to spend just a little time, go in and look, and if you want to spend more, you can take a tour. I like going into state capitol buildings and hit them whenever I can.
6th Street
Sometimes 6th Street looks trashy, as in actually has trash on it, and there are lots of people asking for money. But at night it's transformed into a musical wonderland. When the music is coming from every place, the street is closed off, and everyone's walking around it's just ... exciting and fun. It just gives you that city feeling. I love walking here at night and ducking in to listen to different bands.
Places to Eat
Cooper's Old Time Pit BBQ is Kris' favorite Texas BBQ, and he's tried a lot of them. We've been to the one in Llano, but there's one on Congress in Austin. (If you like BBQ, which I don't.) If you're more into giant pretzels and beer gardens, then Scholz Garten is your place. It was a fun outside area with tons of taps, a giant pretzel, and when we were there, a trio of string musicians jamming together. They weren't doing it for us, just for them. Nice atmosphere.
We've also enjoyed the Iron Cactus, because you can sit outside on a balcony and look at all the Austin weirdos. Easy Tiger is another outdoor place we've been a couple of times. I love the ping pong tables and the greenery wall. I could easily spend a few hours here ... and again, they have a giant pretzel. (You may be picking up on my food favorites. BBQ, no, huge hunks of bread covered in salt, yes.)
Bats at Congress Bridge
After seeing the Capitol, 6th street, stopping at Easy Tiger and a few other places, Kris' sister Meghan said, "We're about a half mile from Congress Bridge!" I knew just what she meant because although I've been here before, I've never been here at a time I could see the bats fly out from under Congress Bridge. It happens March-ish through Septemberi-sh at sunset. People gather in huge crowds - and in kayaks on the water - to watch 1.5 million bats head out from their batcave for the night.
We have bats here in Michigan ... every night in the summer we have a few that circle the yard. But to see a stream of them that went on and on and ON was pretty cool. There were just so many of them. It made you wonder how the bridge stayed up with all that extra weight!
DAY 2 -
Enchanted Rock
I love cities, but I love nature even more. Enchanted Rock is a fun, easy hike up a giant rock. Once you reach the peak and hit the other side, there are rock caves to explore, the scenery to admire, and the fun of looking at being on such a giant rock that is, ostensibly, enchanted. How else did it get that name?
While we were up there Ty found a 20-lb weight someone had apparently lugged up it. THAT'S a workout. I once walked up here when I was pregnant with twins, and they didn't even weigh that much.
Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg is a touristy town that is German, so it reminds me of Frankenmuth, MI, and every tourist beach town in Michigan. Cute stores, ice cream, pretty parks - all the markers of a tourist town if you feel like walking around and sitting in cow seats. This cow must be German!
We ate at the Fredericksburg Brewery which was beautiful and almost empty. Great outdoor seating - perhaps it's more popular in the summer and not on a spring Wednesday at 4:00 p.m.
DAY 3 -
Pedernales Falls State Park
This is more exploring than hike, but there are a lot of places to explore. The water and rock mix makes for some pretty beautiful scenery. It warns you everywhere to not swim in it, but I can see how that would be difficult to follow when it was hot outside. We jumped around, skipped rocks, and then went left from the entrance, where there were spots you could climb even farther and higher.
We stopped off at Bear King Brewing Company in Marble Falls later that night. It had recently opened and didn't offer pretzels...yet. Better call and ask before going here!
DAY 4 -
Inks Lake State Park
This is the prettiest park of the three in my opinion. It has nice, twisty, cool hikes through it. We brought kayaks and kayaked on the water, which was fun, and we jumped off a cliff into the water.
There are two places you can jump off - a high cliff and a lower cliff. I was sure I was going to jump off the higher cliff, but then once I went there, I was really uncertain. For one, you can't see into the water to make sure you're not going to hit something, because it's not clear. For two, the other people jumping off told me to make sure I jumped toward the sign, because there weren't rocks that way. For three, the cliff is not straight down - it's angled out so you also have to jump OUT to make sure you clear it.
As a result, I went on the lower cliff, since I was weighing how mad I would be if I hit something in the water and was paralyzed for life. It didn't seem worth it.
My first jump off the lower cliff was fine. The second time I jumped with my son, and in the water, I hit a big rock with my leg. It wasn't painful or anything, but I did hit it, because there are rocks down there! I'd probably pick a different park to cliff jump ... like one that DOESN'T have big rocks that you can't see in the water! But hiking and kayaking here? Totally fun.
DAY 5 -
We flew home out of Austin, because there are some really cheap flights to here. Spirit flies into here, so you're always going to be able to find something reasonable from a big airport.
Other things in Austin and surrounding areas? E-scooters - this is the first place I saw them, last summer! My friend Aimee just did a line dancing class at the White Horse, rented bikes to ride all around the city, and liked the Hops & Grain Brewery. I also like running along the river early in the morning. The difference between 6th Street at night and the early morning river is a nice comparison.
And any place you can get a pretzel. I'm always in favor of that.
Questions? Email carla.wardin@gmail.com.
