We just got back from a wonderful weekend in Austin with my parents, who flew there from Maryland to meet us…and collectively blow off Passover.
Brilliant idea, as Austin is nothing if not a city in which to defy convention.
Austin makes no pretensions to being a tourist destination, but that’s exactly why it’s such a fun place to spend a long vacation weekend. Unlike the life you’ll have left back at home, here there’s no pressure to do anything at all.
My mom managed to unearth a manila folder’s worth of things to do in Austin, while I brought little more than Budget Travel’s 25 Reasons We Love Austin and the suggestions of some friends who’ve lived there. In the vein of Buckaroo Banzai, we all pretty much agreed that wherever the days took us…there we’d be.
Looking back at the weekend, we saw a staggering amount of Austin…but with a few more days could have seen a lot more.
Here’s what we did see:
The Harry Ransom Center and the University of Texas at Austin campus. The quiet, pristine and entirely free Ransom Center houses a Gutenberg Bible, the archive of legendary Hollywood producer David O. Selznick, a huge collection of South African Judaica, priceless works of art…and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s underwear. While on campus, don’t miss the Texas Tower, where sniper Charles Whitman went berserk in 1966, and the stately brick-and-iron Littlefield Home (pictured here).
Drove an hour or so outside town to the soft, green Texas Hill Country. My mom hadn’t been back to Austin in over 40 years, but could hardly wait to lay eyes on the Hill Country again. Reaching off for miles, hills here are more like mesas covered with fluffy low trees and grasses, spiky tufts of cactus, Texas bluebonnets and prickly poppies nestled here and there. The early April day was hazy, warm, and dreamy in olive, seafoam, forest and chartreuse. We passed up caverns and the Texas Wine Trail in favor of a drive.
We later learned from a local oenephile that the wineries here are good for architecture and views, but need more time to produce decent wine. Don’t imagine that’ll stop the Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival (April 16-19) from being a success.
Looped around to Georgetown, TX, a truly vintage town, with a central square built between the late 1800s and early 1900s. We took a break here for coffee sniffin’ and Austin’s local Amy’s Ice Cream at the Cianfrani Coffee Company. It was a couple of weeks shy of the town’s Red Poppy Festival, and store windows are painted with the bright flowers; off the town square and back amongst houses that range from stately Victorian to rustic funk, real poppies dot parks and lawns.
Wandered through the romantic garden paths of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. The center’s mission is to preserve the native plants of America, but the gardens here display only the native plants of Texas. Wind your way up the stone observation tower, take a seat by a trickling stream and watch butterflies flit past, or just breathe in a blossom or two. The Texas bluebonnets bloomed early this year due to early rain followed by near-drought conditions, so in a few weeks they’ll be gone; usually they peak in May.
Awaited the evening surge at the Bat Bridge. The South Congress Bridge sits adjacent to our hotel, the Hyatt Regency Austin, so we were able to get a great seat on the lawn just below the action. When this bridge was widened in 1980, the resulting crevices between the added slabs of concrete became the daily nesting grounds for 3.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats. At dusk, pregnant females stream out from beneath the Bat Bridge, section by section, and take to the skies for a staggering bug buffet. The bridge itself was lined with spectators, and tour boats, canoers, and kayaks floated up bridge-side on Lady Bird Lake to take in the scene, but we loved standing amongst the trees by the water.
Enjoy my video of the bat surge.
Had a doggone good time at the 11th Annual Mighty Texas Dog Walk. Back at the South Congress Bridge in the morning, this time atop it, we gaped at a parade of thousands of dogs and their owners gathered to raise money for Texas Hearing and Service Dogs. From chihuahuas to corgis to Great Danes, we’d never seen such a variety of canines in one friendly place.
Took in some local art. Along Shady Lane on the low-rent east side of town, we stumbled across the Pump Project Art Complex, a paint-splattered artists’ studio collective. We were impressed with the solo show of sketch artist/painter Lee Baxter Davis, and the work of painter Debra Broz and jewelry artist Rachael Adamiak. It was coincidentally the last night of the third Texas Biennial, a statewide celebration of art for art’s sake.
Took in some local history. First we scoped out some of Austin’s oldest downtown mansions between Guadalupe and San Antonio Streets at 7th, then headed a few blocks over to the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. The latter offers The Story of Texas, from the days of Spanish conquistadors to the Mexican-American War, through Galveston’s immigration heyday to the oil boom and the tech explosion. There are several documentaries that allow chances to sit down, rest, and cuddle; our collective favorite explored the myth of the Hollywood cowboy.
Prowled South Congress Avenue. With stores chock full of funky treasures (Tesoros Trading Company) , outsider art (Yard Dog), and cruelty-free fashions (Creatures Boutique), cheek-by-jowl with the shady courtyards of the southwest-modern Hotel San Jose and outdoor jam sessions at Jo’s Coffee, this locally-focused commercial street is Ground Zero for the Keep Austin Weird movement. The crowd here’s eclectic: Don’t be surprised to see a septugenarian in white fishnets and pearls beside a pair of twenty-something rockers beside a well-heeled gay couple in their forties.
Tooled around the back streets of Bouldin Creek. On either side of South Congress, this oak-shaded neighborhood is full of LEED renovated Craftsman gems painted combinations like red-orange-yellow, turquoise with bright green, and purple edged with olive. It’s also dotted with the occasional weird house (always a joy to behold) like this gem replete with mosaic lawn car. On either side of South First, look in on Roadside Relics and Bouldin Creek Coffeehouse for some of the coolest signage in town.
Strolled the Zilker Park paths along Barton Creek. Austin’s biggest park, Zilker, offers the foresty opportunity to bike, walk with or without your dog, run, canoe, kayak, or watch wildlife. We saw turtles paddling and sunning themselves, and geese taking a bath. Even stole a kiss by the water’s edge in the shadow of a dragonfly. Park for free on Robert E. Lee Road (it’s $3 around the corner off Barton Springs).
Drank in the Umlauf Sculpture Garden. No, we’d never heard of American sculptor Charles Umlauf, either. Don’t let that stop you from wandering in to perch on little bridges over a bubbling creek, or take a seat on a bench before a bronze warthog or underneath a tree with heart-shaped leaves. A lovely last glimpse of Austin.
*For more of our photos from Austin, click here.
