If you read my post on Savannah and Charleston, you would know that I tend to prefer visiting places that are different from what I know, and really experiencing different cultures. That is why Austin was my least favorite of the music cities (Memphis being first and Nashville second). However, you may also remember that I did not like Charleston at all. This was NOT the case with Austin. I thought Austin was an awesome city and I really enjoyed my time there, I just found that it wasn’t as much of a culture shock as Memphis or Nashville, and I love the culture shock.
Disclaimer: I was 10 weeks pregnant with Landen when I visited Austin. I was tired, nauseous, and HOT. SO SO HOT. It is really unfair to assess any city in this condition (and, for all of you who think pregnancy is “natural” and our bodies are “meant to do it” I will contest you. It is a condition and if you’d like to hear my argument on why I don’t think nausea and exhaustion and joint pain and swelling and premature water breaks are “natural” then feel free to text me any time).
Anyway, about Austin. That was a bad intro because I really did love the city.
The first day, we arrived late afternoon, got settled, and got dinner in the hotel. After dinner, we decided to walk to the bridge to see the bats.
What? Let me explain. The Congress Avenue bridge in Austin houses the largest bat colony in North America. They sleep under there all day, and then around sunset they all fly out together. It’s like a cloud of bats. They have boat tours and bridge tours to watch them fly, but we opted to just walk over to the bridge and hope for a good view.
It’s a good thing we did not pay for a tour, because we weren’t fully informed about the seasonal nature of this bat flight. The season is April – October ish, and we were there in April. However, peak season is summer and when it’s not peak season, the flight is unpredictable. So after standing on that bridge with hundreds of other tourists for over an hour, we did not see any bats. We actually walked by another night while we were there just to peek, and again no bats. Theoretically, I’d like to try again some time, but realistically I never want to be anywhere near Texas in July or August, especially after actually melting there in April, so I guess I’ll have to settle for youtube.
Okay after typing that I watched a video, and now I really want to see it in person one day.
The next morning we walked the entire northern part of the city. We started with an Uber (or it might’ve been Lyft – this seems irrelevant but at the time there was some political ride sharing debate going on and signs all over the city about some vote regarding the issue, so it’s probably important) to the University of Texas to walk around the campus and see the LBJ Presidential Library. I actually enjoyed the library and thought it was pretty interactive even though I’m not into history or politics. Don’t get me wrong, though, it wasn’t a trip highlight.
Afterwards, we walked to “The Drag,” the area west of campus with shops and restaurants. It had a very college town feel to it, and we stumbled upon Pizzeria Vetri. As you know from my Savannah and Charleston post, three meals a day is not enough when time is limited, so we got some 10 am ish pizza. Vetri holds a special place in our hearts, so we couldn’t pass it up.
From there, we went to the state capitol for a tour. It was 45 minutes and brutal. I’m bored just thinking about it.
Lunch was at Lambert’s for some awesome BBQ, because Austin.
That afternoon we explored the shops in the 2nd street district, and then walked around Whole Foods. This is their flagship location and it was really cool and different from any Whole Foods I’ve ever seen.
We then hopped into another Uber or Lyft, still don’t remember, and headed to the SOCO (South Congress) neighborhood. This was a great neighborhood where we started at the Austin mural and then continued to walk into a bunch of boutique shops with sidewalk displays.
This is also where I had my first pregnancy meltdown because it was just too hot and exhausting, and had to be sent home in an Uber. I took one of my only naps ever.
Eric was not pregnant, just napping.
Dinner was at Uchi, which was AMAZING. Eat there, Tom.
The next day was a little more relaxing and a lot less walking. We did a little exploring, and then we spent the afternoon on a Rocket Electric Bikes Foodie Tour. This was perfect. We got to see the city by bike, but the bikes were electric if you wanted them to be, for those of us who are pretty pathetic bikers (me), and also pregnant. They easily propel you up all of the hills. It’s amazing. Plus, it was a “foodie” tour, so there was delicious food involved. We stopped at a couple of food trucks and restaurants for some great Austin tastes. Do not go to Austin without doing this.
Dinner was at Wink, which was great, followed by Pete’s Dueling Piano Bar. If you’ve never been to a Piano Bar, you should. I also went to one in Nashville and they’re always so much fun with super talented musicians. Then we walked 6th street (Austin’s music street). It was nothing like Nashville or Memphis and actually felt a little more college town/fratty than the music streets of those cities, but it was fun to see all of the bars playing live music. I also found that these bars did not have all day music like the other two cities, and it was getting to be a little past my bedtime to really enjoy this scene. Plus, the pregnancy.
We ended the night at the fun and delicious Voodoo Donuts. I don’t have a clue what happened to my pictures from the piano bar or donuts, but I know they exist somewhere.
The next and final day we rented a car and did a little road trip. As you read in my Asheville and road trip post, I think it’s really fun to explore outside of the city you’re visiting. Outside of Austin there are a bunch of cute little towns to explore so we hit up a few of them.
The first town was San Marcos, which is where Texas State University is located. We obviously had breakfast before we left the hotel because I would never go anywhere without breakfast, because I’m not a completely insane person, but we still couldn’t resist a stop for some breakfast burritos. It was because I was pregnant. HAHAHAH. JK, I would’ve had it if I wasn’t pregnant too, obviously. Apparently breakfast burritos are a thing in these parts.
Honestly, other than the coffee place with the burritos, the only thing I remember from this town was a quick stop at CVS, where I believe we bought some spray paint (more on that later) so it probably wasn’t all that great. The spray paint was essential though.
Next we drove past/through Kyle, TX, which was not memorable, and then hit Wimberley, our favorite town of the day. It was charming and super cute, and we really enjoyed walking into the shops and galleries and spending part of our day here.
Also, Papa Hoos Popcorn was fabulous. There were basically a million flavors lining the walls, both sweet and savory. I’m going to take this opportunity to remind you, Bettina, that you wanted to order a bunch for a party or something? Maybe you’ll have a popcorn themed 60th birthday party.
Tiny Taste Tests
Our next stop was Driftwood for lunch at Salt Lick BBQ. This place is definitely a tourist trap, but it was pretty good, and really cool to see the huge meat cooking fire.
Next we went to the Lady Bird Johnson wildflower center, which was pretty and worth a walk around to learn about the plant life. But it was HOT, so we didn’t spend much time there. Then we headed to the Barton Springs Pool, a nice park with natural springs. Another place to just walk around and then get back in the car because it was too hot. However, if you want to swim this is a great place to do it, and could probably help with the heat issue. Also seem to have misplaced my pictures from these two stops.
Our final stop was the Hope Outdoor Gallery. This is a large outdoor graffiti park and the scene of the Baby Rez photo that we used to email all of our friends and family about little tiny fetus Landen (although at the time he was an unknown nameless boy/girl). Good thing we got that spray paint, and thanks for the memories, Austin.
Most of you have seen the picture we sent out. Here are some outtakes (and some pictures of the park).
Too hard to read. 
Getting better. 
We finished out the trip with more food at Emmer and Rye, which was awesome, and more bars on Rainey street which was much more low key and way less fratty than 6th street. And I finished this post successfully tagging almost all of the other spots I visited in the South. Next and last: Greensboro. Get excited.
TRAVELING WITH ARDEN 
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