Austin Adventures

Acres of bluebonnets at the Lady Bird Wildflower Center! Ahhhh, spring!

I recently had the occasion to be in Austin on business. My sweet friend Mel and I decided to pop in early on our own dime and spend a weekend in the city, looking for trouble. (She'd never been to Austin, and I had only briefly visited before.)

Day 1

Two odd ducks at Odd Duck

We flew in on Thursday afternoon, checked into our cute AirBnb, and headed to Odd Duck for dinner. 

What a great place! We were there just in time for happy hour, so we enjoyed discount Palomas on their open-air deck. We ordered grilled carrots, cheddar cornbread, and a delicious short rib for dinner. Service was prompt, friendly and very knowledgeable about the menu. Food was fantastic. A great vibe here. 

After dinner, we spent some time shopping nearby boutiques before heading back to the rental and sacking out. 

Day 2

We awoke, cleaned up a bit, and set out in search of breakfast. We found it (and how) at Snooze: an A.M. Eatery. We really lucked out, because this place was super-close to our rental, featured adorable decor, had friendly/quick service, and served AMAZING breakfast food. It's a chain, but one we don't have at home. The restaurant has sunny, mid-century modern decor and a large menu of options to choose from. 

We both got big cups of coffee, and then I had smashed griddled sweet potatoes topped with veggies, poached eggs, and bacon crumbles. OMG. Divine, fairly healthy, and incredibly filling. 

Breakfast at Snooze

After breakfast, we got an Uber to our next stop - The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. It was bluebonnet season, and we couldn't wait to see the Texas State flower all dolled up for spring! We paid our admission fee at the gate, collected our map, and got started. The center is a beautiful place. Visitors start out at the central complex, where you'll find meeting and teaching facilities. There's also a lovely observation tower here that provides sweeping views of the surrounding country side. 

From there, we explored the central gardens, where plants in formal layouts grow in raised containers or up and over trellises. Next up, we took a woodland path to the Luci and Ian Family Garden, where tons of kids hopped around play structures and ducked behind a small waterfall. We finished up our time walking the trails to some of the less developed parts of the center, strolling among acres and acres of blooming bluebonnets, reliving our childhoods on the occasional swing dangling from a tree, and inspecting some of the art placed strategically in the gardens. We loved this place, and I'd highly recommend a visit to anyone! 

We made our way back to the rental to cool our heels a bit, then headed to Bouldin Acres for a late lunch. It was a pretty Friday, and this place is a vibe. We sat near the bar, ordered some drinks (lemonade - yummmm) and a couple of dishes (tacos, fries) to munch on. Bouldin Acres has a large outdoor area where folks sit at picnic tables, play pickle ball, and try their hand at corn hole. There's also a play gym for the kids, and dogs are welcome. The whole thing is just chill and relaxed. 

Sublime paddle boarding at Barton Springs

After lunch, it was back to the rental to rest for a sec and change clothes before our next activity - paddle boarding in Barton Springs. We Ubered to Zilker Park, then made our way to Zilker Park Boat Rentals. This outfit rents kayaks and paddleboards by the hour, and they fixed us right up with boards, paddles, and life vests. It was Mel's first time paddle boarding, but she picked it right up!

Cutie on a paddle board, with the Austin
skyline in the background

And I LOVED paddle boarding here. The water is so clear and cool. There were other folks on the water (It was a gorgeous day.), but it wasn't too crowded. We saw tons of turtles and birds, and after paddling for a good half hour, we hopped off our boards to take a dip! We relaxed a while, then paddled back. All in all, we spent a couple of hours on the water, and it was fantastic. Would 100% recommend. 

Back to the rental for a shower and a change of clothes, then we headed downtown for dinner at Luminaire. Loved this place! Fantastic service and food in a location adjacent to the Paramount Theatre. (They had a fun cocktail menu inspired by the theatre, with drinks like "Bring Up the Lights," "The Slippery Slope," "The Dream Sequence," and "The Show Must Go On." Cute!) I chose the chicken al la plancha and was not disappointed. Delish!

After we'd eaten, we walked towards the Congress Street Bridge to see the Austin bats. Austin is home to the largest urban bat colony in North America. During the warmer months, something like 1.5 million bats roost under the Congress Street Bridge, and they fly out at night to forage for food. (Less mosquitos in Austin. Fine by me!) It was still pretty early in the season for them, so they weren't swarming, but we did see a few little bats come out to play!

After spending some quality time with our batty friends, Mel and I went in search of a rooftop bar where we could get a drink. We found it at Zanzibar. What a cool, atmospheric place! There's an elevator at street level with a sidewalk sign and a big, glowing, neon Z above it. You get in the elevator and go straight up to this place, which is lit with torches and features lovely views of the city. 

Mel and I sipped tropical drinks, snacked on duck spring rolls, and enjoyed the night lights twinkling. Then, back to the rental for a well-deserved rest! 

Night lights from Zanzibar

Day 3

Another morning, another breakfast at Snooze! Today, I chose the eggs Benedict. They have tons of varieties, and you can get two different ones on the same plate if you want to sample more than one offering. So fun! I tried the classic and the Bella Bella (an Italian-inspired version). 

Our hunger sated, we headed back to Zilker Park for the ABC Kite Fest. What fun! This free event features tons of community booths giving away cool swag (kites, beverages, food, toys, etc.), a community stage (We saw the CUTEST kids choir in their tie-dyed T-shirts; they were accompanied by what was obviously dads on guitar, keys, and drums.), balloon arches for photos, oodles of food trucks, and tons and tons and tons of KITES! People were flying them everywhere. Some of the kites were small, others were large, and some were HUGE! It was so cool to see them all whipping in the wind against the backdrop of the downtown skyline. We spent a couple of hours here, enjoying the vibe (kids, dogs, the people-watching was amazing) before moving on to our next activity - a hike!

A gorgeous morning at ABC Kite Fest!

We Ubered to the trailhead for Sculpture Falls, about 3 miles from Zilker Park. (Getting the Uber to know where to go is tricky here, as the Uber app doesn't let you input coordinates as your destination, only addresses. It was a bit of a trial-and-error process.) 

Once we got there, though, it was an easy, out-and-back hike through the woods. Due to lack of rain, there was no falling water at either Twin Falls or Sculpture Falls (Boo. Hiss.), but there was enough water at Sculpture Falls for some refreshing wading, so we put on our water shoes and cooled off before heading back. 

Wading at Sculpture Falls

After the hike, we were hungry! Based on the advice of someone we chatted with at the Kite Fest, we headed to Torchy's for some tacos! We ordered chips and queso, margaritas, and then settled into some great tacos. I had the Baja Shrimp and Green Chile Pork varieties, and they were GREAT! This is a great, casual option, and the food was delicious! 

On the way out, we noticed Crepe Crazy next door, and we knew we had to go in. We split the Sweet Cheese Delight and also got a couple of macarons for the road. Full of booze and sugar, we hit a couple of shops on the way back to the rental, where we showered and napped. 

When we awoke, the sun was going down. We decided to pop back out to the Lady Bird Wildflower Center to check out an evening event that we'd noticed being promoted during our day visit - Field of Light. This immersive art experience is SO COOL. You basically stroll through acres of some 28,000 stemmed globes filled with evolving solar-powered fiber optic lights that morph from one gorgeous color to the next. Silent disco headphones come with admission, and you can listen to two different tracks of music or a guided audio tour of the exhibit. They had drink trucks at the entrance, so you could also purchase a cocktail to sip as you wandered. In addition, a raised viewing platform gave you a slightly elevated view of the installation for different perspective. So unusual and beautiful. We loved this. 

Then, it was back to the rental for a rest.

Magical Field of Light

Day 4

We decided to try a different breakfast place this morning, so we walked to Thoroughbread to see what was on offer. I had a delicious burridough filled with ham and cheese, and I picked up a lemon blueberry scone (fragrantly scented with thyme) for later. Delicious! 

Then, we packed up our bags, checked out of our AirBnb, and dropped our bags at the hotel I'd check into for business that night - Embassy Suites Downtown Austin. (This allowed us a place to park our bags while we finished exploring, once our check out time for the AirBnb rolled around.) 

Lone Star State!
At the State Capitol Building

Next up, exploring downtown a bit. We tracked down some murals for fun pics and poked around the huge, gorgeous Texas State Capitol building. The Country Music Awards was shooting a ton of footage in Austin while we were there - pre-roll, man-on-the-street, etc., so parts of downtown were a zoo! We navigated around it and tried to keep our distance (all while assiduously keeping an eye out for potential Dolly Parton sightings). 

Then, it was off to our afternoon event - a walking food tour. Mel loves a food tour, and I always learn about places I've never heard of when we go on them, so we were excited to get started. We started with migas at Veracruz, then moved on to (seriously yum) brisket at Cooper's. Up next, gorgeous smoothies at Juiceland (blueberry, peanut butter, honey, almond milk - just tasty), followed by what was probably my favorite of the tour - Korean beef tacos at Velvet Taco. (It sounds like it wouldn't work, but IT DOES.) We finished with a pork soup dumpling at Little Wu and a flan cheesecake at Taco Pegaso. Our tour guide, A.J., was amazing, funny, friendly, and knew a ton about Austin. He did a great job of keeping the tour moving, making sure everyone had plenty of breaks and water, and giving all of us a great experience. 

After the food tour, it was still a beautiful day, and we were very full. Mel had some time to kill before her flight, so we got watermelon agua frescas and laid under the trees at Fareground for a bit. By this time, my hotel room was ready for check-in, so we popped over there to rest and freshen up. Mel collected her bags and Ubered off to the airport, and I got ready to welcome my work team to the city.

They arrived and checked in. Once I'd recovered a bit from the afternoon's smorgasbord, we went to sample some BBQ at Terry Black's, which was walkable from the hotel. 

Day 5

Our first full day of training! Two days of on-site training were the whole reason that we traveled to Austin to begin with. Our team breakfasted at the hotel, then headed to the training site. We had a great day of development (Our hosts were kind enough to order lunch in for us.), then headed out for an evening of fun.

Inside "Into the Breath" at
Wonderspaces Austin

This was a very important night, because one of my team members was celebrating his 40th birthday! He loves steak, so I'd made us a reservation at a very meat-forward restaurant for the evening. 

We were a little early yet for our reservation, so we started at Lazarus Brewing Company for a pre-dinner drink and a snack. I got a glass of rosé and some queso, and we settled in to chat and laugh. Pretty soon, it was time for our reservation, so we walked over to Salt & Time, which is a butcher shop in addition to being a restaurant. We ordered drinks and steaks, made our birthday boy wear goofy glasses and buttons, and celebrated! It was a great night! 

Once we got back to the hotel, I still had a little juice left in me. Looking for something to do, I stumbled across Wonderspaces Austin online. A quick Uber later, I was there. 

Oh, how I loved this place! It's a big, warehouse-type space filled with interactive, tech-heavy art installations. You can make the sun rise and set on a large screen by manipulating a big ball. You can climb inside a giant plastic "lung." You can frolic to music among dangling strings of colored lights. You can watch and listen as a choir of vintage sewing machines plays you a song. The whole thing is just a marvelous, colorful dream. If you're in a city with a Wonderspaces (and there are several), I highly, highly recommend a visit. I enjoyed myself immensely. 

Did I make my co-workers take goofy mural photos?
Do you even need to ask?

Day 6

Another breakfast at the hotel and full day of training. (Our hosts catered in Torchy's Tacos! I got to try the Trailer Trash variety! Heh.)

When the day's classes were over, our host took us out to dinner at a great little place - Launderette. So cute! I got a delicious cocktail and the nosh nosh, an appetizer plate of olives, feta cheese, and eggplant spread. Others at the table got the bistro steak (the duck fat tater tots were AMAZING) and the Brussels sprouts. Tasty! We enjoyed recapping our training and building relationships.

After dinner, we caught a car back to our hotel for a rest, then decided to pop back out to see if the bats had decided to make an appearance. (One of my team members was less than enthusiastic about the bats, but she decided to face her feats!) On this night, I saw considerably more of them, though again, not an alarming swarm. Just right for our group!

Then, we did a bit of walking down in the South Congress Avenue area. This is such a great district - shops, restaurants, people out, etc. We took photos in front of some fun murals and got ice cream cones at Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams to top off our night. 

The next morning, it was pack-airport-home! (Though we did get delayed for a good 6 hours in Dallas. It was HAILING at our home airport! Lawdhavemercy.) 

I loved my second visit to Austin! It's a great town, and I look forward to coming back!

Until next time, Austin!