Whenever I get to feeling uneasy about things (there’s a lot going on behind the scenes in my life right now!), I get restless. I want to run away. That’s normal for a 35 year old, right? Probably not. I’m just talking about running away for a few days – I’d miss the puppies too much to be gone much longer than that!
Any time my husband and I talk about going somewhere, we both automatically say, “Austin”. That’s our favorite place. Ever. Seriously. I’m pretty sure I was born to live there, but I haven’t made it that far yet. Someday I will, though. Mark my words!
Now, to be fair, when I say Austin, I mean Austin and the surrounding areas – not just Austin proper (although we love Austin proper too). Since I can’t drop everything and go right now, here are some of our favorite things about Austin.
Absolute best place we have ever stayed in the fifteen years we have been together – hands down, the Inn Above Onion Creek in Kyle, Texas. It’s about 15 minutes south of Austin, a ways off of I-35.
My dad gave us 2 nights here and 2 nights at Inn On Pearl Street (IN Austin, near the UT campus) for our honeymoon. Yeah, that was over 8 years ago and I’m still itching to go back! The cool thing about this place is that they serve breakfast AND dinner for the guests. I had the best meal of my life (thus far) here – I don’t know if that means I need to get out more or not, but it was excellent. I’m pretty sure my husband would agree!
I recommend it to everyone I know that is going to Austin. If that’s not enough, here’s a picture of the view from the back porch of our beautiful suite.
Our favorite place to visit is Mt. Bonnell. I know, I know, it’s a tourist trap, whatever. It’s beautiful and totally worth climbing the 100 stairs to get to the top. We go every time we manage to make it to Austin – it’s tradition with us.
That’s 2000 and 2004 right there, folks. I can’t find our more recent pictures from Mt. Bonnell, and honestly, they may not exist! Whoops. Mt. Bonnell is the highest point in Austin, and the views are amazing.
Our favorite thing to do is get lost. Yes, you read that correctly. We spend most of our time exploring Austin and the surrounding areas! Back in the day before GPS, we had a crappy atlas and that was it. When we saw something cool, we stopped and got out of the car. We still have our old atlas, even though it is completely obsolete at this point, with all of our writing in it about what we discovered. I should probably find that and put the Austin page in a frame!
The last time we went – it’s been a few years – if I am remembering correctly, we put about 700 miles on the rental car (not including driving there and back). When I say we explore, I mean WE EXPLORE. Neither one of us are scared of getting lost, thank heavens! We took a really exciting (well, exciting for us) drive last time and afterwards found out it is one of the more popular roads for motorcyclists and is all over the internets as such. Ha! Needless to say, we know our way around Austin pretty well.
Knowing where you are comes in handy. For example, on our quick little honeymoon, the transmission in our rental car went out. Yes. WENT OUT. I was driving, and we were on a 2 lane road on a hill. Luckily, I found a spot to pull over, and we called the rental car company, who then called a cab and a tow truck. An hour passed, and still no cab OR tow truck. Finally, the tow truck showed up, and the cab driver called us. How is it that *I* don’t live there, yet *I* had to tell him how to get to where we were?! Long story short, I begged the tow truck driver to take us to the nearest gas station and we waited for the cab there, because he still couldn’t find us. Now we drive by the spot where we were stranded and laugh. I wasn’t laughing on the day it happened, though! And that’s my honeymoon disaster story. {Takes a bow}
Okay, I’ll get to it. If we are in Austin, we will most likely be at one of these places:
Threadgill’s (preferably the Lamar location). The veggies are to die for. All of them.
Donn’s Texas BBQ (my great uncle used to own this, now his daughter does) I grew up on this barbecue, and I still have to stop every time and get a pint of potato salad. It is the best potato salad on the planet, and we can’t be friends if you don’t agree with me on that.
Kerbey Lane Cafe (preferably the Kerbey Lane location, but if we’re being honest it’s usually the north Austin location in a strip mall – BOO!) Gingerbread pancakes and awesome queso. Not together. Enough said.
Magnolia Cafe (South Congress location only!) Cheap, good food. Excellent people watching potential here. Cute gift shop next door too – it always gets me in trouble!
Amy’s Ice Cream (doesn’t matter which location – I’m equal opportunity Amy’s) We love going to Amy’s. They are just fun. One time we were at the Arboretum location, and an employee offered a free ice cream to anyone who jumped into the fountain. Yes, they gave out several free ice creams that cool evening (not to me!). You never know what you’re walking into at that place. My favorite? Sweet Cream and coconut.
Chuy’s (Barton Springs location) How could I NOT eat at my favorite Mexican food restaurant every time I go to Austin? It doesn’t matter that we have them up here in D/FW now. It’s just different in Austin. Besides, their Elvis is the coolest one.
You must think all we do is eat! Not true.
Waterloo Records – My Dad used to force me to go to Waterloo for hours on end growing up. I hated it then. I’ll be honest, I still don’t like hanging out there for too long, but luckily my husband doesn’t make me. Not to mention, I usually have the keys, so I could technically leave him there if I wanted to. He wouldn’t mind.
BookPeople – Only the coolest bookstore I’ve ever been in. I would hate to be a Barnes & Noble in Austin, is all I’m saying.
Central Market (38th Street/Lamar) – This is the original Central Market. That store is like a Heather magnet. I will go and just walk around for hours. This is my Waterloo.
Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum – this museum should be required for any visitor who passes through Austin (or Texas, for that matter!) It is SO much fun!
Wimberley, TX – cute little town not far from Austin (really close to the Inn Above Onion Creek, actually!). We usually spend a day there, shopping and eating and walking.
San Marcos, TX – my only advice is to SKIP the outlet malls. There is so much more in San Marcos! It’s a neat little area.
Gruene, TX – yet another small town. It is basically one main street, so it’s easy to do in a few hours.
There is so much that we have NOT explored in and around Austin. These are just some of the places that are “regulars” for us, and our visits just aren’t the same if we don’t go to all of them.
Have you been to Austin? What are some of your favorite places?
Real {Cheap} Housewives of Texas 