Anybody that knows me knows I’m a sucker for a good travel deal! I’m notorious for these deals so much so that LeHubby doesn’t even tell me when he comes across them because next thing he knows it’s been booked! And this was the case with our trip to Austin, Texas!
Austin is the state capital of Texas, an inland city bordering the Hill Country region. Home to the University of Texas flagship campus, Austin is known for its eclectic live-music scene centered around country, blues and rock. Its many parks and lakes are popular for hiking, biking, swimming and boating. South of the city, Formula One’s Circuit of the Americas raceway has hosted the United States Grand Prix.
I came across a really cheap flight from Los Angeles to Austin and I went ahead and booked it without really having any plan.
We checked in at the Marriott, from where I did my research on where to tour. I’m constantly reading up on American cities to tour, and Austin is up there with the best of them; it’s no wonder an average of 20 million people visit Austin every year, This is more than the annual visitors to Rome (4.2 million), Hawaii (8.3 million), and even London (17.4 million)!
Austin is the only city in the world known to still operate a system of Moonlight Towers, 165-foot tall structures from the 19th century, to light up the city at night. And while the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city’s population at 947,890 in 2016, Forbes named Austin as the fastest growing big city in the United States.
Our first night, we went to Sixth Street which completely reminded me of New Orleans’ Bourbon Street which is one of my favorite destinations. Sixth Street is a historic street and entertainment district, located within the city’s urban core in downtown Austin. Sixth Street was formerly named Pecan Street under Austin’s older naming convention, which had east–west streets named after trees and north–south streets named after Texas rivers.
Then my absolute favorite was the Rainey Street historic district, a street of historic homes, many of the bungalow style, in downtown Austin, Texas. Rainey Street is positioned near Lady Bird Lake and Interstate 35 in the southeast corner of downtown. It was was previously abandoned until some investors turned them into bars with a homely backyard feel.
One other amazing experience was the Oasis Lake Travis Restaurant, 40 min outside of Austin with the most amazing sunset and tropical “out of the country feel”. The Oasis Lake Travis restaurant, the largest outdoor restaurant in Texas has earned the reputation as the Sunset Capital of Texas. Located on a cliff 450 feet above Austin’s Lake Travis, the 30 thousand square foot restaurant and special event center houses eight event rooms and multiple dining decks overlooking the Lake, and accommodates parties from 2 to 2,500.
For those that haven’t been to Austin, I suggest you book a flight as soon as it’s safe to travel again. Did you know Austin is considered the live music capital of the world because of it’s 200 live music venues and 2,000 bands and performing artists. It also has the only legal nude beach in Texas, Hippie Hollow, at Lake Travis. It is also the only city in the state that doesn’t have legislation preventing ladies from “hanging it out” for all to see! Hahaha!
Additional excerpt: www.kvue.com
