Greetings from Austin
Greetings from Austin!
The next stop on our Texas road trip adventure was none other than Austin, so deep into the heart of Texas we went! To be completely honest, our 36-hour stay in Austin by no means did this little city justice, but the parts we were able to experience while there have me dying to head back for more.
After making the hour and a half drive from Waco (and getting and resolving a flat tire issue, it's always an extravaganza when my Mama and I are together!) we arrived in Austin mid-morning and went straight for Mount Bonnell, which is the highest point in Austin at a whopping 775 feet. It's one of the city's oldest tourist attraction. From atop Mount Bonnell you get a nice view of the Austin skyline, Lake Austin and the beautiful hill country. For those history buffs, Mount Bonnell was first used as a military defense point during the construction of Texas' new capital, Austin in in the early 1840's.
If you're unamused by the history of Mount Bonnell, you'll be blown away by the view! I'm always in search of a good view and even at just 775 feet above sea level, Mount Bonnell is one to add to your list. The view of Lake Austin below is stunning and the homes along the water are top notch! Mom and I spent a good while pointing out our dream Lake Austin home as we could totally see ourselves lounging by the lake at any number of the elaborate setups that can been seen from atop Mount Bonnell.
I wouldn't classify climbing Mount Bonnell as a workout, but you'll surely break a sweat in the Texas heat. To get to the top of Mount Bonnell you park at the foot of a set of stairs which will lead you right to the top. It took us about 30 minutes to leisurely explore all of Mount Bonnell. While climbing the stairs for the view isn't a workout in itself, there's no doubt that local Austenite's use this summit to get in routine exercise. We passed a fitness class that spent the entire 30 minutes running up and down the stairs.
Next we traveled to the Greetings from Austin postcard mural to of course get an iconic photo or two. Austin struck me as an artistic city and has intricate and beautiful murals all over the place that are worth a stop or at least circling the block one more time to get a second look.
Speaking of artistic, Graffiti Park at Castle Hills is an awesome stop in Austin! Named the "Hope Outdoor Gallery," here you'll find a three story graffiti art park that's the largest in the nation, which attracts local and renowned artists as well as tourists just passing through. The talent of the artists who work in the blistering heat to create such images of beauty is astounding. I still don't know how they're able to work so closely to the wall for each individual aspect of the mural and yet when they step away they have a stunning, giant-sized masterpiece.
One thing I found intriguing is the fluidity of the ever-changing canvas. It certainly teaches those who create in this space a valuable lesson about the temporariness of life. They must appreciate their artwork and its beauty for what it is, while it last, never getting too attached to it.
To cap off the evening, we ventured downtown to catch a glimpse of Austin's Bridge Bats. Yes, to see bats. While I'm not a fan of bats by any means, I must admit this is something I would recommend to those visiting Austin. During the summer months, the Congress Avenue Bridge is a nursery to at least 750,000 baby Mexican free-tailed bats each year. Here, alongside their mothers, these baby bats learn to fly and hunt insects. Baby bats are called "pups" in case you were wondering and in total, pups and mama bats combined, there are roughly 1.5 million bats living under the Congress Avenue Bridge, making it the largest urban bat colony in North America. Each night at dusk, the mamas and pups make their way out from under the bridge to feed on insects, which creates quite a sight for bystanders. Believe it or not, these bats draw tens of thousands of viewers each summer! It was hard to capture a good photo of the bats departing the bridge, they just looked like a bunch of tiny black dots, but is was super neat to experience this in person.
The following morning we grabbed breakfast at the sweetest little place called Elizabeth Street Café, which serves a combination of French and Vietnamese plates. Truly, the most phenomenal combination! I think the photos below say all there is to be said! But seriously, I will make my way back here any time I make it to Austin in the future!
To close out time in Austin, we did some shopping on South Congress Avenue. There were so many unique, eclectic stores along this stretch that I could've grabbed nearly one of everything if I wasn't careful!
For a quick 36 hours in Austin, I'd say we hit some of the high points, and while there was so much more we wanted to do we had such a blast during our stay that we didn't feel like we were missing out at all. I will definitely be taking another trip back to Austin in the near future to hit the spots we couldn't get this time around.
If you've been to Austin and have recommendations, please comment below so I can start gathering ideas for my next Austin adventure!
Light, Love & the Highest Vibrations,
Lon
