Austin here I come!

[gimmethesimplelife]

Something really nice happened to me yesterday! A friend had a RT frequent flyer ticket on Southwest and had to use it in the next eight days or lose it and was unable to leave town......and ended up offering the ticket to me as I am very flexible right now in hours. So I had a choice of anywhere I wanted to go in the United States that Southwest flies to and had an open seat for a freebie on. My friend asked me to narrow it down to five places in order of preference, so I chose Asheville, Austin, Portland, Harlingen/Padre Island, and Reno. Ended out that Austin, Portland, and Reno were available. I chose Austin as I lived in Portland once for five and half years and am not up to going back and seeing all the changes after all this time, and Reno struck me as Vegas but smaller and with a better climate and mountains close by. So Austin it is! I am staying at a reasonable place by the airport and am wondering if anyone has any travel tips or pointers for Austin? So looking forward to this trip, how nice it just landed in my lap like this! Rob

[Mrs-M]

Wishing you a fun and enjoyable time, Rob!

[shadowmoss]

Woo Hoo! A travel writer I was following once said that when he lands in a new place he just gets out and walks until it gets interestng.

[gimmethesimplelife]

Thanks! And I do think that's good advice, walking around until it gets intereting.....I forgot to mention I will be leaving this Friday morning 11/23 and coming back to Phoenix on the following Tuesday evening.....Rob

[pinkytoe]

Well if we were around this weekend, we would have you over for dinner:)
I would say that the area around the airport is pretty desolate and not very walkable so you would probably want to head into town. Will you have wheels?
If not, there is a Cap Metro bus for a $1 that will take you near the university campus area and from there you could take other buses into either the South Congress area, downtown or warehouse district which might be fun to walk around if not too crowded. I would think a walk around Lady Bird Lake (aka Town Lake) would also be fun. I am sure there is lots of advice online for best things to do according to your interest and lifestyle.
If you haven't been to Austin in a while, you will be blown away by the growth and traffic. On the downside lots of homeless people who can be quite aggressive panhandlers.
The weather is gorgeous right now - high low 80s and 50s at night.
I hope you have a great time and report back.

[Spartana]

Hey Rob, I saw a really nice vacation house in Austin for rent for the month of Jan for $600 all inclusive on www.homeaway.com. The people were looking for someone who could watch their dog(s). If it's still available you may be able to get it for reduced cost - even free - if they are desperate for some one to watch their dogs.

[Tussiemussies]

Rob, that is so great for you! Hope you have a wonderful time. You can check online for a tourist bureau of that city. I am sure they must have tourist information of what to do there.:)

[rodeosweetheart]

We went to a wedding in Austin last year and went to the rehearsal dinner here:

http://www.travel-austin-texas.com/salt-lick.html

Fantastic!

The Whole Food store is the original one, right--it's awesome to walk to if you are in dt Austin.

[KayLR]

Good for you, Rob! I love surprise trips! However, disappointed that you dread coming back to PDX! One thing I know has not changed--it's still weird!

[gimmethesimplelife]

Good for you, Rob! I love surprise trips! However, disappointed that you dread coming back to PDX! One thing I know has not changed--it's still weird!Good to know, we gotta keep what weird we can in the few cool places left.....I am thinking of a trip to Portland sometime next year depending, it's not off the list at all.....I'm not dreading going back at all, I've just had a challenging year and Portland means a lot to me - just not up to the fact that you can't ever go home if you know what I mean, maybe next year I'll be in a place to deal with the inevitable changes that have taken place in the sixteen years since I have set foot there.....Rob

[dado potato]

LBJ Ranch on the Pedernales, and LBJ statue in the Capitol Building (it talks!)

[awakenedsoul]

How fun! I love to travel. Some of my happiest years were spent in Reno. It's totally different than Las Vegas. The sunsets are spectacular, great people, beautiful nature, (Lake Tahoe is a couple hours away,) and it used to be very affordable. There's also no state tax.

[KayLR]

Good to know, we gotta keep what weird we can in the few cool places left.....I am thinking of a trip to Portland sometime next year depending, it's not off the list at all.....I'm not dreading going back at all, I've just had a challenging year and Portland means a lot to me - just not up to the fact that you can't ever go home if you know what I mean, maybe next year I'll be in a place to deal with the inevitable changes that have taken place in the sixteen years since I have set foot there.....Rob

Maybe not all bad changes, Rob....maybe the new good things will outweigh them. I'd love to meet you at Powells for a cup of coffee if you ever come up!

[Mer05]

You can spend a lot of time in the downtown/capitol/University areas - museums, music, food and drink, hiking, etc. There are a couple places to rent kayaks on the lake. If beer is your thing at all, there are a bunch of local breweries and several brewpubs in the area (also wineries, further out in Hill Country). The LBJ statue I know of is in the LBJ library (UT campus) - but it does in fact talk!

[gimmethesimplelife]

Hi all, just wanted to post an update. I am here at the hotel in Austin and so far so good. A very smooth flight in and i quickly dropped in and checked out downtown and the Sixth Street area via the Capitol Metro Bus System, which I am already impressed with. Nice and just slightly chilly today and I saw trees that were turning colors so I guess whatever fall is in these parts is already here. Tonight a nice long night of sleep and then tomorrow off to explore Austin with the cell phone off a good chunk of the day. I am going for the nature aspect/hiking part of Austin tomorrow, and already bought my obligatory Keep Austin Weird coffee mug. A few postcards out on Monday and the rest is all about exploring and having an advernture.....Rob

[gimmethesimplelife]

Maybe not all bad changes, Rob....maybe the new good things will outweigh them. I'd love to meet you at Powells for a cup of coffee if you ever come up!I'd totally be up for that.....It would be great to meet a long time poster IRL. Will let you know about when I plan on going.....earliest would be February or March 2013.....Rob

[dado potato]

Mer05 was right about the location of the LBJ statue.

The Capitol was where I asked a blue-eyed Texas Ranger where he got that hat. LOL