Trifter

I first went to Austin Texas in the spring of 2006.  The weather was beautiful all week long so if i could suggest a time to go it would be the Spring.  I was coming from Philadelphia where the weather in the early spring is dreary at best.  We arrived in Austin and the temperature was in the mid 80’s, perfect.  At the airport I knew I was going to like the city. My brother, who I was visiting, picked me and my family up and when we walked out of the terminal we encountered a couple attractive Red Bull sales reps who gave us all a free Red Bull.  Quite an entrance!

We stayed in a hotel on the outskirts of town near the University of Texas football stadium.  On our first day in Austin we toured the Capital Building, Austin is the capital of Texas.  I quickly realized Austin was not the Texas i had pictured in my mind.  I imagined ten gallon hats and George Bush banners galore! In fact Austin is one of the more liberal cities in America and by far the farthest left in Texas.  The city prides itself on its “weirdness” which I loved.  We met a cross-dressing local named Leslie who had apparently ran for mayor one year and received a substantial amount of popular votes!

The City is filled with great bars, clubs and restaurants.  The focal point being 6th street.  Austin’s Live Music is world renowned and the town is often called the “Live Music Capital of the World”.  Our family went to a new live music venue every night for dinner, and believe me it WAS NOT hard finding these places.  My favorite venue was a place called “Stubbs Bar and Grille”.  Outside had live music and a fantastic band playing, and just inside was a great steakhouse restaurant.  By the way the best steaks i ever had were enjoyed in Texas!

The surrounding country around Austin is some of the most beautiful in America.  Lake Travis is a few miles from the city, I would recommend simply driving around and looking at the gorgeous homes and estates that surround the man made lake.  The climate is sub-tropical and there are a ton of natural watering holes within a twenty mile radius of downtown that make GREAT day-trips and entertained my entire family, which is an impressive accomplishment.  These places are all free and most are parks either national, state or local.  On the hottest day of the week we visited Barton Springs which is a natural spring whose waters stay a brisk 68 degrees.  That place is really unique and all walks of life enjoy themselves and live in harmony, including wildlife!

One day we took a road trip out into rural Texas into a town called Lockhart, Texas.  Here we found the ribs my family was looking for. If you want REAL Texas ribs, go to Lockhart. The place we went was amazing, you had to order in the sweltering heat (120-130 degrees) of the smoke house only to sit down and enjoy your meal in the cool AC cafeteria, perfect.  We returned to our Hotel later that day and decided to simply get lost downtown.  We wandered through the campus of the University of Texas and all around town.  The architecture is beyond beautiful fusing American, Spanish, and Mexican techniques together. 

Austin Texas is by far my favorite place in America! If you are looking for a good time for a GREAT price travel to Austin.  I cannot recommend it enough.  It has great food, great culture, great music and great people.  I know that if you take my advice and go; you will not regret it!

Image via Wikipedia