2023 Texas Adventure – Austin

Texas Adventure Part Five…..The second half of my last day in Texas was spent in Austin – the Capital of Texas. It was about an 80 mile (1.5 hour) drive from San Antonio to Austin. So, when I got done with the Alamo, I plugged Austin into my GPS and headed north!

Austin is a country music mecca and the capital city of Texas. Their motto is “Keep Austin Weird”! Originally called Waterloo, Austin became a key crosswords for trade between Santa Fe and Galveston Bay. It is currently the largest city in Travis County, TX, the fourth most populous city in Texas, the 11th most populous city in the United States, and the second most populous state capital city.

Visiting Austin wasn’t in my original plan for my trip. The plan was just Houston/Conroe, Galveston, and San Antonio. But when I looked on the map and saw how close Austin was to San Antonio and that I could fit it in, I decided to add it as a possible side-trip. When I did make it happen, I was so happy…..I wish I had allowed more time! But, what time I had was awesome!

Since I only had a few hours in Austin, I wanted to see as much as I could in that small time. So……yep, you guessed it……I went to the Welcome Center and got a ticket on a double decker city bus tour. It was perfect! I sat right in the front seat on the top level of the open top bus and had the BEST view of the city! The guide was amazing and it was an awesome hour or so loop.

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Austin is a fun and colorful city!

I was impressed by the architecture, brightness, and general cleanliness of the city. The perfect mix of eclectic and modern!

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Above and below are parts of Sixth Street……a street full of clubs, music, restaurants, food, and drinks!!! As we drove along the street, music blared from just about every building we passed. Looked like a fun place to be.

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Museum of the Weird…..the guide said that Johnny Depp stayed in a room above this museum while filming “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape”.

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The capital building is stunning and can be seen from quite a distance.

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Statue of a woman firing a Howitzer canon located on Congress Ave. between 6th and 7th streets. The story, according to Roadside America: “In 1842, on a dark December night, Sam Houston tried to take the Texas archives out of Austin, thereby eliminating it as a possible capital city of the Republic. Angelina Eberly, a middle-aged woman, saw what was going on downtown and fired a cannon at the thieves. They failed, Austin became the capital, and in 2004 the city, in gratitude, erected a bronze statue of Angelina firing her cannon at the spot where she stood.”

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This Victorian home was turned into a Baptist Church!!!

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Food trucks are a BIG attraction in Austin – this is one of several Food Truck Parks throughout the city!

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Cowboy boots are a MUST in Austin and there are a lot of places to get them, but we were told that if you want the PERFECT cowboy boots, you go to Allen’s Boots!!!

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This was a Pub Crawl Tour we passed — the girls were having a BLAST saddled up to the bar and cruising around the city whooping and hollering!!!

After the tour ended, I asked about a nearby place where I could get dinner before heading back to San Antonio. I was told with no hesitation about Moonshine Grill right across the street from the Welcome Center. I wouldn’t have to move my car or find the place or walk too far – I just crossed the street and walked about a block. OMG – Moonshine Grill was awesome – if in Austin, be sure to include a meal there – you won’t regret it!!!

It is the oldest building in Austin renovated into a restaurant that specializes in southern comfort food with a Texas twist.

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They brought a complimentary bucket of seasoned popcorn to start that was soooooo good – I was told it was a multi-seasoning blend that I believe included Cayenne or something with a little bit of a bite!

Then I had the chicken and waffles with sweet tea…..all with a bit of a kick to it…….absolutely incredible!!!! It was WAY too much to eat, though and I sadly left about 1/2 of it!

The drive back to San Antonio wasn’t as easy as it was going to Austin……the return was right at rush hour and driving into the sun. But, I made it back to the hotel, packed up, and got to bed fairly early in preparation for an early flight home the next morning.

One last thrill to share about this adventure…..it was the perfect cap to the trip!

I was at the gate during my layover in BWI and saw a guy dressed in a colonial uniform with a bell and a line of military men – most were Army and one was a Sailor – all in uniform. What I soon realized was that they were preparing to deboard an Honor Flight plane with war veterans headed to Washington DC to tour the monuments. With each set of veterans, the colonial guy would ring the bell and another man would announce their arrival – they represented WWI, WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam War. All the passengers waiting in the terminal stood and cheered……the veterans passed by with smiles and waves and shook the hands of the military soldiers. It was AMAZING and very emotional!!!

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They kept coming and coming…..a whole plane loaded with these American Heroes! It was a great honor to witness this!!!

I am not one bit ashamed to admit that I shamelessly flirted with this sailor! hehehe I told him he brought back a lot of wonderful memories of my brother and my boyfriend who wore that same uniform in the mid-late 70’s. I also told him I have a “thing” for a guy in a sailor uniform!!! LOL He gave me a shy smile with a bit of a blush in his cheeks!!!

So…..that’s the end of my posts dedicated to my 2023 Texas Adventure! It was a GREAT trip…..I did Texas right, this time! To repeat the summary from the first post in this series:

I’ve been to Texas before and was able to check it off the “Visit All 50 States” bucket list item. But, although it “technically” met the criteria to be considered for that check mark, I didn’t really do it justice and have wanted to return to see more ever since. So, I did just that last week!

This time in Texas resulted in putting 653 miles on my rental car, visiting five different cities, a wonderful visit with family, scratching off three more items on the banners on my Adventure Wall, and lots of amazing memories…..all in FIVE DAYS!!!

Where will I go next?