Impressions From Austin


This was the last sight I saw before we left, and I made sure to get his picture! He was so excited when we got back!


I loved Austin. I could just stop there and call it a blog, but I won't. Here, in words and pictures, are my impressions of Austin:
On our first evening in Austin, we went out to dinner with Josh's Uncle Rick. He also drove us to the airport on Monday morning, which was very kind of him.
We stayed at the Stephen F. Austin hotel, just a few blocks from, and within sight of the capitol building. It's a really nice place, and we felt very luxurious staying there. Funny though, they want to charge more money every time you turn around. They had a little refrigerator in the room, fully stocked with any beverage or treat I could want, but at crazy prices. $3.00 for a pack of M&Ms. Bottled water for $4.00 each. A little jar of jellybeans for $7.50. You get the idea. AND! If you took anything out of the fridge, a little sensor they had rigged up in there would immediately charge your room for whatever was missing! Josh wanted to store a bottle of soda in there that he had bought in town, and felt very Indiana Jones-y trying to put it in without dislodging some overpriced snack. I *think* he succeeded. :) They also wanted to charge for valet parking, but we just parked around town and walked in to the hotel so we wouldn't have to pay for that. $25/day is a little much for parking, and we just couldn't do it.

It rained or was overcast the entire time we were there, except for about an hour on Saturday afternoon when the sun peeked through the clouds. When I had checked the weather earlier in the week to determine how to pack, my weather report proclaimed sunny and in the mid-upper seventies. It. Wasn't. I'd say the average temperature was in the mid-sixties. No sun. I was not dressed warmly enough at all, and consequently wore the same white sweatshirt (the only one I'd brought) Every Single Day. Poor Josh didn't even have a sweatshirt, since I didn't think he'd need one. He didn't complain.

The sun had just peeked through, and I had to get a picture to remind myself that it wasn't rainy the entire time. We had about an hour of sunshine!

I mentioned yesterday that Bluebonnets quickly became my favorite flower. They were everywhere; unapologetic in their gorgeousness. Stunning. And they're wildflowers, which means they grow in the most unlikely places--side of a hill, crevice of a rock, in the medians of the highways. In fact, we were wondering why the medians in the city of Austin were so badly in need of mowing when everything else in the city seems so meticulously cared for. My Uncle John explained that it's because of the bluebonnets--the city waits until they "go to seed" before they mow to avoid mowing them down. Gotta love those bluebonnets!


We drove up to Lake Travis one day and toured all around the hillsides. We saw some gargantuan homes up there overlooking the water. We also ate lunch at The Oasis, which had breathtaking views of the lake. Everyone said we should have gone at sunset because that is an experience in itself, but we quickly pointed out that there was no sunset in the rain!

Some homes we saw up on the hillside. Do people actually live like that?

The view from The Oasis. We were trying to picture a sunset there!

I don't know why, but the sign above cracked me up. Josh didn't laugh. :)

Saturday evening we walked up to the capitol and walked around. I had vertigo again in the face of the capitol, so the picture of the inside rotunda was courtesy of Josh. What a beautiful building and grounds! I loved walking around there.

The above picture was one of about, oh, 8 tries of us taking "self-shots" to try to get us and the capitol building. Anyone want to be our photographer?

Finally, a decent attempt.

On Sunday, we went to church with my Aunt Ruth and Uncle John, who live in Georgetown. It was great to visit with them again! I think the last time I saw them was 12 years ago when I was 17. We also got to see two of my cousins and have lunch with everyone, which was a special treat for me. Josh had never met them before!

Other than these things, we did plenty of walking around between rain showers, and tons and tons of reading. We loved being able to read in the evenings uninterrupted. That trip to Austin would have been very different with Noah along, for sure. We're SO thankful Matt and Jen watched Noah for us and gave us an opportunity to be alone for a while.

I'll remember our trip for years to come as a relaxing, rainy, fun time with my husband. And I just have to say, there's no place like home! I have slept better, and enjoyed getting back into the routine since we've been home. Nothing like vacation to help you appreciate normal. :)

P.S. This blog entry took approximately an hour and forty minutes to complete. How do you spell "Ei-yigh-yigh!"?

Comments

Ruth said…
Glad you had a good trip! I think it's spelled "ay ay ay" if you're imitating Ricky Ricardo. :-)
April 21, 2010 at 1:52 PM
cj and family said…
So glad you enjoyed your trip!
April 22, 2010 at 12:49 PM
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