AUSTIN

We’re lucky enough to have family in San Diego and Austin. 2 pretty great places to visit and vacation. We spent the 4^th of July in Austin, our 1^st big trip with Lucy. Austin is such a great town, and so family-friendly. There are gazillion things to do outside and you just can’t beat warm nights that require nothing more than shorts and a tank top. When we visit, there is lots of family to see all over town. This trip was extra special seeing as Lucy was meeting so much family for the first time... Great Grandparents, Grandparents, Aunts & Uncles, Great Aunts & Uncles, Cousins. With baby-in-tow we strategized staying every few nights with different family members so we weren’t spending so much time in the car. We also treated ourselves to a couple nights at the San Jose downtown and had people come to us! Sort of a mini-cation within the larger trip; even though our main reason for going is to visit family, we’re using valuable vacation days and money. Making sure we’re getting some R&R is a must. (Last summer we house “swapped” for a condo on Lake Austin, it was awesome!) Before we go, I always research the latest and greatest in the food scene and fun things to do. Austin is the fastest growing city in the country and it isn’t without reason. Here follows… (alotta) photos and some of our favorite Austin Eats, Play & Stay.

EATS
I could go on and on about great places to eat in Austin. Endlessly. This trip we visited Elaine’s Pork and Pie (twice). The pulled pork sandwich is soooo good, and the buttermilk pie was perfect contribution to 4^th of July BBQ. We also hit up Thunderbird’s for Coffee (across the street) and sipped on at least 2 Belgian Bombers from Jo’s Coffee on South Congress. Other favorites on South Congress: Guero’s (for Margs & live music), Magnolia Café (for Mag Mud) and Pearla’s (love the outdoor deck and pretty much anything we ever order). We went to La Condesa for brunch, we’re suckers for trendy restaurants and La Condesa did not disappoint. Then there were food truck stops at Gourdoughs (Donut topped with Bacon & Maple Syrup Glaze anyone?) and Capitol City Bakery (hands down best brownies, and everything is VEGAN!) Finally, no trip to Austin is ever complete without a stop at Rudy’s, at least none of ours… Can you tell we ate a TON!?

 

 

PLAY
I love how much there is to do in Austin, especially family friendly (and wallet easy) activities. People are out and about, enjoying life, enjoying being outside. You might be eating a lot, but you make up for it (at least a little bit) with tons of downtown running and biking paths, paddleboarding & kayaking on the river. Wakeboarding on Lake Austin. Cooling off at Barton Springs, Deep Eddy, Hamilton Pool. Floating down the river in Dripping Springs. Listening to outdoor music, pretty much anywhere. Shopping. Even a trip to the Whole Foods HQ store is full of fun discoveries. Watching the bats take flight at dusk. Needless to say, we always keep ourselves busy!

STAY
We loved staying at the San Jose with Lucy. It’s right in the thick of activity in Austin and it’s a great location to be able to walk places versus drive. At night we set up her video baby monitor and drank Shiner’s with Uncle Bird in the pretty hotel grounds outside our room.

Making sure Lucy (and any future kids) gets to spend lots of time with cousins and aunts and uncles is a big priority for us. Gabe and Seth were so sweet to her it melted my heart. It was so fun to stay with them!

Jason’s mom and husband just moved to Bastrop, the town of “lost pines” right outside Austin. The downtown is so quaint, we loved visiting their 4^th of July festival and seeing the fireworks above the river bridge was so cool. And the total quietness of being remote felt awesome. Their house is surrounded by beautiful pines, strange terrain for the area which makes it all the more special.