Keep Austin Weird!

It was so HOT!

Friday June 17th, after 13 hours of driving we finally arrived in Austin, Texas.   Upon arrival, the temperature was over 100 degrees and we were boiling.  It's hot in Champaign in the summer, but not in June and definitely not over 100 (at least not for very long).  Thus, the heat has been killing us the past few days.

Nate's great friend from high school, Billy Ouska just graduated from the UT-Austin Law program and is now studying for the Bar exam.  He hosted us for the weekend and was our official Austin tour guide.  Friday night for dinner we enjoyed pizza at the Red House and caught up with Billy, his girlfriend Emma and Tori, another one of their good friends from high school, who flew down to Austin for the weekend as well.

Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium

Saturday morning after a nice long sleep Billy took us on the official University of Texas at Austin campus tour.  When they say everything is bigger in Texas, they mean it.  Their football stadium is HUGE!  Their campus bookstore is also massive.  I've never seen so much college gear in one place.  Ever. According to Billy,  all the girls wear cowboy boots and sundresses to all of the games.  Totally different from the sweatshirts and jeans at Illinois.

Feeding the Turtles

We also happened across a Turtle Pond on Campus.  There had to be over 100 turtles in there and they loved food.  We just had chips, but the people before us were feeding them cheeseburgers.  Nate can't pass up the chance to play with the wildlife.

After a brief break in the air-conditioning we went to the Lyndon B. Johnson Museum on campus.  We learned a lot about LBJ  and Lady Bird that we never knew.  Plus it was nice and cool!  A big plus!

In addition to everything being bigger here, it's also incredibly unique.  Their slogan is Keep Austin Weird and they mean it.  There are almost no chain restaurants in Austin.  We only saw one McDonalds in the whole city.  Every restaurant is unique, with lots of outdoor, open air seating, which leaves a laid back comfortable feel wherever you go.  We enjoyed walking around the city on Saturday night experiencing some of the sights and even catching the end of the famous bat flight.  One of the bridges across the river in the city has 1.5 million bats living underneath and it's a big tourist attraction to watch the bats take their evening flight.  Kind of weird, but that's Austin for you.  

Only some of the boots at Allen's Boot Shop

On Sunday, Nate and I let Billy have some study time and went down to South Congress for some shopping. We did a lot of browsing to stay cool in the air conditioning as the temperature was again over 100.  We stopped in at Allen's boot shop, where they literally have thousands of fancy cowboy boots.  None of them were in our price range, but it was definitely cool to see them all.  We also enjoyed some delicious Amy's ice-cream  (one of the local joints, with weird, but delicious flavors) and stopped in some of the other unique stores along the way.  

Look at all the Delicious Meat

Sunday night we made the trek out of Austin to the Hill Country to enjoy some of the country's best BBQ at The Salt Lick.  This place had all you can eat smoked BBQ, a laid back atmosphere with live music and we left with the fullest stomachs ever.  

Only in Texas are Cowboy Boots used as centerpieces

Monday morning after letting Billy have some more study time and doing some laundry, we took a break from the never-ending heat and jumped in the cool natural spring water at the Barton Springs.  Nate borrowed a pair of goggles and enjoyed taking pictures of all the fish swimming below us.  Due to people always being above them, the fish are not afraid of humans and just hangout below you.  The cool water felt very refreshing and as you can see in the picture, we weren't the only ones who needed a break from the heat.  It was a Monday afternoon and the place was packed!  You'd think people don't go to work!

Loving the underwater camera

Tonight we ended our evening with a trip to the Alamo Drafthouse.  It's a movie theater where they serve you food during the movie.  You don't have to worry about getting your popcorn and then missing the start of the movie because the waiters take your order at your seat. Very fun.  

We loved Austin and hope to come back someday.  

Tomorrow morning we head west and are going off the grid.  It's campgrounds for the next week until we get to Las Vegas next Monday evening. We have a lot of driving ahead of us. 

View Larger Map

• Tuesday we drive 12 hours and will be camping at a small campground North of Albuquerque, New Mexico. 
• Wednesday we drive 8 more hours as we head to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and will be driving through the Petrified Forest on our way. 
• Thursday we wake up very early and backpack down to the bottom of the canyon and camp at Bright Angel Campground. 
• Friday morning we pack up and make the long trek back up the canon to the North Rim to a lovely bed at the lodge waiting for us. 
• Saturday we hitch a ride on the shuttle back to the South Rim to pick up our car and camp one more night at the South Rim. 
• Sunday we drive North to Zion National Park in Southern, Utah for the day. 
• Monday we finally arrive in Las Vegas. 

We don't think we'll have internet until next week so no updates this week, but we're looking forward to all the adventures ahead of us.