Adventures in Austin!

Off again we go! This time I’m taking you with me to Texas to visit my friend Jill. She moved far, far away to College Station, TX, and when she left I promised a visit—and we know I try to make good on promises to visit. =)

I found this fabulous deal on a plane ticket to Houston, TX, a couple of months ago, and on Thursday the time had finally come to go see my friend! She picked me up (even though it took her over three hours to get there with traffic!), and off we went! I can't even tell you how good it is to meet up with a far away friend and catch up live and in person. =) 

Texas experience number one: FOOD! Of course we needed to get some Tex-Mex, and Jill said there's a place that has the greatest dip on earth. She was right! It's called Cowboy Mud, and it involves queso, guacamole, back beans and jalapeños, and maybe a couple of other things as well. It was amazing on my fish tacos. =) 

Next piece of fun: Kickapoo Road! And the next: Westward Ho! Yes, those are actual road names. They made us giggle. What cowboy got made a name for himself kicking poo? Who needed to know they were headed "westward ho"? Oh, and we also passed a sign that read, "Goats for sale." Just in case you need a souvenir, I guess! These are the hilarious mysteries of the backroads of Texas! 

We had plenty of time to talk in the car, so we headed to bed pretty quick--we were both pooped! We'd already decided we'd be going to Austin the next day, and Jill had a special belated birthday surprise  for me... We'd be staying at the historic Driskill Hotel! 

On our way out of town on Friday, we stopped at Grub Burger to eat with some of Jill's coworkers. I'm not one much for burgers, but the "burger of the sea" (aka yellowfin tuna) was incredible, and the sweet potato fries were even better! And then the trek to Austin officially began!

We arrived a little early to actually check in, so we found a couple of other places we wanted to go in and spent some time there. The first was Uncommon Objects, which is a cool antique store. They have exactly that--uncommon objects! Everything from skeleton keys to furniture to retro signs. It's great! We had a lot of fun looking around, and surprisingly enough I was the one who spent the most time there! We looked in a few more stores and ended up at Amy's Ice Cream--well, how did that happen? =) Just in case you wondered, white chocolate ice cream with marshmallows is delicious! 

Time to check in! Jill had stayed in the Driskill before, and she knew I'd love it. And she was right! It was built in 1886 by Colonel Jesse Driskill, a cattle baron from the great state of Tennessee. We got checked in, sat back and relaxed, and before we knew what was what we were both taking naps. =) Luckily for me Jill decided to wake me up when it was time to get supper! We both love Mediterranean food (authentically not Texas, I know), and we'd heard about a good place just down the street from our hotel call the Athenian. It's a winner. =) We sort of forgot what Texas-sized portions are like, though. We should have split something (even just an appetizer)! When we finished up, we headed to the Texas State Capitol Building for a haunted trolley tour. Hooray! 

Apparently, Austin is an extremely haunted city, and our hotel is an exceptionally haunted one as well! Our guide was dressed in 1890s garb, hat and all. She was very enthusiastic, as any tour guide should be! We started at the Capitol, and while she’s not supposed to talk about the ghosts at the Capitol when she’s giving tours there, she did make sure to mention that it is in fact haunted—ghosts have supposedly even been caught on security cameras there!

We made three stops on our tour, all of which were a little bit creepy. Our guide showed us pictures of ghosts that had been seen in those places and recordings of them talking as well. Creepy! The best stop was our hotel. She took us all to the lobby and told us tales of people who’d died in the hotel, former owners, guests who smelled cigar smoke in the non-smoking hotel, etc. Jill and I were glad to be sharing a room that night!

When the tour was done and we’d returned to our rooms, we saw that someone (a maid? A ghost?) had come in and turned down our beds for us. They even left a yellow rose for us—the yellow rose of Texas! It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep, but Jill wasn’t so lucky. She kept hearing the people next door (we thought it was a bachelor party) whooping and hollering and running up and down the hallway. I didn’t hear anything… could it have been ghosts? ;)

Saturday morning we got up lazily (the beds were SO comfy!), checked out, and headed to breakfast at the award-winning Kerbey Lane Café. Jill’s sister and aunt had both recommended it, and they were right—it was awesome! I got eggs, fruit, and apple-whole wheat pancakes; Jill got eggs, bacon (or sausage?), and lemon poppyseed pancakes. YUM! They had all kinds of options, not just breakfast, and they’re open 24 hours a day. If ever in Austin, make sure to take a trip here! It’s delicious!

Next up: a true test of friendship. One can tell that Jill and I are good friends because she went to the Whole Foods Headquarters, farmers’ market, and artists’ market, while I went on a history tour. =) Neither of us was offended and neither of us minded in the least! She got some great stuff, and I got some fabulous insight into Austin!

Austin was founded in 1839 (three years after Texas won its independence), and it was at one time called Waterloo. The Texas Capitol building looks exactly like the US Capitol, except it’s 14 feet taller and made out of sunset granite from a ranch just outside of Austin. The owner of the ranch gave an entire MOUNTAIN of the granite to build it!

Just a few blocks away is the Governor’s Mansion, which is the oldest west of the Mississippi River. The architect is Abner Cook, who was not even a trained architect! Everything he knew about architecture was either self-taught or learned from a mentor—no formal architectural schooling. Eleven of his buildings are in Austin, and they’re all quite beautiful—he did several of the Victorian homes in the area.

Another set of structures to be noted in Austin are the moon light towers. They were built in the 1890s to light the city at night, and 16 of the original 31 are still standing. They’re a bit unsightly, but they’re also pretty cool because they still work!

Next we came upon the Chateau Bellevue, a beautifully restored Victorian home from 1874 that now belongs to the Austin Women’s Club. It’s also haunted. =) This is actually where we ended our ghost tour last night… but during this tour I got to go inside! It’s every bit as ornate and gaudy as you could imagine an old Victorian house would be. The woodwork is truly beautiful, most of which is made of curly leaf pine—which at one time was thought to be extinct! Everything was detailed, even the inside of the door hinges! One of the backs of the fireplaces has a brass and copper lion imprinted on it--just in case you need to be scary, I guess! 

One of the funnies things I saw was the bank safe downstairs. One of the owners started a bank, but while the bank was being built, he needed a place to keep his money. So there's a bank safe behind the mirror in the downstairs dining room. =) 

Our last stop was the last Victorian house built on that particular block. It was the first with indoor plumbing... and the folks in Austin thought it was the most unsanitary thing ever! My, how things change! 

Time to meet up with Jill again! We went to eat at a barbecue place called Uncle Billy's Brew-B-Q, because of course you have to get BBQ while in Texas. And then it was time to go home! We entertained ourselves on the ride back to College Station with "ghetto music hour" and dramatic readings from the information the hotel gave us about its history. Oh, and I can't forget we had a potty break at Whoop Stop! 

We got home that night and just sat and read for a while--I love having my friend Jill! We were both pretty pooped, but we ventured out for a bit in search of food and World Market. When we got home, Jill's friend Jeremy was waiting for us in the driveway--Jill had picked up a couple of things for him at Whole Foods, so we visited with him for a little bit, then Jill and I were in bed by 9:30! In all, I think it's safe to say it was a successful weekend. =) 

Thanks for joining me on this adventure! Who knows where I'll pop up next!