EXPLORING AUSTIN

Austin Asian American Film Festival 2009

2009-11-13T23:16:00.019-06:00

Last year we watched a couple of AAAFF films, and this year I'm getting more involved by volunteering for a couple of the screenings as well as watching a couple of them. We are seeing Persepolis, which is a free outdoor screening at the Mexican American Cultural Center. Several local Asian restaurants will be selling food at the event. We're also planning to see Li Tong at Alamo South Lamar (many of the screenings are at Alamo South or at UT). Both look really good, as do most of the movies this year! Tickets for individual shows are only $8, and all access badges are $50. The badge is a great deal considering that it gets you entry to every film as well as all after parties with free food & drink.

Website

Beer Festival 2009

2009-10-24T00:16:00.000-05:00

Now here is a great new tradition that I hope will stick around. This year's beer festival drew tons of people to sample beers from all over. There were lines at every booth, but they move pretty quickly when you've got a drink in your hand. You get to keep the tasting glass... but I'm not sure exactly what to do with a glass that's too big for a shot and too small for a regular beer. Triple shot?

Stay tuned for next fall's beer festival...

Website

Whole Foods Sunset Supper & Cinema

2009-10-23T15:36:00.005-05:00

Every Friday evening all summer and fall, the Whole Foods flagship store downtown has been hosting Sunset Supper & Cinema on their rooftop terrace. Entrance is free, and food & drinks (including a specialty 3-course meal for $15) are available for purchase. On the theme of Halloween, they've got Psycho playing tonight and Ghostbusters playing next Friday.

See their calendar for more information about the shows and their specialty menu for each show. You can also find out about their various events throughout the week. Can't wait for Psycho tonight!

Website

Location

Austin Film Festival 2009

2009-10-20T15:28:00.001-05:00

The Austin Film Festival is back for the 16th year. Tickets are available online. The cheapest way to see the films is the $42 film pass which lets you get on the priority line for all screenings (ahead of individual ticket holders).

Website

Austin City Limits 2009

2009-10-06T15:50:00.002-05:00

This year was really muddy...

But still fun!

Website

Inner Space Cavern

2009-08-01T12:03:00.000-05:00

Inner Space Cavern is up in Georgetown, TX, and I recommend the drive. It's hot this summer and the caverns are cool year round. Tours depart every 30 minutes, and you get to see many interesting formations and learn all about the place. They even give you a few seconds of pitch black in one area of the caverns, which is something you don't experience often. See their website for more info about tours and prices.

Website

Frank Erwin Center

2009-07-25T11:53:00.000-05:00

The Frank Erwin Center is a huge space for all kinds of events. We went for the NIN/Jane's Addiction concert, and it was great. We got seats up in the balcony and it was great to look down over the crowd. Check their website for all upcoming events and ticket information.

Website

Blues on the Green

2009-07-12T11:47:00.000-05:00

Every summer, you can enjoy a free blues concert every other Wednesday from Blues on the Green. This summer the concerts are in Waterloo Park, next summer they'll be at Zilker. Bring your chairs and something to drink, these concerts are a lot of fun!

Website

Mueller Lake Park

2009-06-24T13:58:00.000-05:00

What a serene place to spend an afternoon walking or reading. The Mueller Lake Park is a brand new park that's part of the new Mueller development off of Airport Blvd. It's so close to town that it's a great place to go when you don't have any plans but just want to get out of the house.

Website

Location

McKinney Falls State Park

2009-05-21T14:09:00.001-05:00

McKinney Falls State Park is one of the most beautiful areas around Austin. It's just a hop and a skip from downtown, so you don't even need a whole day set aside to enjoy this place. However, the park isn't free- it's $5 per person for entry.

Website

Location

Sunset Valley Farmer's Market

2009-04-20T23:10:00.001-05:00

Sunset Valley Farmer's Market is south of Austin, set up in a huge parking lot every Saturday of the year from 9 AM- 1 PM. You can find anything from fruits and veggies to homemade soaps to tamales and other prepared foods. They also had a live band playing when we went.

Website

Location

Urban Music Festival

2009-04-05T23:24:00.001-05:00

This year the Urban Music Festival was on April 4th at Auditorium Shores. Honestly, I don't know how many years this festival has been going on.. all I know is it had a pretty amazing lineup with several blasts from the past. The Sugar Hill Gang, Boyz II Men and Cameo headlined. Check the website next spring to find out when the next festival will be and the lineup.

Website

Location

Walnut Creek Park

2009-04-02T00:14:00.000-05:00

This park is in north Austin, and is a nice place to do some walking or biking. If you're walking though, watch out for the bikers who come through pretty fast on the trails. Of course we have no sense of direction so always end up lost for a while whenever we go walking in a park like this. If you get lost easily too, you might want to bring some breadcrumbs to mark your trail.

Website

Location

SXSW

2009-03-25T22:45:00.000-05:00

I'm sure you all already know about SXSW.. it's kind of hard to miss. Either you dived in and enjoyed all of the live music, or you got the heck out of town to avoid the massive hordes of people that descend upon Austin during this week. There are wristbands for sale every year for local Austinites to purchase, there are also many free shows going on for those of us who don't want to spend any money. Red Gorilla is one example of a free series of shows that goes on during SXSW.

Website

Kite Festival

2009-03-05T23:16:00.003-06:00

We've been neglecting this blog for a while, but now we're back! On Sunday we stopped by the annual Austin Kite Festival at Zilker Park. This festival is held every year on the first Sunday in March. Basically everyone hits the park with a kite, and there are also a few contests and such. You don't have to fly a kite, though- you can just go and watch. It's great to look up and see the sky filled with kites.

Website

Location

Capital City Comedy Club

2009-02-02T13:19:00.000-06:00

Cap City Comedy Club attracts some pretty awesome comedians to Austin. Some big names that have recently graced Cap City with their presence are D.L. Hughley and Joe Rogan. We came to the club to see Mike MacRae of FrankTV. The show was hilarious, we laughed through the entire thing. The two comedians who opened for MacRae were also surprisingly really good, we enjoyed then almost as much as MacRae. One was a guy who worked for Cap City, the other was Paul Oddo. The club has a 2 menu item minimum. The food is pretty blah, so we recommend sticking with 2 drinks.

A clip of Mike MacRae on Letterman:

Website

Location

South Congress

2009-01-26T23:09:00.007-06:00

The best place to go for a stroll and window shop in Austin is South Congress. All of the shops are unique, funky and interesting. You can also take a break and pick up coffee, ice cream, a cupcake or a bite to eat at numerous restaurants & shops. Anytime the weather is nice you'll also find vendors selling jewelry, artwork or other handmade goods at outdoor stalls. Any day that you want to get out but don't know what to do, So Co is a foolproof plan. Don't forget to check out First Thursday (the first Thursday evening of every month) on South Congress, which we'll blog about soon.. the street comes alive with vendors & performers, and all the stores stay open late.

About

Directory of Stores

First Thursday Blog

Playing Tennis in Austin

2009-01-20T22:55:00.000-06:00

Okay, the tennis court pictured above isn't actually in Austin.

We've been trying to be more active lately, especially since most of what we do during the week consists of sitting on our asses. Winter in Texas is the best time to get really active- when it's in the 50s or 60s during the day you can run around all you want and not get totally drenched in sweat. We picked up some cheap racquets and balls at Target and scoped out the awesome tennis court map on the Capital Area Tennis Association website. Write down the addresses of at least 2 or 3 open public courts in your neighborhood, cause the first one we tried was locked on the weekend.

Website

Harry Ransom Center

2009-01-04T22:22:00.006-06:00

The Ransom Center has the most unique & rare exhibits in all of Austin. They've got a copy of the Gutenberg Bible, only 5 complete copies exist in the U.S. They also have the world's first photograph. Other items of note include drawings or sketches by Cezanne, Picasso, and other famous artists. My favorite was a self-portrait of Picasso on the inside of a book cover, it was a simple face drawn in primary colors.

Website

Location

Barsana Dham

2009-01-03T22:14:00.003-06:00

Barsana Dham is a Hindu Temple about 30 minutes outside of Austin. It's a beautiful, peaceful spot, and visitors are welcome, as long as you check their website for their specific visiting hours, and don't wear shoes or take photos inside the building.

Website

Location

Trail of Lights

2008-12-19T09:45:00.000-06:00

The Trail of Lights is an Austin tradition. It's 1.25 miles of Christmas displays and lights in Zilker Park. It may almost give you a seizure, but it sure is a fun walk. Lots of cute stuff for kids, too. Go between 7 and 10 PM, and get there by the 23rd because that's the last day.

Website

Map

Toy Joy

2008-12-18T00:53:00.003-06:00

For fun, quirky gifts or stocking stuffers, check out Toy Joy. It's an Austin landmark, and has just about the most unique gifts you're going to find. Get off your butt and do some last minute shopping! They're open until 11 on weekdays and midnight on the weekend.

Website

Location

Highland Lanes

2008-12-15T12:45:00.002-06:00

We've been meaning to go bowling here for a long time, since it's not far from where we live. It's a basic, nice bowling alley with lots of lanes... perfect for the amateur bowler. For the best deal, come on Sunday night between 8 PM and midnight: bowling is $9 per person for unlimited bowling, and that includes shoe rental and a free bowl of popcorn.

Website

Location

Thanksgiving

2008-11-24T13:08:00.003-06:00

Exploring Austin will not be exploring Austin for the coming week. If you'll be in town, here are a few things going on that you may or may not want to miss:

Alamo Drafthouse showing a bunch of movies accompanied by Thanksgiving Dinner

Yoga in the Park on Thanksgiving Day

Operation Turkey needs volunteers to help hand out 8,500 pounds of food to the homeless on Thanksgiving

See U2 in 3D at the IMAX theater

See Pop Noir at Mohawk

18th annual Turkey Trot in Waterloo Park, benefiting Caritas

East Austin Studio Tour

2008-11-21T10:50:00.003-06:00

Happening this weekend!! A tour all over East Austin to see various artwork by local artists. Best of all, it's FREE! Check their website for all the dozens of locations.

Website

St. Edward's Park

2008-11-18T23:06:00.004-06:00

We decided to check out St. Edward's Park while the weather still so nice. It's a small park, the entire trail is maybe 2 miles. On Sunday afternoon there were very few other people there. It's pretty, peaceful, and a nice easy hike/walk.

Website

Location

Kayaking on Ladybird Lake

2008-11-09T14:25:00.004-06:00

This was so much fun that I want to call in sick tomorrow and go again.The kayaks we rented were simple, beginner's kayaks. It was an amazing experience. We saw all kinds of wildlife... turtles, fish, tons of different birds including Blue Herons and Egrets. Keep in mind, this is only a few miles from downtown!

Mom & Dad kayaking past a limestone cliff:

A Blue Heron, as we slowly approached:

Whoops, scared him off...

We rented our kayaks from Rowing Dock, and the prices were pretty good. To rent a 2-person kayak for 1 hour is $15, but they've got a coupon on their website that allows you to get a second hour for free! So it's really $15 for two hours of kayak rental. And of course, that includes life vests. Another cool thing is that they have season passes for $99, so if you plan to come a lot, that's a great option.

Website

Location

Mt. Bonnell

2008-11-09T14:12:00.002-06:00

Mt. Bonnell Park has an amazing views of Lake Austin and the hills. I could sit here all day.

View of the Pennybacker Bridge from Mt. Bonnell, which is an Austin landmark. See some other great photos taken at Bonnell on Google images.

Location

Fun Fun Fun Fest

2008-11-05T13:17:00.003-06:00

Don't miss the annual Fun Fun Fun Festival this weekend. I don't think we'll make it, my parents will be in town and it's not exactly a parent type of activity! This music festival is from Nov. 8-9 and includes various indie rock, punk/hardcore, and hip hop/dj music on three stages.

Website

Dia De Los Muertos

2008-11-02T18:56:00.005-06:00

This weekend, the Mexic-Arte Museum put on their 25th annual Dia de los Muertos Parade. Watching the parade was free of course, but afterwards there were activity booths and food, which was $5 for adults and $2 for kids. We just watched the parade from a bar on 6th street, which is a recommended way to see it.

About a million people with their faces painted:

Website

Texas Book Festival

2008-11-02T18:46:00.001-06:00

Every year the Texas Book Festival is held in Austin, with many of the events occuring in or around the capitol building.

There were tons of tents with books on display, and authors on hand to sign their books.
We went to see 4 political authors discuss the upcoming election in the state senate chamber. The calendar shows you when various authors are speaking or debating.

A couple of goats help this author to promote Goat Tales:
Inside one of the book tents:

Website

Map

Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum

2008-10-28T21:01:00.005-05:00

This sculpture garden and museum, dedicated to showcasing the works of Charles Umlauf, is tucked away just off Zilker Park. You'd never expect a place like this just a stone's throw from downtown. The sculpture above is of Icarus. It's a very peaceful place, either to walk around or just sit and enjoy.

There are several ponds filled with lily pads. I love lily pads.

Website

Location

The Exotic Zoo

2008-10-26T23:42:00.006-05:00

Now that I know this place exists, I am so excited about it. So excited. It is a zoo, but a totally different experience from the Austin Zoo. Who knew there was basically a safari in Texas?! You may be wondering why I as a grown woman with no kids was at a place like this. I have an excuse. I was there volunteering with Starlight, which is a children's foundation. It's a really great organization, and there are locations in both Austin and San Antonio so check it out if you're interested in volunteering with kids.

Anyway, eye on the prize! The zoo!! I have to admit that all of the following photos were stolen from the Exotic Zoo's website-- even if I'd brought my camera, I wouldn't have had time to take photos... so this is the best I can do.

The animals actually come right up to the vehicles and the kids can feed them. The camels, bison, zebras and deer were all totally willing to come right up and eat.

Ostrich!
Zebras chilling in the shade:
There seem to be a lot of kangaroos in Texas. You even see them at petting zoos. I guess cause they like warm weather.
Water buffalo:

Another cool thing about this place is that they have cabins, and you can spend the night there. Some of the cabins overlook the animal enclosures. How great is that? I need to figure out how to rent a kid so I can have a reason to come spend the night here. Otherwise I'll become that creepy lady staying in the cabin overlooking the kangaroos.
The pool for use by people staying overnight in the cabins:
In conclusion, this place is fabulous. Take your kid or borrow one and get yourself here! I did a little online searching, and it looks like there's yet another one of these safari places near San Antonio- so if you haven't had your fill after the Exotic Zoo, check out Wildlife Ranch, which looks even bigger.

Website

Location

Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds

2008-10-26T22:55:00.000-05:00

Need a Halloween costume? Stop what you're doing and get down to Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds, a huge costume store open year-round on South Congress.
South Congress has tons of interesting shops and restaurants, and they also host First Thursday every month, which we'll blog about soon. It's a great area to find unique gifts & clothes.

Website

Location

The Domain

2008-10-26T13:41:00.000-05:00

The Domain is a new outdoor shopping center north of Austin. It's one of those new mixed use developments, and it has apartments and offices in addition to restaurants and shops. Most of the stores are luxury stores, so you may not want to actually shop here if you're cheap like we are. However, there are a bunch of good places to eat at the Domain, and it's a pretty center to walk around in. It's also the location of the annual Austin Wine Festival, which is coming up again in May.

Website

Location

Lady Bird Lake & The Hike and Bike Trail

2008-10-19T21:51:00.003-05:00

I'm just warning you: There's kind of an obscene amount of photos in this post. It's just hard to narrow it down when every photo I took is so nice. This whole weekend was so gorgeous, not a cloud in the sky. After lunch we decided to walk it off by walking the hike and bike trail around Lady Bird Lake, which separates South Austin from downtown. This is probably the most popular spot in town to go for a walk, run or bike ride. Click here to see a PDF map of the trail.
Duck sighting on the lake:
Canoes on the lake, going under one of the several bridges:

Pedestrian-only bridge across the lake, part of the trail:
Statue of Stevie Ray Vaughan:

Spot on the trail for dogs to get in the water:
The entrance to the trail from the Four Seasons:

A dock on the trail. There are plenty of little docks and side areas off the trail where you can sit and take a break. Turtle sighting!
Bridge on the trail:
Entering one of the bridges:
Can you see the rainbow?

Website

Coldtowne Theater

2008-10-19T21:40:00.003-05:00

We came to Coldtowne Theater to see a free performance for Free Night of Theater. We saw "Cage Match," which normally costs $5. Cage Match is a face-off between two improv comedy groups who are competing to be the champion. The audience gives a suggestion at the beginning of the sketch, and each group has 20 minutes to impress the audience. At the end, you vote for whichever group you think should go further in the competition. It was a fun show, and the theater is very small and casual- several of the seating options are couches.

Website

Location

Austin Duck Adventures

2008-10-19T21:32:00.002-05:00

Okay, so this is a very silly, touristy thing to do, but I got a free ticket from work... so why not? This is one of those vehicles that goes both on land and in the water. So we first drove around downtown, then splashed into Lake Austin. Saturday was gorgeous and the tour ended up being a lot of fun. We even learned some stuff about Austin that we didn't know before.

Website

Free Night of Theater

2008-10-18T13:46:00.001-05:00

Sorry I am so tardy in posting this- I actually just found out about it, and many of the free shows are already sold out. Free Night of Theater is actually multiple nights of free shows all over Austin, at various venues. I wish we had gotten tickets to see The Producers before they were all snatched up! Don't worry- this is a yearly event, so just stick it on your gmail calendar and get ready to pounce on the first tickets next year.

Website

Austin Film Festival

2008-10-12T22:24:00.002-05:00

Ok, so normally we don't post about stuff unless we've already done it and can tell you it's not a danger to your health. But I thought I should post in advance about the Austin Film Festival, which is starting on October 16th. Get your film passes now!

Website

Austin Asian American Film Festival

2008-10-11T12:58:00.005-05:00

This annual Asian film festival is going on right now, and tickets can still be bought at the door for film showings so check the schedule if you want to see one. Tickets are only $8 to most of the films, and many have the director or producer present.

Last night we saw the opening double feature, "Who Killed Vincent Chin?" and "Vincent Who?" These films were amazing. They were about the death of Vincent Chin, who was killed in 1982 by two laid off auto workers in Detroit who blamed him for their job loss. Toyotas and Hondas were starting to create stiff competition for American cars, and the men thought Vincent was Japanese. They beat him to death with a baseball bat, and neither of them served a single day in jail. The second movie, "Vincent Who?" discusses how little people today know about Vincent's story.

Website

Alamo Drafthouse

2008-10-05T22:49:00.005-05:00

The Alamo Drafthouse is probably one of the most famous entertainment spots in Austin. A couple of years ago, Entertainment Weekly rated Alamo the #1 movie theatre in the country. Can't beat that! The theatre has several locations around Austin, and you can see anything from today's latest releases to the Rocky Horror Picture Show to episodes of your favorite shows in the theatres. The thing that makes the Alamo stand out is that they serve both beer and food-- a great variety of each.
When you sit down in the theatre, you're sitting behind a long table that stretches the length of each row. There are menus, and pieces of paper and pencils for you to write your order on. You simply write your order down and stick the paper up at the edge of the table for the waiter to pick up.

We came to see Tropic Thunder. I have to admit we were pretty boring and only ordered beer and fried pickles. But to give you an idea of what a crazy array of stuff they offer (if you aren't boring like us) here is what they recently posted on their website:

Check out these specials, inspired by Tropic Thunder and Pineapple Express:

Bust a Nut
Macadamia, Cashew, Almond and basmati crusted prawns with a pineapple chile sauce

Tropical Fruit Salad
Papaya, Pineapple, Mango, Carambola, Lychee and Cherimoya with keffir lime coconut infused turbinado syrup and ginger mascarpone

Pineapple Pork
An eight ounce pineapple soy marinated center cut pork loin chop and pineapple-scotch bonnet relish with taro root hash and sesame napa cabbage slaw

Coconut Ice Cream & Rum Sauce
Fresh grilled pineapple on coconut ice cream with hot jaggery Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum sauce

Booty Sweat
Tropic Thunder Energy drink…taste like bubbly cherry

I just realized this post should maybe have gone on Chowing in Austin too. But.. double posting is getting kind of annoying, and I've already done it twice. You'll just have to take my word for it that almost every activity in Austin involves some kind of fusion of music, fun and food.

Website

Locations

Hideout Theatre

2008-10-05T22:40:00.002-05:00

The Hideout Theatre is a coffehouse and theatre. The two stages in back show pretty much all comedy shows, as far as I know. Some improv, some non-improv, and they even have improv classes. We came to see their improv show "Start Trekkin'," in which Austin improv comedians create a Star Trek episode incorporating audience suggestions. The cool thing about Hideout is that you can grab a cup of coffee, or beer, or a smoothie at the shop in the front and then bring it into the theatre with you.
The show was $10. It was pretty entertaining- I think more so for Ryan since he's watched old school Star Trek.

Website

Location

Farmer's Market at the Triangle

2008-10-01T22:23:00.000-05:00

Every Wednesday, all year round, there is a farmer's market at the Triangle from 4-8 PM. This is just one of several year round markets in Austin- so there's never any reason to not have fresh local produce!

Some of the shops:
Live music in the park area next to the market:
Some kids playing in the water spraying up from the fountain:

Website

Location

The Triangle

2008-10-01T21:46:00.000-05:00

The Triangle in central Austin has apartments, shopping, and restaurants. According to online reviews, the people living in the apartments here don't like them and think they're overpriced. That sucks, but the Triangle is still packed with some nice restaurants and shops.
The landscaping is nice, and it's fun to stroll around and check out the various shops. We've already reviewed Galaxy Cafe in the Triangle, and will review more of the restaurants soon.

Store List

Restaurant List

Location

Austin City Limits 2008

2008-09-29T00:47:00.008-05:00

Yay! Another year, another festival! I can't believe we've been in Austin now for over a year. But here we are at our second ACL festival. This festival had boring headliners this year (Foo Fighers, Beck) compared to last year (Bob Dylan), although I guess it's unfair to compare anyone to Bob Dylan.

Austin City Limits is 3 days of live concerts on multiple stages in Zilker Park.

Note for 2009: press refresh on the ACL website constantly, starting in April, to get the cheap early bird tickets.

Manu Chao playing, with the city in the background:
The Raconteurs playing at sunset:
Some other highlights were David Byrne, the Black Keys, Beck, Foo Fighters, Allison Kraus & Robert Plant, Tegan & Sara, Gnarles Barkley, G. Love and Special Sauce, Blues Traveler, Erykah Badu, and Neko Case.

Don't come to the festival if you're agoraphobic!

Website

Location

Stubb's

2008-09-22T21:48:00.003-05:00

Stubb's BBQ is more than just a BBQ restaurant. First of all, they were recently rated best rock club in America by Rolling Stone magazine. They've got a ginormous outdoor area that serves as a live music venue. The last thing you expect in the middle of downtown Austin is a huge open outdoor space that fits a crowd of 2000+, but that's what you've got at Stubb's. Tons of different bands play here all year round, so keep an eye on their live music schedule.
We were at Stubb's to see Ani Difranco. Hey, I used to like her a lot in high school, ok? Ryan came along for fun and for the beer. Little bar/beer stall things line each side of the outdoor venue.

The stage:

Website

Location

Barton Springs

2008-09-22T21:42:00.002-05:00

Barton Springs is a natural cold springs turned popular swimming destination in Austin. It's different from typical pools or the beach in that you lay out on grass instead of sand or concrete, and there are lots of trees around for shade. Admission is $3 for adults, $1 for children.
Rock around one end of the pool:
The diving board is really popular. This is the one part of the pool deep enough for diving.

Fish sighting in the shallow part of the pool:

Website

Location

Pecan Street Festival

2008-09-21T21:53:00.004-05:00

The Pecan Street Festival is a huge yearly festival held every year on 6th street (cause 6th street used to be named Pecan Street). There are dozens upon dozens of booths-- crafts, artwork, food... you name it, there's a booth for it. There's also a lot of live music at the festival, and it's free!

Sorry for the glum photos, it was getting dark by the time we arrived.
Tommy Tutone!! Yeah- we had no idea that was the name of the band that sings the 80's megahit "Jenny"(867-5309). We definitely stood there through over an hour of Tommy Tutone's new music just so we could hear them perform Jenny.

Website

UT campus

2008-09-21T21:33:00.002-05:00

The UT campus is a really nice campus. It's huge, has tons of trees, and is a great place for a weekend stroll.

Fountain with horses springing forth:

The economics building (Ryan's home away from home!)
Statue of MLK in a park-like area
A house? Who knows.

I love the style of roof-top you see on almost all of the buildings.

Ok... I think I'm going to file this post under "History." The school has gotta be somewhat old, right? And where else am I supposed to file it?

Website

Location

Mexic-Arte Museum

2008-09-15T21:58:00.004-05:00

Sunday was Austin Museum Day, which means all museums in Austin are free and have special events and exhibits. The free part isn't all that exciting since most of the museums are already either free or only a few dollars for admission. We managed to find the most expensive museum to go to on free day. The Mexic-Arte Museum, which is normally $5 for adults.
The Mexic-Arte museum has artwork, jewelry, furniture, and a bunch of historic artifacts like pots and small sculptures. They also play old Mexican films in the back of the museum. It's kinda cool, but we're glad we got to experience it for free.

Website

Location

Arthouse at the Jones Center

2008-09-13T20:15:00.006-05:00

So as I've said before, we're not really into modern art. We're trying though, we really are. The Arthouse is featuring an exhibit called "Reset/Play" about video games and stuff. Yes, the TV screen you see below is part of the exhibit. Some of the art is interactive, and you can actually play a video game. No, I'm serious. We mostly wandered around looking at the birthdates of the artists and trying to find an artist who was more than 5 years older than we are. Sad.

Website

Location

Guitartown

2008-09-09T21:26:00.002-05:00

You may be wondering why there are painted guitars all over town. Cause I have been. I looked around online, and apparently it's a public arts project called "Guitartown." I've seen some pretty interesting ones around town. Check out the website to find the locations of the guitars.

Website

Half Price Books- South

2008-09-01T22:35:00.003-05:00

We're still trying to milk the 20% off weekend at Half Price Books. We only ended up making it to two locations this weekend- this one is the South Austin location.

Website

Location

26 doors shopping center

2008-09-01T18:10:00.004-05:00

Most of the stores in 26 doors shopping center were closed for labor day, but we figured we might as well take a stroll and see what the center was like since we were already there for gelato from Teo. It's a cute center, with a bunch of shops facing onto open squares.

Website

Location

Art on 5th

2008-09-01T16:29:00.004-05:00

Art on 5th is a huge art gallery on West 5th street. All of the art is for sale, so admission is free. Some are local artists, some are not. It's a great place to browse because it's usually pretty empty and there's a wide variety of art.
The highlight of this visit was the artwork by Dr. Seuss. If you grew up with Dr. Seuss, you'll love seeing some of his creations.

More of Dr. Seuss' art. The colorful cat was my favorite.
Some views of the other art in the gallery:

I was really impressed with these paintings of sunsets.

Website

Location

IMAX theatre

2008-09-01T01:41:00.004-05:00

Sunday night we went to see The Dark Knight at the IMAX theatre, which is at the Texas State History Museum. It was pretty intense to watch this movie on the massive screen, but very entertaining. To see what movies are showing when at IMAX, check their showtimes.

Front of the history museum:

A poster for the Dark Knight outside the theatre:
Inside the history museum:
Website

Location

Batfest

2008-09-01T01:26:00.004-05:00

Batfest is a yearly summer festival. In past years, it's been on Congress bridge, but this year it was on the 1st street bridge a few blocks away. Batfest has lots of live music, shops, art, food, and drinks, as well as some activities for kids. The festival lasts all day Saturday and Sunday, and admission is $5. FYI- if you want to actually see the bats, you have to go to Congress bridge, not 1st.

One of the stages:

View of some downtown buildings from the bridge:
Kids stuff:
Petting zoo:
Small kangaroo in the petting zoo (WTF?):
Second music stage:
Some of the shops:

Website

Location

Half Price Books- Central

2008-08-29T23:19:00.002-05:00

There are a bunch of Half Price Books locations in the Austin area. Our goal is to get to at least 3 of them this weekend, since everything is an additional 20% off for Labor Day weekend. So... get ready for incessant posts about Half Price!

Website

Location

Monday Movie & Margarita night at the Belmont

2008-08-26T22:19:00.004-05:00

Ok so I already blogged about the Belmont on Chowing in Austin, but I feel like I should also cover it here since it's a food and an activity. Anyway, every Monday evening at the Belmont you can see a movie on a screen on their outdoor patio, while drinking $2 margaritas. This Monday we saw Airplane! there. It was hilarious. I had never seen it before, and apparently everyone else has, so I was glad to finally get to see it. Check the Belmont's events page to see upcoming Monday movies, as well as their live music schedule. Last summer we saw a jazz band on their patio, and we definitely recommend that too.

Tables on their patio, and the movie screen. We got there early, the movie doesn't start until sundown. You can kinda see Ryan's back at that table up near the front.

Website

Location

Concert in the Park 2008

2008-08-24T21:12:00.003-05:00

This summer, the free Sunday evening concerts relocated to the grassy area in front of the performing arts center. The new location is great, the music carries well and the center really provides a nice backdrop.

The sun setting to our right:
Some little kids dancing at the front:

Website

Location

Hot Sauce Festival 2008

2008-08-24T20:52:00.000-05:00

Every year, the Austin Chronicle hosts a hot sauce festival. There are hot sauce contests for commercial hot sauce and amateur hot sauce makers, as well as tons of booths where you can sample locally made hot sauce and salsa. And of course, there's live music throughout the day. The charge for admission is a donation of 3 canned goods for the food bank.

Some of the booths for hot sauce sampling:

We were only there for the last couple hours of the festival, so we only saw one band. Luckily it was a really good band.
I don't think people were crying because this brand of hot sauce was so hot, they were crying because clowns are freaking scary!!!!!

Website

Location

Shopping on Guadalupe

2008-08-23T19:27:00.000-05:00

From around 21st to 27th on Guadalupe, there's a strip of stores and restaurants across from the UT campus. Some are chain stores like Urban Outfitters and Jamba Juice, others are unique. It's a great spot to go for lunch and shopping.
There are a couple of nice murals along the way. There's also a Scientology Center, so if you're easily brainwashed you might want to cross to the other side of the street when you see it.

intellectual property

2008-08-23T17:42:00.000-05:00

The bookstore "intellectual property," in the strip of stores across from UT, lures you inside with the artwork all over the outside of the store.

I mean come on, Johnny Cash and the Virgin Mary? How can you not want to take a peek inside?
It's a big bookstore with a bunch of different sections. It's pretty much impossible to buy a book from a regularly priced bookstore when you're aware of the existence of Half Price Books, but it's still fun to browse around in a silly list price bookstore.
High ceilings, quotes written on a skinny strip of blackboard above the windows.

Location

Website

San Marcos Outlets

2008-08-18T22:48:00.000-05:00

The San Marcos outlet mall is huge. It's designed to make you feel like you're in Italy.. a sort of Vegas-y, Texas version of Italy. You can find the Gap, Neiman Marcus, and everything in between here. Most of the stores really do have cheap, extremely marked down outlet prices, which is fantastic. However, a few stores seem to not know the meaning of "outlet." If the discount is only 10%, or if you don't even tell us what the discount is on the tag so we can get psyched about the major deal we're getting, that's not outlet.

The mall is all outdoors, so it doesn't induce fits of anger and aggression the way indoor malls do.

Location

Website

Austin Museum of Art (downtown location)

2008-08-16T21:35:00.002-05:00

The downtown AMOA is all modern art, with a permanent collection and rotating new exhibits. I don't have much to say about it, because I've never been much of a fan of modern art. If you're into modern art, you must check it out, and if not, head straight to The Blanton Museum of Art instead (which we'll hopefully blog about soon).

By the way, photography is not allowed, which I learned after taking the photo above. Go figure. I was allowed to take photos at the Louvre.

Location

Website

Beauty and the Beast in the park 2008

2008-07-29T21:22:00.000-05:00

The Zilker Park theatre hosts a free performance every summer, with performances every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. This summer was Beauty and the Beast, the musical. It was quite entertaining. We went on a Sunday and it was packed- so don't get there too late (the performance starts at the beginning of sunset) and bring your own chairs/blankets as well as something to snack on.

Location

Website

Blue Lapis Light

2008-07-28T13:50:00.001-05:00

Blue Lapis light is an arial dance company. Every year, they put on an amazing arial dance show at a different location in Austin. This year their dance took place at the federal buildings downtown. Even if you don't like dance, Blue Lapis is a must. The dancers spin and twirl many stories off the ground. It's breathtaking and a little scary. The dancers are all rigged up to wires, but there are no nets below.

No photos were allowed when we went to see the performance, so I had to dig around online and steal one. Check their website if you're interested in arial dance classes, or to watch for the date and location of their next performance, which will probably happen next summer.

Here's a video clip of a performance:

Website

Windy Point Park on Lake Travis

2008-05-12T21:55:00.001-05:00

Visiting this park is worth it just for the amazing drive to the park. It kind of reminds me of driving up route 1 past Malibu. Fresh air, breathtaking views, extravagant homes, and occasional moments where you feel you are altogether too close to the edge of a cliff. Worth every minute. It was pretty cloudy when we went, so you can only kind of get an idea of how beautiful it is from these photos.

The water is nice and not too cold to go for a swim. You can also boat and whatnot on the lake.

Location

Website

Long Center for the Performing Arts

2008-04-23T20:11:00.001-05:00

We checked out Austin's brand new performing arts center during "free concert weekend." We saw some really nice classical music performances. The bad news is I don't know if they're going to have any more free weekends, the good news is you can see plenty of music or theater performances here if you're willing to fork over a little cash. If you still want to see a performance for free, the summertime free concerts in the park have been relocated to the park area in front of the center, on Sunday evenings.

View of Austin from inside the center.
Outdoor performance area in front.

Location

Website

Austin Zoo

2008-04-19T20:14:00.002-05:00

The zoo is in a park-like setting; and there's a great variety of animals. I haven't gotten this close to animals before at an American zoo.

The monkey below was very child-like in his attentions to his stuffed animal. He would cuddle it, look at it, pet it, and was completely oblivious to the visitors watching him from just a couple feet away.

This squirrel monkey (eating watermelon below) is my favorite kind of monkey. I don't think monkeys can possibly get cuter than this. I fed a baby one part of a banana on a trip to Costa Rica and it was definitely the highlight of the whole trip.

Location

Website

Capitol Building

2008-03-22T21:57:00.000-05:00

The Capitol Building is open to the public, for free tours or just to have a look around and take pictures. See the website for tour times, hours, etc.

Ryan prefers the Capitol Building in DC, which I can understand, because after all it is the Capitol Capitol. I prefer this one though, just because it feels more accessible and laid back. In DC you can almost feel a homeland security guy staring you down from behind a potted plant.

Location

Website

Dell Diamond

2007-11-10T21:29:00.000-06:00

Dell Diamond is home of the Round Rock Express team; see website for details about various events (fireworks night, half-price beer night, etc). We went for half-price beer night, and also got half-price tickets because it was simultaneously "law and order night" which meant anyone working in some kind of law-related field got half price tickets. (Subsidizing lawyers? I wonder if Dell Diamond is just trying to build up brownie points for the day they get sued after someone gets hit in the face with a ball.) Anyway, our tickets were $3 for great seats and I think we paid $2 for beer. It was a good night.

Location

Website

Zilker Botanical Gardens

2007-10-13T20:13:00.000-05:00

The Botanical Gardens are beautiful. You can spend a nice relaxing afternoon here wandering around amongst the flowers, ponds and greenery. Springtime is the most colorful, but you can still enjoy the gardens in the summer and fall as well. We went in the fall. Admission is free, but you may have to pay $3 for parking unless you're willing to park a little ways away and walk.

We're going to have to return again and explore more (and blog more) because I just realized after browsing online that we somehow completely missed the really cool looking Hartman Prehistoric Garden on our first visit.

Location

Website

Round Rock Outlets

2007-10-13T20:12:00.000-05:00

The Round Rock outlet mall is not nearly as huge as the San Marcos outlets, so if you like to get your cardio by shopping you will prefer San Marcos. However Round Rock still has a good variety of stores, and is also very pretty since it's outdoors. If I must shop, I prefer to shop in an outdoor mall. There's something about indoor malls that just makes you want to stab yourself. If you feel the same, you'll like Austin.

Location

Website

Austin City Limits 2007

2007-09-23T21:32:00.000-05:00

Austin is known for having tons of music festivals. Even when a festival isn't a "music" festival, there is still most likely live music throughout the festival. For example, the yearly Austin wine festival, or the ice cream festival. Sometimes I think all these dozens of festivals are just excuses for people to get together and listen to live music. Not that I'm complaining!

Anyway, ACL is great because it's 3 days long, features tons of great bands, and is a lot cheaper than the 5 day South by Southwest music festival. For a 3-day pass, tickets are only $135 or $150 if you manage to buy early. Regular price is $170.

The guitars you see below are usually placed strategically all over Austin. For the festival, they bring them all together at the park.

Map of the stages near the entrance:

So many people. In the distance you can see tents, some have merchandise for sale and others have food and drinks.

A couple of the stages.

Bob Dylan, the last performance of the festival. He was pretty amazing to see live, although very old and raspy. Yes I know he's always been raspy. He was especially raspy.

Location

Website

Concert in the Park 2007

2007-08-12T21:28:00.000-05:00

The Austin Symphony hosts a series of free outdoor concerts every summer, on Sunday evenings. In 2007 the concerts were held at Wooldridge Park, for 2008 they've moved to the park in front of the new performing arts center. Each Sunday is a different performance, mostly classical music.

Location

Website