Kayaking on Ladybird Lake

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.

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Location

Mt. Bonnell

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

Lady Bird Lake & The Hike and Bike Trail

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?

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Austin Duck Adventures

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.

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Windy Point Park on Lake Travis

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

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