New Life In Austin

ACL Festival For Less Than $10

2008-09-29T16:05:00.000-05:00

Yes, you read that right. We went to ACL for under ten bucks. Our super-awesome neighbor happened to have two extra 3 day passes and we happened to want to go. Good shit happens. Unfortunately, I had to work all weekend during the day but we were able to see the headliners at night.

Saturday we got to see parts of Beck's set and parts of the Robert Plant / Allison Krauss set. We also scoped out the entire area (huuuuuuuuuge) and got sausage-on-a-stick from Roy's Hawaiian Fusion restaurant. Not much fusion going on but it was tasty sausage nonetheless.

On Sunday we found a sweet spot and plopped down for the main event. The Foo Fighters were the head-headliner and were closing the entire festival. Although they were supposed to be the only ones playing, one of the smaller bands decided to play 20 minutes over their set time. Once they finally wrapped it up, we could hear Dave belt out his hits. They played for a good hour and a half and we started to leave after the first encore. Luckily, we live close enough to walk so we didn't have to deal with the parking or the line for the busses. We could hear the rest of the encores during the walk home and they finished the song where he sings "The best, the best, the best of you" as we ambled up the final hill to our apartment.

Old Pecan Street Festival

2008-09-21T21:47:00.000-05:00

The 27th Annual Fall Pecan Street Festival was held this weekend. In the oldern days when Austin was laid out, the north/south streets were named after Texas rivers and the east/west streets were named after Texas trees. See, Austin was eco before it was cool (and annoying). While the north/south streets are still named after the Texas Rivers, the east/west streets got the old numbering system. Pecan Street is now the infamous 6th Street, but twice a year, it reverts back to Pecan Street for the bi-annual festival.

The festival featured free admission (of course!), 250 arts and craft vendors, musical and performing artists, art classes, dance classes, international foods, a carnival, petting zoo, and much more. Tommy Tutone, of 867-5309 fame, headlined on Saturday night and sadly, we missed it. Wonder if they played more than the one song?

Instead of eating festival food, we decided to try a new Vietnamese / Thai place called Mekong River. While we were not impressed by the spring roll, the entrees were pretty decent. Not sure if we will return though, there seem to be other Thai and Vietnamese places that are superior.

Kid-A-Pult in front of the Frost Building

(too bad they're strapped in)

Tap Dancing thugs

Random Austin Photos

2008-09-18T19:40:00.000-05:00

Cool rainbow on the hike and bike trail

The Capitol Building through a gap

The dog park at Auditorium Shores never gets old

A cool, old church downtown

Free Museum Day

2008-09-14T22:06:00.002-05:00

Today was free museum day in Austin. Thirty-one museums in the Austin area offered free admission plus many off them had bonus activities and exhibits. We decided to go to six of them and we opted to walk so I carefully planned our route and we began the day at the Butridge Gallery at the Dougherty Arts Center. The exhibit featured photos from the Texas Photographic Society and we found some good and some not so good. From there, we walked through Butler Park, over the 1st Street Bridge and on to the Austin Children's Museum. Total mayhem. Couldn't even figure out if it is a cool place because the noisy-kid quotient was at peak levels.

We made our way over to Congress and headed north to the Mexic-Arte Museum at 4th & Congress. They were featuring the Aztec and Maya Revival exhibition and offered hands-on arts activites. Heather created her own piece of Mex-inspired art.

At 7th & Congress we entered the Arthouse At The Jones Center. Their exhibit, entitled Reset/Replay, was a critical exploration of art inspired by video games. While some of the work was odd, a few items were pretty cool, like the 'painting' that was a working Atari 2600. Down the street was the Austin Museum Of Art. We were floored to see big names on display. Works from Picasso, Manet, Gaugin, Van Gogh, Renoir and others were available for our viewing pleasure.

The final museum on our magical mystery tour was the Capitol Visitors Center. Located on lush property next to the Capitol Building, the center was featuring it's new exhibit called 'Land Of My Dreams: Settling The Republic Of Texas.' It featured many artifacts from early Texas and even a piece of the original Capitol Building. The Capitol Visitors Center building is also a piece of Texas history as it was where the original map of Texas was drawn 150 years ago.

It was another cool and free event in this great city. A lot of people don't realize, or don't care to look for themselves, that Austin is more than just a bar and music town. While it's no NYC or Paris, it does have some culture and hopefully this day opened some people's eyes.

That Purple Building On 6th Street

2008-09-09T17:32:00.002-05:00

While I usually try to avoid purple buildings based on principle, we were really craving Thai and have read good things about Thai Tara so we covered our eyes and entered the newly painted purple building on 6th Street. After waiting for a table to be bussed for what felt like 10 minutes (probably 5), we were finally sat and ordered our drinks (Coke for me and Thai iced tea for Heather).

Our favorite restaurant in New Jersey was a small restaurant in a little unassuming strip center called Thai Kitchen. We went so often that they knew us by name and always greeted us warmly. On our list of things we miss, this place is in the top five. So, it goes without saying that we have high expectations for Thai food.

Heather ordered the Pad Se-Ew (stir fried flat noodles with eggs and broccoli in brown sauce) with chicken and I had the Lard Na (flat noodles topped with vegetables in an Asian bean gravy) with chicken. I asked for mine spicy and Heather opted for mild. I always order Lard Na in a new Thai place because it's easy to compare as I've had it so many times. While we both agreed that it wasn't quite on par with Thai Kitchen (nothing probably ever will be), we both really enjoyed our dishes very much and felt like we could get used to coming to Thai Tara. Bonus points for free Tom Yum soup!

There Is More To Texas Than BBQ And TexMex

2008-09-07T16:47:00.001-05:00

Living close the NYC, we were fortunate to have a wide range of ethnic possibilities when it came to food. We knew that moving to Texas we would definitely have to sacrifice in this regard but, as we did a lot of research in this department, we felt confident that we would be able to at least get by.

So with lower expectations than we had when eating Indian food back in New Jersey, we headed out to Clay Pit. It is located in what I guess you'd call midtown Austin, north of the downtown action but south of the university action. Being Saturday night there was a decent crowd so we waited on the porch. It was a nice, cool evening so it was pleasant and we noticed lots of Indian families coming and going which is a good sign of authenticity.

(another stolen picture from the internet)

After being sat, we were served the traditional pappadam (crispy flatbread) with various chutneys (red, green and brown) and we quickly ordered garlic naan (another flatbread that is more pita-like and cooked in a tandoor - which is the clay pit that the restaurant is named for). The garlic naan was perfection and truly excited us for the main event. Both of us had curries: Heather had the Jeera Saag (pureed spinach cooked with cumin and other spices) with chicken and I had the Mirch Masala (jalapenos, garlic, ginger, mushrooms and onions in a tomato sauce), also with chicken.

Both dishes were as good and as authentic tasting as any that we've had. I ordered mine spicy and was pleased that my forehead beaded up as I ate. The portions were perfect and the side of basmati rice that came with the entrees was sufficient. The couple that came with us were experiencing Indian cuisine for the first time and we found out later that they returned the next day for lunch!

After that fine meal we headed to south Austin to Dominican Joe coffee house which proudly serves fair trade coffee. They buy their beans from Makarios, an Austin-based non-profit organization who works directly with farmers in the Dominican Republic and pays them higher wages. Like most independent (meaning not Starbucks) coffee houses it has a cool, laid-back vibe. It was pretty full of artsy-type people (hipsters) on their artsy-type computers (Macs). Funny how none of them seemed to be actually drinking coffee. The coffee was decent, served in a real mug and, even though it was fair trade, it was still cheaper than Starbucks.

Meet Squizby

2008-09-03T22:19:00.001-05:00

We went on our normal walk on the Town Lake Trail, which consists of parking by Butler Park and taking the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge to the north side, walking east to the Congress Avenue bridge (aka The Ann Richards Bridge), heading south over the bridge, then west to the dog park at Auditorium Shores, watching the dogs until dark and then returning to the car via Butler Park.

Everything was normal until right before we got to the Congress Avenue bridge and we noticed an itty bitty rodenty-looking thing hanging out in the middle of the trail. Upon closer examination we discovered, and quickly named, Squizby. It looked as though he (we are in no way squirrel experts but we decided that Squizby was male) had fallen out of his nest and was very confused.

The Town Lake Hike & Bike Trail is aptly named because people with bikes use it. Some of them go quite fast. We were quite concerned that Squizby would soon become trail-kill so we tried to talk him into returning to the woods along the bank of the river. We hoped that his mother would find him, scold him for talking to strangers and then tuck him safely back into the nest.

He either did not understand human or was stubborn because Squizby did not want to go back into the woods. Heather found some cardboard and picked him up but he slipped and ended up in her lap. He took a liking to her and began gnawing on her shorts. Though she really wanted to take Squizby home and raise it like a son, we agreed that it was best to put him into the woods and hope for the best. Keep your head high Squizby!

Sorry, cell phone pics aren't the clearest

The Nike Human Race

2008-08-31T22:27:00.002-05:00

The Nike Human Race is a global 10 kilometer race that was held in 25 global cities. In the United States, there were four cities involved: NYC, Chicago, LA and Austin. In our fair city, we were honored with Lance Armstrong, Matthew McConaughey, Olympic medalist Brendan Hanson and thousands of other red-shirted pavement-pushers.

The winner, Bernard Manirakiza, didn't even touch the ground!

Lance, the only fellow in yellow, finished in a very respectable 34'54".

Matthew McConaughey ran it in 43'41".

The final stretch

Cool Optical Illusions

2008-08-30T02:31:00.002-05:00

Click the link to see some mind-bending stuff.

Be sure to check out part one and part two also.

Click here to see the World's Coolest Optical Illusions

Hot Sauce Fest & Last Symphony On The Green

2008-08-25T15:16:00.002-05:00

We went to the 18th Annual Austin Hot Sauce Festival on Sunday. While the weather put up a strong bid to win top prize for overall hottest, there were lots of sauces to choose from. Our favorite entry was from Gourmet Country Farm and was called Koki's Green Garlic Salsa. They hydroponically grow green garlic, which looks more like grass or chives, and they use the bulbs and the greens in the salsa. Very original and very excellent.

In the evening, we went to the last Symphony On The Green performance of the year. We have enjoyed this weekly event since we've been here and will miss it. Hopefully it will return to the lawn next year. It is a great location with both an aweome skyline view and a great sunset view. Oh yeah, and there's really good music by really good musicians also.

Heather sampling a red salsa

Interesting Story About The Underage Chinese Gymnasts

2008-08-20T19:51:00.003-05:00

The following is from strydehax.blogspot.com:

There's been some widely publicized controversy regarding the competition age of the Chinese women's gymnastics team recently. I have an Internet connection, that means I should be able to verify the age of the gymnasts in question with primary state-issued documents and find out for myself if someone's cheating, right? Right. Let's go to work.

read more | digg story

They Said "You're Gonna Miss Italian Food In Texas!"

2008-08-11T22:06:00.001-05:00

As we were preparing to depart from New Jersey, our world-weary friends (who have all never stepped foot out of the northeast for more than a week) warned us that we would have to learn how to live without all the great amenities that being a suburb of NYC afforded us:

"You better get used to cowboy boots!"

"There's going to be no where to shop but Wal-Mart!"

"You're going to miss Italian food!"

We quickly were able to disprove the first two notions. As much as the travel shows try to make you believe that Austin is as country as Texas (see Samantha Brown and Rachel Ray's shows about Austin), we have yet to see an abundance of cowboy boots and definitely no cowboys. In fact, I think there were more people in NJ wearing western stuff than here. The second notion was even more absurd. There is more shopping within five minutes of us now than there was within 45 minutes of us in NJ. The other day we went to the library, the post office and Target, all within a few minutes of each other. In NJ, it was a 45 minute round trip to the library and even further to Target (which also was in the opposite direction).

I will admit that I was slightly concerned about the last notion. The Italian-American population is strong in NJ and Italian restaurants are the equilavent of Tex-Mex places in Austin. In fact, in Flemington, it is not a stretch to say that 75% of the non-chain restaurants are Italian. We decided to check out Romeo's which is located on the food mecca strip known as Barton Springs. The verdict? Pretty decent standard Italian fare. Heather has a sun-dried tomato fetish and one of their signature dishes looked to be custom tailored to her tastes. I went for the more traditional Chicken Parmesan and while it was not pan-fried and then baked, it was still breaded and had a nice flavor.

Final verdict? Romeo's fits the bill for casual Italian. Next test? Fine dining Italian!

Music Under The Star

2008-08-01T22:42:00.000-05:00

We went to see Austin Nights Brass at The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum's Lone Star Plaza tonight. This was the final show of the Music Under The Star series for this year. It's a pretty cool, informal event and people of all ages come out to enjoy the music.

Of course, this is yet another free event in this fine city stuffed full of free events. Bonus feature: the museum is also free during the show so you can listen to a little music, then go learn about Texas, then watch some more music. It's really too bad they only do 4 shows a year.

Keep Austin's Animals Weird

2008-07-31T17:36:00.000-05:00

People are so worried about keeping Austin weird that I think they are failing to notice how weird the local fauna already is. The photo to your left is not a Photoshop trick, it is truly a dog climbing a tree at Auditorium Shores. Apparantly, this vertically-inclined canine decided that all the leash-free freedom she enjoys is just not enough, she wants the freedom to hang out in trees also. Who am I to crush this four-legged furball's hopes and dreams? I just snapped the shot, gave her some encouragement and moved on.

Now, some would say that one weird thing is just not enough to keep Austin weird. For you naysayers, I offer to you exhibit dos (to your right). This, my friends, is a squirrel who has decided to evict the previous tenant (a coleus) via execution (and digestion) and has moved in and made himself comfortable.

I will be keeping an eye out for more proof but trust me, Austin's animals are weird.

Butler Park After Dark

2008-07-30T22:13:00.001-05:00

Just west of the Palmer Events Center (between Riverside Drive and Barton Springs Road) is Butler Park. The park was named in honor of the Butler family that donated the land to the city. It's a great park that offers excellent views of downtown from the observation hill, meandering walkways, a relaxing pond, lots of local vegetation and cool dancing fountains that you can play in (sorry, no dogs).

Once the sun goes down, the dancing fountains are joined by a light show. We're not talking Bellagio here, but it is an entertaining show and whoever set it up did a great job. Another awesome way to be entertained in Austin.

This is waiting for you at the top of the hill

The Long Center at dusk

Vietnamese @ Lulu B's

2008-07-30T16:09:00.003-05:00

Part of the charm of Austin is the fact that a lot of great restaurants are located in trailers. Flip Happy Crepes, Torchy's Tacos and now Lulu B's are just a few that come to mind. Lulu B's opened in January of this year and has been churning out absurdly fresh and ridiculously good Vietnamese street food ever since.

We had the Pork Sandwich and the BBQ Chicken Vermicelli Bowl and both were out of this world. Both items were full of super fresh veggies, cilantro and spicy, tangy meat. The portions are good and with drinks (glass bottled Coke is always a plus), the bill was $14.

I've heard that the lines can be pretty long during peak eating times. We went at 2pm and though there wasn't a line, there were still a decent amount of people there.

The Texas National Science Center

2008-07-28T17:49:00.000-05:00

You like this totally sweet panorama photo I snatched from online? It shows the Hall of Geology and Paleontology at the science center. The Texas Memorial Mueum, otherwise known as the Texas National Science Center, is yet another FREE thing to do in Austin. It's located next to the U.T. Football Stadium (which is tough to miss) and houses many fine exhibits.

The main exhibits are the aforementioned Hall of Geology and Paleontology (dinosaurs, fossils, meteorites), the Great Hall (gems, Pterosaur skeleton), the Hall of Texas Wildlife (local fish, nocturnal animals, dioramas) and the Hall of Biodiversity (evolution, DNA, viruses).

The Texas National Science Center is yet another great place to learn about the history of the state and the admission fee is super sweet.

Town Lake Trail

2008-07-27T18:14:00.001-05:00

We decided to check out a different section of the Town Lake Trail. We usually stick to the area between Barton Creek and the Congress Avenue Bridge, but today we started at MoPac and looped around at the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge. It turned out to be a little over three miles. On the left is a photo from the area underneath the MoPac bridge. It looks like some type of game that marries water polo with kayaks, po-yak? kaya-lo? wat-ka-lo-yaking? Whatever it is, I'm sure this sport has an awesome name. Looks like fun.

On the north side of the lake we walked by the massive Austin High School campus with it's fields upon fields of various sports. While some parts of the trail are wide open and can be quite hot in the midday sun, there were also many parts that were well shaded and surrounded by trees. We eventually came to the pedestrian bridge and followed it around to Zilker Park. The photo on the right is a view from the bridge over Barton Creek. The bridge in the distance is Barton Springs Road.

At the corner of Zilker Park there is a cool place called Lou Neff Point Gazebo. Sadly, my pal Wikipedia let me down when I looked for info on Mister Neff but the City Of Austin homepage filled the void. According to the site: "Named for Lou Neff, who served alongside Lady Bird Johnson as a member of the Town Lake Beautification Committee, this scenic overlook is one of the most popular and beautiful areas in the city."

Snakes 101

2008-07-17T22:41:00.000-05:00

When we visited the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center last week I noticed that they have Nature Nights every Thursday in July. This week the subject was snakes, and Heather loves snakes, so off we went. The parking lot was packed so we had to park on the La Crosse cul-de-sac. After a short walk, we arrived at the center and paid our buck.

We caught the 8pm presentation in the auditorium. Snake expert Dr. Travis LaDuc gave a great talk and brought along a few of his scaly friends. Travis is the Assistant Curator of Herpetology at the Texas Natural History Museum at U.T. and his love of snakes was infectious. We are looking forward to visiting the university museum now to see more. Next week, the Nature Nights at the Wildflower Center will have a presentation on birds of prey.

Red touches black, friend of Jack

Red touches yellow, kill a fellow

Dan touches snake, poop he'll make

Chile On The Patio

2008-07-15T21:36:00.003-05:00

Another Austin landmark, another dandy dinner. The Shady Grove is no stranger to hype, in a town full of patio-dining, it is one of the kings (perhaps it is the Wikipedia of patio-dining). Could it possibly live up to all the praise? Are you really that much cooler for dining under that big old tree? Who am I to judge?

One of their signature items are the Green Chili Fries, crispy fries topped with green chili sauce and queso. Yeah, they were a little soggy, but they are truly good. But the food isn't really the point, the reason people come to Shady Grove is for the patio. It's a nice patio, the huge trees offer up some nice shade and the atmosphere is relaxing. Is the food good? No complaints here.

Trifecta Of Goodness

2008-07-14T22:18:00.000-05:00

Three huuuuuuuge accomplishments today! (Note: photos "borrowed" from the JNB Diary blog)

First, we picnicked in Zilker Park. We packed up some burgers, corn and fixings and commandeered a table in the shade with access to a grill. The previous tenants had had quite the party. Our intuitive CSI-like skills revealed that it had been an oyster bake with hot sauce, Heinekens and cigarettes. It could have also been that they left all the remnants behind. After the unfortunate task of cleaning up the mess, we had a fine pic-a-nic.

Next, we braved the frigid depths of Barton Springs Pool. At 68 degrees it takes a while to acclimate the more sensitive areas but it's most excellent once your breathing regulates. As a bonus I got to check out the open-air changing slash bath room. Straight out of Roman times minus the vomitorium.

To complete the trifecta, we saved the best for last. After a few times of eating the infamous Salt Lick at the airport, we finally made it to the motherland. Sorry but I cannot put it into words and the photo to your left brings tears to my eyes upon each and every viewing. Go there. Now.

Austin Nature & Science Center

2008-07-12T18:09:00.003-05:00

Not more than a mile from our humble abode is the Austin Nature & Science Center. We decided to walk and soon found ourselves staring at a bobcat. Of course the bobcat was in a cage, but cool nonetheless. Also present was a wily coyote, a red-tailed hawk, a pair of frolicking raccoons and a few other assorted local fauna. While small, the center is pretty nice and the pond area, which features the Eco-Detective Trail and the new Dino Pit Exhibit, is a cool reuse of an old gravel pit.

Lady Bird Wildflower Center: No Wildflowers But Still Plenty To See

2008-07-11T19:42:00.004-05:00

Lady Bird Johnson died on July 11th of 2007 and to honor her memory, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center offered free admission today. Some Wikipedia wisdom: Lady Bird Johnson and actress Helen Hayes founded the National Wildflower Research Center in 1982 to protect and preserve North America's native plants and natural landscapes. Officially renamed Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in 1998, the mission of the center has been to increase the sustainable use and conservation of native wildflowers, plants and landscapes.

While this is not wildflower season, there was still plenty to see as the center is just beautifully designed and laid out. There's lots of water features, winding paths and the architecture is very nice and natural looking. There was also a nice assortment of reptiles and amphibians which I documented below:

Beauty And The Beast Of A Crowd

2008-07-10T23:24:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago while out for a walk on the Barton Creek Greenbelt, we decided to check out the beginning of Beauty & The Beast to see if it would be worth coming back to see in the future. This is the 50th year of summer productions at the Zilker Hillside Theatre and while it was opening week, it wasn't too busy. We were impressed that everything was live, no taped music and no lip-syncing. Since we had walked and it was getting dark, we decided to come back to check it out.

So tonight was the night and I guess either the news got out or people are just looking harder to find free entertainment. Whatever the case, the hillside was paaaaaaaaaaaaaacked.

We got there a half hour before showtime and the above photo shows the best seat we could find. Obscured views, tons of people and more people arriving. Even though the singing was good and the choreography was well done, we decided to leave at intermission because it was just too hard to see. Also, remember that this was a Thursday night, weekends must be insanity.

Lake Travis? I'll Pass

2008-07-10T19:17:00.001-05:00

Perhaps it was all the hype. Perhaps I just don't care much for lakes. Perhaps I am just a party poopster. Perhaps I just overused the word perhaps. Whatever the case, I did not find the Lake Travis area to be pretty. Sure the water is a nice color and you can't go wrong with the rock slash water combo, but it just didn't do it for me.

Maybe we just chose the wrong section to get a view of the lake. We went to the Mansfield Dam Park and had a hard time finding a shady spot. The beach was rocky and the scene on the water was that of personal watercraft and their high-pitched whines. I did see a wakeboarding boat launched but they had to look for calmer waters so I didn't even get to see any action.

Good day to sail

If you're into slicing up water with no true purpose and

creating noise pollution then Lake Travis is for you.

Show Love For Umlauf (Just Pretend That It Rhymes)

2008-07-10T18:59:00.002-05:00

After a Chuy-tastic lunch of Tex-Mex viddles, we hoofed it over to the Umlauf Sculpture Garden. While the grounds are not overly impressive and the cost is a tad high for the size of the place, it is still a decent enough stroll. The home of many of Charles Umlauf's sculptures reside here in a tranquil garden setting.

Wikipedia, the true king of all media, has this to say: In 1985, Charles and Angeline Umlauf donated their home, studio, and 168 Umlauf sculptures to the City of Austin. Six years later, in 1991, the city built a museum to display the artwork on adjoining city property with private funds. Volunteers staff and maintain the museum using donated funds, while Austin's Parks and Recreation Department maintains the xeriscaped (fancy pants way of saying they use as little water as possible) garden.

Is the Hill Country Galleria Really Considered Austin? aka Do People Really Spend $2,000 A Month To Rent Apartments There?

2008-07-08T23:17:00.000-05:00

So very sorry for the super-longified title but it had to be done. Yes, the Galleria is nice and it is enjoyable to walk around in a mall where you can get run over by a car at any second. Plus you don't have to worry about crowds (because there are none!) or having to lug around bags of merchandise (because you can just stop at Barton Square Mall en route and buy what you need at all the same stores).

I should also mention that the Hill Country Galleria is quite far from Austin. I guess if you live in and around Lake Travis it isn't too far but then I don't think that should be considered Austin either. I've driven through Lakeway and um, I just don't get it. I guess for all the people who's primary goal is to have more and better stuff than everyone around them, the Galleria is perfect. Plus it will keep them out of the downtown area so everybody wins.

We ate dinner at the somewhat famous Rosie's Tamale House which is right down the road from the Galleria. The salsa was great and the tamales were good. Not much ambience, a big room with cheap decor. It is what it is, nothing more and nothing less.

Hamilton Pool Preserve

2008-07-08T22:12:00.000-05:00

We made the trek up to Hamilton Pool Preserve today. Wow. What a great place. According to my good bud Wikipedia, it is a natural pool that was created when the dome of an underground river collapsed due to massive erosion thousands of years ago. Sounds terrifyingly awesome.

Under normal circumstances the waterfall spans 45 feet but, since it has been so dry this year, it was more of a trickle in spots kind of thing. Impressive nonetheless. The shot to the right shows the dome in all it's glory. After spending some time here we hiked about a mile to the Pedernales River.

Bonnell Like Bottle Or Bonnell Like Chanel Or Bonnell Like Toe Nail

2008-07-07T19:53:00.001-05:00

However you pronounce it, Mount Bonnell offers a nice view of the city, the university, Lake Austin and the fancy-pants houses that line it. According to the demigod Wikipedia, it has been a popular picnicking and tourist spot since the mid-1800s and has an Everest-like elevation of 780 feet above sea level.

According to legend, (and Wikipedia, therefore it's true) Mount Bonnell was once called Antoinette's Leap, after a young woman who leaped to her death to avoid capture from Native Americans that killed her fiance. To me, whatever happened in the past is old news, I'm all about the here and now. So here's some pics right now:

Big Sky Over Austin

Zoom It In

Looking Good U.T.

Rich People Have Nice Shit

Freedom Isn't Free, It's A Hefty Farkin Fee

2008-07-04T23:44:00.001-05:00

We planned ahead for the big Fourth of July extravaganza down at Auditorium Shores. With an expected crowd of over 100,000 peeps and my estimate of free parking within walking distance at around 97 spots, we decided to drop off a vehicle in a strategic location earlier in the day. The bonus move was to stock the parked car with all the folding chairs and other assorted festival-attending needs.

Around 7:30 we caught the bus and took it to the corner of Lamar and Barton Springs. We grabbed our gear out of the previously stashed car and hiked down to Auditorium Shores to find a decent spot. The main area where the vendors were set up across from the Long Center was paaaaaaaaacked so we opted to set up in the area in front of the Palmer Events Center. We could still hear the symphony from there thanks to the speakers that were set up all over.

Imagine our delight when the fireworks began and we had some how chosen the most perfect location ever. They were shooting them up directly in front of us.

The only wrench in the operation came when we tried to vacate the parking lot. After 15 minutes of sitting in a clusterfluster, Heather manned up and displayed some traffic-cop skills and freed the log jam. Free at last, free at last. Happy Birthday Mer-kah, here's my buck-oh-five.

New Apartment, Now Featuring Furniture

2008-06-30T17:39:00.001-05:00

We have been in Austin for a little over a month now and have settled into a nice rhythm. We have explored a lot and there's still so much to see. We've kept busy and are living a much healthier lifestyle than we were in New Jersey. Lots more walking, hiking, biking and, gasp, even some jogging. As hard as it is to believe, the fitness in this town is contagious.

We've also outfitted our apartment nicely, at least we think, and have created a comfortable home in our new town. Here are some pics to show our progress:

Keep Austin's Festivals Hot

2008-06-28T21:07:00.000-05:00

We have partaken (partook?) in so many free events in Austin that we felt it was time to give back. So we volunteered to help with the Keep Austin Weird Festival. The bonus was that we would get free admission and receive stellar staff shirts. The anti-bonus would be that we would have to actually do stuff and be friendly about it. Nothing is truly free right? So we man up and prepare to do our duty, give back to the people and support our lovely city.

We arrive and don our spiffy staff shirts and are sent back to the hospitality tent. There we sit for a while, trying to appear hospitable, until we are reassigned to the runner's village. In this unshaded area we find that roughly 6,000 t-shirts need to be folded and placed into 6,000 bags with 6,000 samples of runner candy.

Me and my handy work

(Yes, another photo used without permission)

After a few hours of prepping the bags the runners started pouring into the area. Mayhem ensued, but in the end the job was completed without too many casualties. We spent the final hour of the festival sitting in the grass and watching Alejandro Escovedo. Afterward, we went to Pluckers on South Lamar and had the finest buffalo wings in all the land.

The Crit Is The Shit

2008-06-21T23:34:00.003-05:00

Always on the look out for free entertainment, we decided to check out the criterium (crit) bike race downtown. According to the article I read: "Crowds will be packed along the downtown streets as racers fly counterclockwise down Guadalupe, past Austin City Hall and through the 2nd street district, around the corner at Colorado, and down 4th street toward finish line on this fast 1k course." Sounds exciting right?

So we made our way to the location in time to see the women's pro race and were floored. They move fast and take the turns so tight that if you are watching from an inside corner, you could reach out and touch them. I kicked myself for not bringing my camera and shot the above photo with my cell phone. It doesn't do the race justice.

We watched the men's pro race and then made our way to the finish line to see a little of the celebration. We then headed south over the pedestrian bridge and stumbled upon a party complete with drinks and a band. We gathered that it was either a birthday party, a summer solstice party or a combination of the two. Like most things we have seen in Austin, no one seemed to mind strangers joining in. We sat and enjoyed the sights and sounds for a while.

Now imagine this bridge with a party all over it.

Oh yeah, and it's dark

...and solsticey

Got it? Pretty sweet right?

Third Thursday At The Blanton

2008-06-19T20:15:00.001-05:00

There are so many free things in Austin that depend on the day and time of month, you need a dayplanner to keep up with the first this and third that and what's where and where's what. Lucky for us, we've kept it pretty straight thus far. So we chose this day, being the third thursday, to visit the Blanton Museum of Art. While the Blanton is free on EVERY Thursday, the THIRD Thursday they also stay open late. Got it?

According to my good friend Wikipedia (which is ALWAYS right cuz it's freakin' Wikipedia man), the Blanton Museum is the largest university museum in these United States. The 155,000 square foot facility houses over 17,000 works from Europe, Latin America and the U.S..

In layman's terms, they feature a whole lotta art from a whole lotta periods in a whole lotta space. It is quite an impressive spread and worth a look to broaden one's horizons.

Bikes Versus Dykes?

2008-06-15T22:48:00.004-05:00

What looked to be a recipe for disaster when the largest biker rally in Texas was scheduled on the same weekend as the Gay Pride Festival was loudly extinguished when both sides came together in the Pride Parade. A gaggle of large, mulletted lesbian bikers cruised the parade route on their Harleys and like most things in Austin, everything worked out in the end. Perhaps we can all get along after all (Note: I did not take the following photos and I used them without permission. Gotta love Google image search!)

Guess which group they represent

Bike Repair, Indy And The Gift Of Books

2008-06-11T20:04:00.000-05:00

Busy, busy, busy. Fitness is definately contagious in Austin. After many a walk on the hike and bike trail downtown and on the greenbelt, we decided it was time to tweak our old bikes. After some online research, I finally found a repair shop that didn't seem to snub it's nose at bikes that require a 5 year loan. J.B. at South Side Bicycle Shop is nice, knowledgable and does not think less of you if your bike is from Walmart.

After dropping off my bike, we headed over to the Alamo Drafthouse to catch Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. For those who are unaware, the Alamo Drafthouse is the coolest (and only) place we will ever see a movie in from now on. As you watch the movie, the great staff serve you a nice assortment of food and drink that you choose from an extensive menu. They have devised a system involving little slips of paper that you fill out with your order and then stick in a rail. This allows you to order at will without uttering a word. The servers have little alleys behind each row of seats that they patrol and with the theatre utilizing stadium seating, this allows them to move around without blocking your view. Innovation at it's best.

Following the movie, we headed to the Manchaca branch of the Austin Public Library system and became card-carrying citizens. We stopped at South Side Bicycle Shop afterwards and J.B. had turned my cheap, crappy bike into a sleek trail-eatting machine. We'll take Heather's bike on Friday and hopefully by next week, we will join the fitness craze.

Austin Zoo

2008-06-10T18:52:00.002-05:00

We visited the Austin Zoo today which is located waaaaaaaaaay in southwest Austin. While it is more of a wildlife rehabilitation center and a sanctuary for unwanted or rescued animals, it is still a good place to get up close and personal with big cats, monkeys. turtles and birds.

Live Comedy Goodness In The Live Music Capital

2008-06-08T11:46:00.001-05:00

Last night we paid a visit to the Velveeta Room on 6th Street. Located near the Red River intersection, it shares a building with Esther's Follies. For a $5 cover charge we were entertained by featured performer Seth Cockfield and headliner Eric Krug. Both guys were very funny, the drinks were cheap and the room was intimate. Eric recently won the Funniest Person In Austin battle royale for 2008 and showed why with his self-effacing humor. We really enjoyed the Velveeta Room.

We followed our night out with a stop at Austin's answer to the Jersey diner. The Kerbey Lane Cafe is open 24/7 and offers four locations scattered around the town. We went to the South Lamar location and had to wait about 20 minutes for a table. Around midnight we secured our spot and I had the migas while Heather had a burger with sweet potato fries. Head to head, I'd say the Austin cafe is right up there with the famed Jersey diner, definately less greasy.

First Saturday

2008-06-07T19:32:00.002-05:00

More free entertainment in Austin! On the first Saturday of each and every month, The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum has free admission from 2pm to 6pm. The museum tells the story of Texas with three floors of interactive exhibits, a special effects-laden movie, a gift shop and a cafe.

The museum serves as a great primer for us wanna-be Texans and is a great way to spend a few hours on a hot summer Saturday afternoon. The first floor features a special exhibit area that changes every few months. Currently, the "Dallas: Power & Passion On Primetime TV" exhibit is on display. On October 18th, the "Cowboys And Presidents" exhibit will begin.

There is also an IMAX theatre located at the museum. The only IMAX in Austin plays both 2D and 3D movies and the schedule is always changing with a mix of documentaries, educational and Hollywood blockbusters (that are released in the IMAX format).

On Friday evenings, there are free concerts in July and the first Friday in August. "Music Under The Star" runs from 6pm to 9pm and features Atash, Ray Wylie Hubbard, El Tule and the Austin Nights Brass Band. Admission to the museum is also free during the concerts.

Learn To Row Day

2008-06-07T19:23:00.000-05:00

So today was National Learn To Row Day. The Austin Rowing Club held an open house so we stopped by to check it out. After a brief tour and some work on the rowing simulator to teach us the basics, we were off to learn the difference between sculling (two oars, one in each hand) and sweep rowing (one oar on only one side of the boat). Then it was time for the actual boat. We got into an eight person sweep and set out under direction from the coxswain (cok-sin). Try to imagine the photo below with 8 awkward amateurs instead of a finely tuned team and you will have a partial idea of the situation.

It was a great experience and given the time and the money, I'd join the club in a second. You can't beat the views and it's always sweet when exercise is fun.

Greenbelts For Everyone

2008-06-06T14:03:00.001-05:00

Last time we hiked the Barton Creek Greenbelt we went north towards Zilker Park. Today, we decided to head south to see the sights. It is amazing how dry the creek is. So much of the riverbed is exposed. Look at the photo to the left and then try to picture it covered in water.

We came upon a local and he thoughtfully posed for me while I snapped the shot on the right. Being from Florida, I have seen my fair share of lizards but the ones here look more like iguanas than their smaller southeastern cousins. Very cool critters here in Texas.

First First Thursday

2008-06-05T23:40:00.002-05:00

We went to our first First Thursday tonight. For the uninitiated, First Thursday is a monthly event held on the first Thursday of each month. On this night, shops along South Congress stay open late and additional markets set up in assorted parking lots and the artists sell their goods. There are also plenty of live music performances and even a demonstration of capoeira, which is a blend of martial arts and dance that originated in Brazil.

Most of the shops along South Congress are eclectic, one of a kind stores that sell everything from clothing, antiques, collectables, relics, artwork and one place that sells candy and old fashioned soda-jerked drinks.

So we walked south and enjoyed the sites, turned around at Magnolia Cafe and headed back on the other side of the street. About half way up we got some Amy's Ice Cream and enjoyed it the rest of the way back. We have found so many free things to do here and this is yet another fine example of free entertainment (minus the ice cream of course) in Austin.

Remember The Alamo, Forget San Antonio

2008-06-04T22:24:00.003-05:00

The first reaction when stepping foot on the famed riverwalk in San Antonio is "Wow, this is sooooooooooo nice." It is an idyllic setting. It is both peaceful and lively, serene and spontaneous. Then you start to notice something terrible... The awful truth? The chains have taken over. Hooters, Howl At The Moon, Joe's Crab Shack, Rainforest Cafe and Starbucks to name a few. The worst offense? A gaggle of poorly-executed faux-mexican restaurants serving dreadfulness that even Taco Bell would be embarrassed.

As if the lack of original food is bad enough, try taking the riverwalk boat tour. This cheese-whiz filled trip is enough to make you want to jump off the boat and wade over to the nearest TGI Fridays for an "authentic" margarita complete with a gummy worm in the tequila bottle.

The Alamo, on the other hand, is sobering. The vibe inside the mission is eerie and the bravery these men displayed was amazing. People always say that they are surprised by how small it is but I think they somehow miss the fact that the famous part is just one building and there is an entire fort which is still pretty much in tact. It was very cool to see such a famous Texan and American landmark.

Courtney's Consummate Crepes

2008-06-02T23:34:00.001-05:00

Our birthdays happen to fall 2 days apart. Heather's is June 2nd followed by mine on the 4th. We usually try to make a weeklong celebration or trip out of it but since we have just arrived at our new home we decided to stay close and further explore the area.

On June 2nd we went tubing on the San Marcos River. The tube rental and taxi service is operated as a fund raising project by the San Marcos Lions Club. For $7 you get a tube and unlimited rides on the taxi. Most of the river is slow and relaxing and the water is a constant 72 degrees. At the end of the run there are 3 chutes on the Rio Vista Dam. An exciting end to a relaxing and scenic ride.

For dinner we went to Jeffrey's, located a little west of downtown Austin. Heather began with Wagyu Beef Carpaccio with Baby Mushrooms, Balsamic and Dijon. I started with their signature Crispy Oysters on Yucca Root Chips with Habanero Honey Aioli. I am drooling as I write this as I am reliving the tastes, sights and smells. Good stuff.

For entrees, Heather had the Duck Ravioli with Summer Vegetables and White Wine Butter Sauce and I had the Wagyu Hanger Steak with Pommes Frites and Chimichurri. While not quite as exciting as the starters, they were both very nice and the homemade yellow ketchup was a nice addition to the frites.

While I had the Valrhona Chocolate Intemperance, the signature dessert at Jeffrey's, the winner of the night goes to the Caramelized Crepes with Butter Pecan Ice Cream and Citrus Confit. Pastry chef Courtney McBroom deserves much credit for creating such a wonderful piece of art.

Dogtown USA

2008-06-01T21:51:00.004-05:00

Dogs, dogs, everywhere. One of our favorite places in Austin has become Auditorium Shores which is the park south of Lady Bird Lake between Lamar and South First. It is home to many festivals and is a designated off-leash area for dogs.

Since we do not yet have a dog of our own we like to come here to get our doggie-fix. It's great to see the variety of animals and to see them all interact. They are always so excited and act like little kids on a playground.

6th Street

2008-05-31T23:24:00.002-05:00

I bought a half price fare card from Randalls, $5 for $10 worth of rides on the Cap Metro system. Pretty sweet deal when the fare is already only 50 cents.

We decided to use the bus to visit 6th street so that we wouldn't have to deal with parking or deal with driving with a buzz. There is a bus stop right next to the entrance of our building and the southern route goes to Barton Square Mall while the northern route goes to the capitol building with stops along Congress.

This is a pic we took on our December trip, hence the decor

We caught the bus and with stops, the trip took about 20 minutes to get to the intersection of 6th Street and Congress. We strolled the area and ended up on the rooftop deck of Maggie Maes. There was a band playing downstairs and the deck allowed for hearing the music but still being able to talk. Also, people watching from this perch was great. It was funny to watch the Sex And The City fans all dressed up to go to the opening weekend release at the Alamo Drafthouse across the street.

The Alamo was serving cosmos and a special menu for the release and it looked like it was a success. For the uninitiated, the Alamo Drafthouse is only the best movie theatre ever. They many locations throughout the area serve great food and drink to you while you sit and watch the movie. The 6th Street location at The Ritz also serves liquor while the other locations only have beer and wine.

After enjoying the evening, we caught the bus for the return trip. The bus system is very clean, efficient and seems to be on time. The drivers are helpful and polite and as I mentioned above, the price cannot be beat.

Barton Creek Greenbelt

2008-05-29T22:20:00.009-05:00

Our apartment is located right next to the Barton Creek Greenbelt. The greenbelt is a hike and bike trail that begins in Zilker Park next to the Barton Springs Pool. It features sheer cliff walls, lush vegetation, waterfalls and swimming holes. This year has been abnormally dry so a lot of the creek bed is dry and most of the swimming holes are nonexistent.

We enter the trail at the Spyglass Access which is about a mile south of the Zilker Access. By bike we can get downtown in 10-15 minutes without going on a road. The cool thing is that the Greenbelt trail connects to the Town Lake trail so you can pretty much get anywhere in Austin via the trail system.

Local resident of the area

First Weekend

2008-05-26T21:58:00.003-05:00

Our first weekend as residents in Austin began Saturday morning at the Sunset Valley Farmer's Market in the parking lot of the Toney Burger Center in the southwest part of town. When we visited last December we had gone to the Austin Farmer's Market on 4th & Guadalupe and we wanted to compare the two.

While Sunset Valley is much larger, it is also much busier. To us it did not have as good of a feel as the downtown market. The quality of the produce and meats looked to be similar, as did the prices. While we like the idea of buying local and supporting the farmers directly, we still find it hard to pull the trigger because of the increased cost. We bought some golden zucchini, mushrooms and sweet onions and the total was well over ten dollars.

While we were in the area we decided to check out the Central Market in the Westgate area. The produce looked just as good or better and even here at what people like to refer to as 'Central Markup', the produce was cheaper than at either of the farmer's markets. The rest of the store was setup a little too windy for my tastes with a lot of dead ends. I may be just be an old school shopper but give me my standard supermarket grid system please. It looks like our supermarket of choice will be the Randall's on Bee Caves.

Our first weekend was stuffed full of shopping expeditions. We located our local Target, Home Depot, Target, Kohls and of course the nearest mall. It turns out that the very nice Barton Square Mall is about 2 miles from our new home, not too bad when we were used to driving 20-30 minutes to get to a mall back in New Jersey.

We also ventured north to our nearest Ikea which is in Round Rock and then we swung around to the northwest part of Austin and found a Rooms To Go. Here we found and ordered our new sofa which will arrive on Tuesday.

Thankfully, shopping wasn't the only thing we accomplished this weekend. We also found time to walk the Town Lake trail and watch the bats. Sunday evening we went to the Long Center and watched the free concert on the lawn. Every Sunday the Austin Symphony puts on a different show called Concerts In The Park. A great way to end the weekend.

Relocubes Arrive

2008-05-22T21:27:00.005-05:00

We survived the first night in our apartment without the basic necessities of 21st century life. No internet, no cable and no couch or bed. Not a single lux-ur-reeee. To show our priorities, we went out and bought a new television within a few hours of being here. Time Warner Cable will be here today along with the Relocubes. By the end of the day we should have internet, cable and a bed. Not bad for a day's work.

We got Taco Deli for our first lunch. We both got a Mole Taco (chicken with mole sauce garnished with cilantro, onion and crumbled queso fresco), and I got a Puerco Borracho taco (slow-roasted pork braised in tequila and sherry and seasoned with fresh basil and pasilla peppers) and Heather got a Mojo Fish Taco (tilapia fillet grilled with a mojo-galic sauce and garnished with our homemade guacamole and pico de gallo). Taco Deli is always voted one of the best tacos in Austin and now we know why.

The Road Trip (Day Five)

2008-05-21T17:37:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Texas! Oh wait, we still have six more hours of battling semis with a little car.

Going through the big D and I do mean Dallas

So close I can taste it.

Oh wait, that's just a piece of burger i had stuck in my tooth.

The Road Trip (Day Four)

2008-05-20T18:13:00.007-05:00

It gets hot early in Memphis. After seeing how much it cost just to park at Graceland (a lot), we didn't even bother to see how much the tour was (a lot lot lot more). We opted to check out the downtown and see what Beale Street is all about. We saw the Gibson factory, B.B. Kings and the Orpheum theatre. We also got our first glimpse of the mighty Mississippi River. It sure is muddy.

Gibson Factory in Memphis

Beale Street in Memphis

After tasty bacon and sausage biscuits from a small (closet-sized) breakfast shop, it was onward and outward to the "Natural State." I guess by natural they mean that there is NOTHING because, there is NOTHING. You want to know what we saw and did in fabulous Arkansas? NOTHING. Let me rephrase it a little bit: first there's nothing, then Little Rock, then nothing, then Texarkana.

Little Rock

70,000 miles!

Twice As Nice as what exactly?

The Road Trip (Day Three)

2008-05-19T19:52:00.007-05:00

We headed south from Louisville and soon found ourselves at the birthplace and childhood home of Abraham Lincoln. After some stumbling and cursing we finally found our way to the childhood home (photo to your left). We also eventually located Abe's birthplace which was a little more established and better marked. We visited the memorial and watched a documentary and were on our way. Luckily, around this time, we crossed over into the central time zone so we gained an hour to make up for the lost time of driving all willy nilly through the backwoods of Kentucky.

Our goal was to eat at a BBQ place in Nashville and then look around downtown but our GPS got confused and had us on a down when we should've been on an up. The down set us on a westerdly course towards Memphis so we opted to go with the flow and save Nashville for a future excursion. We stopped about an hour east of Memphis in Jackson, the home of famous train engineer Casey Jones. The Day's Inn that we stayed at was located right next door to Casey Jones Village which is listed proudly as "One of Tennessee's Top 10 Travel Attractions."

Maybe next time Nashville

The Road Trip (Day Two)

2008-05-18T18:09:00.008-05:00

After a visit to the Ohio Valley Mall for a good movie (Baby Mama) and a decent dinner (Garfield's), followed by a sleep at the Day's Inn, we were on our way in the western slash southern direction. We drove around Columbus (no photos) and straight through Cincinnati (hence the photo on the left)

Soon after, we arrived at Louisville. While it looked promising and we enjoyed the Slugger Museum, we found it impossible to find an open restaurant in downtown Louisville on a Sunday. There were some chain restaurants open in the 4th Street Live area but we were looking for a cool local downtown place and we struck out miserably. We ended up at a Beef O'Bradys near the University.

Approaching Louisville from interstate 71

The Banks Of The Ohio River In Louisville

The Road Trip (Day One)

2008-05-17T20:40:00.002-05:00

If you count New Jersey, then this was the second state that we drove through. One word to describe Pennsylvania? Long. Another, more made up word? Tunnelly. We started west on interstate 78 which led us to 81 south. We went around Harrisburg and continued west on the lovely PA Turnpike. Wikipedia says the following: "When the Pennsylvania Turnpike opened in 1940, it was the first long-distance rural highway in the United States and was popularly known as the "tunnel highway" because of the seven mountain tunnels along its route."

Here are just a few of the tunnels that we encountered and eventually spelunked (surprisingly, there is not a past tense version of spelunk so I just made up 2 words for this one post). Also, notice how varied the architecture is on the tunnel entrances:

Materialistic My Arse

2008-05-13T16:16:00.003-05:00

At this point and time, I believe I now have less possessions than I have had since being considered an adult. The car has been sold, the TV is a memory and where the furniture sat is now an empty space. Amazingly, we still need two Relocubes in order to fit all the other crap. It is really amazing how much stuff there really is when you Tetris it all together in geometric shapes.

The big road trip begins Saturday. I have booked rooms in St. Clairesville, Ohio (which is located just west of Wheeling, West Virginia), Louisville, Memphis and Texarkana. To keep the cost down we are using the Super 8 and Days Inn chains. Both are cheap and offer continental breakfasts and free wireless internet.

Back To New Jersey With A Real Deadline

2008-04-24T16:03:00.004-05:00

So we signed a lease for an apartment in Austin and we chose May 21st as our move in date. Finally we have a concrete goal. The 30 yard dumpster is here and is filling fast, the U-Pack relocubes have been ordered and the Google Calendar is filling in quickly. It is soooooo much easier when there is a final date to work towards.

I have mapped out the road trip and we have decided to not drive more than 6 hours per day. Though it is quicker to head south on 95 and then go west, I think we will go west first then south to see new states. We've been up and down interstate 95 many times and it's really not that nice of a drive.

The route I have devised will take us through Pennsylvania, West Virginia and into Ohio. In Ohio we will drive through Columbus and Cincinnati and cross over into Louisville, Kentucky. From there we will head south into Nashville then west into Memphis. In Memphis we will see the Mississippi River for the first time and drive through Arkansas to Texarkana. Finally, we will continue west to Dallas and take interstate 35 into Austin.

Pics From Austin Trip

2008-04-19T19:51:00.004-05:00

Vegetation on Congress Avenue

View of downtown from the town lake trail

Interesting landscaping on the trail

Friday afternoon concert at city hall

A New Home

2008-04-16T15:25:00.001-05:00

After looking at various apartments in the 78704 zip code we ended up right next door in the 78746 area. We found a great location right on the Barton Greenbelt about a mile south of Zilker Park and the Barton Springs Pool. Though they had apartments in the price range we were looking for, we opted for the next size up for a little more. The complex has just been taken over by a new company so they are renovating the units one building at a time. Because of this, the first month is rent free!

The red balloon with an 'A' marks the location of the apartment

Here are some photos:

Living Room

Kitchen

Bedroom

View From The Balcony

Trip Number Dos

2008-04-01T19:37:00.002-05:00

So we are visiting Austin again and this time it's personal.

We will be there for a week and priority number one is to find an apartment. After some serious online research we have decided on a rental agency named Austin Cool (www.austincool.com). We really liked their laid back, yet detailed web site and contacted them to set up an appointment.

We will have a car this time so once we find the perfect apartment we can then search and locate all the amenities to get a feel for our new neighborhood.

Very exciting.

Damn The Torpedos, A Date Is Set

2008-03-25T13:09:00.002-05:00

Life ain't worth living if you don't take risks.

We came to realize that this new life in Austin needed a swift kick in the arse. Without a set date it is impossible to set the dominoes in place. Without a date set it is hard for prospective employers to take you seriously. Without a date set, the train does not budge.

So we picked the perfectly lovely Spring date of May 15th.

Let me tell you, once a date is set things actually do start rolling. The list-making has reached a furious pace. We have made contact with an apartment finding service and have set up a mid-April trip to hopefully find an apartment. We have also decided to use a pod-type pack and move company and after getting quotes from many companies we have settled on a company called uPack.

We have also mapped out the route for the long drive from New Jersey to Texas. Instead of total and complete torture of driving non-stop, we have decided to take our time and actually see a few places along the way. The route we decided on will take us through Louisville, Nashville, Memphis and Dallas and will take 4 days to complete. This actually should work out because the delivery of the moving pod is scheduled to take 5 days.

Though it is a little nerve-racking to finally have a date, it is also very liberating. It's real now.

Organization Is The Key

2008-03-19T12:58:00.002-05:00

Obviously the key to a successful move is organization. And the key to organization is creating, editing and sharing lists. Lists of things to do, lists of when to do them and even lists of all the lists. We started this the old fashioned way by utilizing Office Word but soon came to the realization that sharing and syncing becomes an issue.

Thank you Google for Google Docs.

Now we can both work on a particular list at the same time and even have the added joy of battling to see whose formatting wins the revision war. Also, upon perusal of the Google arsenal I created a shared calendar to keep track of all the important move-related dates.

Now all we need are jobs...

Waiting...

2008-02-18T11:01:00.003-06:00

So this is the part where we wait...

It has been awhile since the last post and there is a good reason for that: nothing has happened. That may be a bit dramatic so I will change that to nothing big has happened. Sure we have been applying for jobs and I even had a telephone interview. Problem is, they wanted someone who was actually in Austin and would be available to start in a few days. I am starting to wonder if it will be possible to get a job without actually being there first.

So on to the progress that we have made. There has been a flurry of cleaning, throwing away and Ebaying taking place. Both of us filled a 30 gallon garbage bag each of old clothes to donate to the Salvation Army. Also, endless papers, magazines and less important mementos have been tossed with extreme prejudice. On a more lucrative side, I have found that there are some amazing items that one can sell on Ebay. I actually sold an old Playbill from the Broadway show 'Mamma Mia!' for over ten dollars. Suffice it to say I have since inundated Ebay with all kinds of crap hoping for similar dividends.

I guess that is a positive as less to move will be beneficial in the long run. Hopefully, there will be some positive news on the job front in the near future.

Time To Get A Move On

2008-01-01T22:39:00.001-06:00

As the new year dawns it brings with it the excitement of knowing that this is the year that we will be making the big move. If everything goes as planned, we should be celebrating the next new years in Austin. In the meantime, there is a lot to accomplish.

We have initially set the time frame for a mid-April move. The next step is to begin the job search and while we casually searched for openings in December, it is time to start looking in earnest. It is also time to create a basic time line:

January

Find and apply to jobs that fit our needs

February

Decide on moving arrangements (truck, pod, etc)

Arrange trip to Austin for interviews

March

Start the search for an apartment

Sell my vehicle

Finalize moving arrangements

Arrange trip to Austin for interviews/apartment hunting

April

Sign lease on an apartment

Move

While this is obviously a loose time line, I feel it is important to get something in place. It is a good starting point and will become more fleshed out as the details are worked out.

Other Places We Considered

2007-12-18T22:02:00.001-06:00

Before we decided that Austin was the place to be we researched some other places. Some were places that we had visited and liked, others were places we researched online. The following are some of the places and the thoughts we have on them.

Chicago - We visited Chicago last July (2006) and loved it. The food was amazing (as you will notice we put a heavy emphasis on food), the museums were excellent, the aquarium was great and the parks and lake were beautiful. We had a great time on the pier, checked out the deep dish at Gino's, went to the top of the Sear's Tower and took a boat tour up the river. Some how, this large city maintains a small town feel that we really liked. The obvious negatives are reasons why we won't be moving there any time soon: Way too expensive and way too cold in the winter.

Baltimore - Charm City is the place the people in the article about starter cities chose and we had the chance to check it out this summer (2007). While we loved the harbor and the proximity of Camden Yards, we were not too comfortable with the vagrants. We stayed in a hotel by the baseball park and the walk from there to the harbor was definitely sketchy.

Celebration - Celebration is a new town in Florida that was designed by Disney. It is a planned town based on new urbanism with a projected population of 20,000. The draw of this town is that the downtown relies heavily on mixed-use zoning which means that there are living spaces above commercial spaces. That is of major importance to me as I want to be able to walk from my home to a store. The negative of Celebration is the high price and the fact that there is no grocery or hardware store within the city limits.

Orlando - Downtown Orlando has been going through a resurgence and is primed to become a vibrant city at some point. The problem is that it isn't there yet and still feels disjointed. It just does not have the cohesive qualities that a great city needs. Plus, it is quite expensive to be in the desirable areas.

Louisville - This is a city that came up a lot on the online quizzes that we took. It really looks like an up and coming city and will eventually be a cool place to live. Though I may be wrong, I just do not feel like it is there yet.

Raleigh - My girlfriend went to school at NC State so we had some time to evaluate Raleigh and the surrounding areas (Durham, Cary, etc). The biggest negative was the lack of culture in the city and it was just too southern for our tastes.

Des Moines / Minneapolis / Boise - All these cities kept coming up on the online quizzes we took and we dismissed them based solely on winter conditions.

The Trip - Sunday & Monday

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Sunday morning we started the day with the 'Tour Of The Town' bus tour that Capital Metro offers on weekends. For the amazing price of one dollar, the bus takes you to all the major Austin landmarks. You can get on and off as you please for the entire day.

We caught the northbound bus at 2nd & Congress and headed up to the Capitol building. This is one impressive pink building and here's a fancy factoid: the dome of the Capitol building stands seven feet higher than that of the nation's Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Next we walked up to the University area to check out the Drag. This is the portion of Guadalupe next to the school and home to many unique stores and restaurants. We chose a sandwich shop called Potbelly Sandwich Works. We thought it was a local chain but it turns out it's national. It was still a really good and spicy sandwich so it worked out.

After lunch we rejoined the bus tour and got views of the home of the Texas Longhorns and the birthplace of the Hook'em Horns. The football stadium is pretty impressive and it looks like they're adding some fancy new luxury suites for next season. We like going to sporting events and were initially concerned that there are no pro teams in the area but I think we could get our fix from this team.

The bus headed south after a tour of the school and finally ended up at Zilker Park. It just so happened that this was the first night of the Zilker Trail Of Lights so we stuck around and waited for dark.

After the marching band, Santa Claus entrance, formal introductions and sponsor thank yous (it's free to enter), the general public was allowed to check out the mile long trail of 41 holiday scenes. It was most definitely an impressive light display and I'd even say it was worth the wait. Also impressive was the chicken tamale we gobbled up from one of the vendors in Christmas Village.

We caught a bus out of the park and found our way to Stubb's for dinner. Stubb's is located on Red River and for the first and only time while in Austin, we were in an area (north of Stubb's on Red River) that felt a little sketchy. The dinner was good and we walked back on the famous 6th Street strip.

On Monday we walked around downtown and had lunch at the Austin Java Cafe on 2nd Street. Afterwards we walked around some more and then packed up and caught the bus for the airport. Since we weren't able to get to Salt Lick, the most famous BBQ joint in Austin, we decided to give their airport outlet a shot. Wow, that is some goooooooooooooood barbecue. I think it's important to add that even the airport has some of the flavor and vibe of Austin.

It was a great trip, all the meals were good to excellent and the feel of the city agreed with us. We really like how the green areas of the city are so accessible, you can literally go from city streets to wooded trails in a matter of seconds. We also loved how active everyone seems to be, hopefully it is addictive. The dog-friendliness is another plus and the mass transit system worked very well and is extremely cheap.

The Trip - Friday & Saturday

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We arrived at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport Friday evening and, after getting our luggage, we were greeted by temps in the 70s. We saw the Cap Metro bus and high tailed it to the door and paid our fare (50 cents each). 20 minutes later we were dropped off around 6th & Congress and walked the few blocks south to the Radisson.

Once we got checked in and settled we headed back out to Congress and made a left on 2nd street to see the new high-end district that's being built. The mixed-use 2nd Street District will soon be home to many expensive high-rise condos, lofts and apartments with fancy shops and restaurants at ground level. Some stuff is completed and we decided to eat at a new barbecue place called Lambert's.

The smell of the smoked meat was ridiculous and the food was fantastic. It was an excellent and, I think, relatively authentic first meal in Austin. I recommend the brisket and the cauliflower au gratin. After dinner we walked around a little bit and then called it a night.

Saturday morning we made the trek to 4th & Guadalupe to check out the Austin Farmer's Market. One of the things we really crave in a new town is the ability to shop at a farmer's market for fresh, local produce. The cool thing about this market is that, in order to sell an item, you have to be the one who made/grew it. The market had all kinds of meat, fresh bread, crafts, cheeses and even cooking demonstrations. We tried some organic prickly pear pink drink that was light and refreshing.

After the market we headed to the Whole Foods on 6th & Lamar. This really is an Austin must-see. The place is huuuuge and they even have an ice skating rink set up with skating Santas.

We headed south from there across the pedestrian bridge and made a right on Barton Springs Road. Though all the restaurants we walked by smelled great, we figured we had to try out Chuy's so, after a brief wait, we were sat and had a fine burrito and enchilada.

Next stop was up to the Barton Springs Pool. We passed many kayakers as we walked the path up the springs and saw lots of joggers and bicyclists. We both remarked that this town seems very, very active and made vows to join in on the craze if and when we get here. Not surprisingly for the time of year, the pool was empty but there was a puppy just north of the pool splashing around in the water.

After the pool we stayed on the path and looped back around along Town Lake (aka Lady Bird Lake, aka the Colorado River). We came to Auditorium Shores and were amazed at the number of dogs. I had read that Austin was very dog friendly and has many leash-free zones but to see one packed with dogs was quite a site. It was great to see all the dogs running around in and out of the water and just having a great time. You could actually see the smiles on their little dog faces.

Next stop was the South Congress shopping district known as Soco. This is where all the eclectic shops are and is ground zero for the 'Keep Austin Weird' motto. We browsed the shops and had an authentic soda-jerked Dr. Pepper from the old time candy store. There are definitely some cool shops, bars and coffee shops here and the whole area had a cool vibe. We decided to head back down at night for dinner at Magnolia Cafe with an ulterior motive of paying a visit to Amy's Ice Cream.

Step Two: Recon

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The second step to bringing this plan to fruition is to see if we actually LIKE Austin. There's only so much information one can gather from internet research and the time has come for some old fashioned, hard nosed research. A long weekend should be enough to get the basic vibe of the city and to check out the lay of the land. The trip is set for the second weekend of December.

We have chosen the Radisson Hotel because of it's location. We will be relying on public transportation via Capital Metro both from the airport and to get around town. Though I've read some complaints about the mass transit I think it will work out, plus the bus fares are insane. 50 cents gets you from point A to point B and a dollar gets you an all day pass. Plus they run a special 'Tour The Town' route on weekends for tourists which stops at all the must-see locations.

Step One: Research

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After deciding on Austin, it was time for some heavy duty internet research. Getting the lay of the land was easy enough, there's a river (Town Lake) that cuts the city in half (north and south) and an interstate (I-35) that divides it the other way (west and east). The downtown is in the northwest quadrant, the so-called 'seedy' area is in the northeast, the hip and 'real' area is the southwest and the airport is in the southeast.

The best site that I discovered is the Austin forum on city-data.com. This site contains a wealth of information from people who live in Austin and from other people who are moving to Austin. With this site and others, I started to put together a mental image of the area and I began to get a feel of the kind of place it is.

The next step is to pay Austin a visit to see what all the hype is about.

What This Blog Will Be About

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I have created this blog to document my move from the suburbs of New Jersey to Austin, Texas. The move will be made by myself and my girlfriend and is currently planned to take place in the first half of 2008. The reason for this online diary is, first and foremost, to document the journey for future reflection and secondly, to hopefully help other people who plan a similar relocation in the future.

Why do we want to move from the comfort of our friends, family and everything we know to the total unknown? For the adventure! Well, that's not completely true. The fact is, it costs a ton of money to live in central New Jersey. We live in Hunterdon County and it is one of the most expensive places to live in the country.

According to wikipedia:
Hunterdon County ranks as the 13th among the highest-income counties in the United States with a per capita income of $36,370. It ranks third among U.S. counties for household income according to the most recent U.S. Census. Hunterdon County's median household income was $93,342, behind only Fairfax and Loudoun Counties in Virginia. As of 2005, Hunterdon had the third-highest median property tax of any county in the nation at $6,988, the highest in New Jersey.

Basically, it costs over $300,000 to buy a fixer upper in this area. Even with the recent real estate slump, the deals are few.

Another factor that led to this momentous plan was an article on MSN.com called 'Getting ahead in a starter city.' This article was basically the instigator that started us on this path to Austin. We started finding and taking all the best places to live quizzes online and, of course, they usually led to different answers. We kept at it and started compiling a list of places that sounded good, we wanted somewhere warm (which narrows the field down a TON), we wanted somewhere urban but safe (also narrows things down) and most importantly, we wanted somewhere that was unique and had it's own thing going on. The obvious answer was Austin.