Monday was our last day in Austin and we decided to get out of the city to explore Texas a little more. As clique as it sounds, we only saw one cowboy hat in the city (and it was more like a cowboy hat sombraro - a cowbraro? - on a Mexican construction worker). I don't think that really counts. Andi said Austin wasn't the Texas he pictured so we decided to change that by heading into "Hill Country." The evening before, Andi hooked up a ride from our hotel's shuttle van driver when he went to grab take-out and asked for some good spots to see while we were in town. Here's a tip: NEVER TRUST THE SHUTTLE VAN DRIVER. We learned this the hard way.
The shuttle van driver recommended we check out Lake Travis. "It's the most beautiful blue water you'll ever see" he told Andi. Lake Travis is about an hour outside Austin and we thought this sounded like the perfect outside-of-town adventure before our afternoon flight home. The shuttle van driver also recommended Salt Lick BBQ, "the best in the country," he said. Lake Travis, BBQ for lunch = perfect.
After breakfast at our hotel, Andi and I loaded Tory into our rental car and headed out of town. Almost immediately, Tory fell asleep in the car which was perfect timing for her morning nap. Andi and I enjoyed each other's conversation on the drive. The sun was shining, all was lovely. As we pulled into the Lake Travis State Park area, I noticed the area looked a little "dry" if you will. There were cactus plants along the road and I swear I might have even seen a tumbleweed. There were definitely no cars around. We pulled up to Lake Travis only to find a small pond. Apparently the beautiful, blue lake is a little low in the off-season. In fact, I think it might be fed by an aquifer. Uh ....
Andi was bound and determined to find a trail to hike along so we drove around for a half-hour or more, looking for a road that wasn't closed! We finally found a small trail and parked the car on the side of the road. I loaded Tory into the Baby Bjorn and we started walking. It seriously felt like a scene from Breaking Bad. We stopped and took some photos with Tory and the cactus plants so our trip wasn't a total waste. Proof she made it to Texas.
After our little stroll along the dirt road, we loaded Tory back into the car and headed back to Austin. Of course our return drive couldn't possibly be as peaceful as our earlier one; Tory screamed her head off the entire way back to the city. Oh my, that child does not like her car seat. If there's one lesson you'd think we would've learned by now, it's that one.
We scratched lunch at the BBQ restaurant (good thing too, as we later realized it was a chain restaurant which was ALSO AVAILABLE IN THE AIRPORT!) (see previous note about not taking advice from shuttle van drivers!). After listening to Tory cry for an hour, I told Andi to hurry up and find food SOMEWHERE and make it snappy. He hit up another food truck court and came back with Korean French Fries and street tacos. Whatever. We took our lunch to-go and headed to Texas' Capitol building to have a picnic lunch in the grass. As soon as we took Tory out of her car seat, she was perfectly content to lay on a blanket under a shady tree. Little stinker...
In desperate need of a nap, we loaded Tory back into the car after lunch and decided to drive around for a bit. The poor, exhausted baby promptly fell asleep in her car seat as soon as we drove away from the Capitol. In an effort to kill time, we found ourselves driving around downtown Austin so Tory could get in a little snooze. At one point, Andi drove down the wrong-way on a one way street directly in front of a police officer. We got pulled over so, you know, that was fun. Thankfully the cop gave us a warning after he discovered we were from out of town and simply made a mistake. As friendly of a place we found Austin to be, I will say the town's streets aren't marked very well!
Still killing time while the baby slept in the car, we found ourselves driving through residential neighborhoods and even by the city's water treatment plant. "When we come to town, we leave no stone left unturned," I told Andi. "We want to see EVERYTHING!" Good lord. Eventually if you can believe it, we found ourselves driving around the outskirts of Lake Travis once again before finally deciding to call it a day and head to the airport. GAH.
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I'm so thankful Andi and I jumped on the chance to visit Austin, as we really did have a lovely time. Most of all, I enjoyed spending quality time together and laughing (mostly) until my cheeks hurt. I feel so lucky sometimes, living the life I do, with an incredible man by my side and my gorgeous baby girl to share the journey. Next time though, I think we'll leave little Tory Bean at home.
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