We settled in quickly and our good friends Teresa and Tom popped over to pick us up. They had lived in Austin for many years before moving to Chicago and they came out to meet up with us and give us an insider's perspective on the area. They turned out to be awesome tour guides/city hosts and we would not have had the same experience without their expertise.
After lunch at Shady Grove where we tried the iconic chili cheese fries and prounced them excellent, we headed up to Mt Bonnell. There is a parking area at the base and about 100+ rock steps leading up to the summit. Once up there the view is spectacular, overlooking the Colorado River far below, the Austin skyline and some mighty high end houses along the river.
I wish I had better pictures but it was really difficult to get any perspective at all on such a huge panorama. After spending some time at the top of Mt Bonnell we headed back down and after a scenic tour of some of the area highlights we went to the Oasis for drinks and the famous sunset views over Lake Travis.
According to my local expert, the Oasis had been an Austin institution - a funky little place with tiered wood decks built onto a cliff. A number of years ago, the place burned down and what rose from the ashes unfortunately bears little resemblance to the original. The new structure is sort of a gaudy, pseudo-European ode to excess. It is huge and sprawling and absolutely none of the original "funkiness" survives. Obviously very sad for someone who fondly remembers it the way it was.
Luckily, the famous sunset view survives and it did not disappoint.
We passed a pleasant afternoon in the beautiful weather and later headed to Rudy's BBQ and gas station for dinner. Yep, gas station. Luckily much of the "weirdness" that Austin residents are proud of lives on in places like Rudy's.
On Thursday we started out with lunch at Chuy's, another great little place a short walk from our RV park. We later drove through the downtown area where our friends pointed out many of the Austin landmarks, including the beautiful Capitol dome, the view of which from a couple of streets out appears perfectly framed by surrounding structures.
We later stopped for happy hour at the Hula Hut - if there is a tiki bar, you know this group will find it!
Unfortunately, our perfect weather was not going to last and the dire predictions of a "wintery mix" for Thursday evening into Friday morning were quickly becoming a reality. In the interest of safety, we called it a night early so that everyone could get back home before things got really hairy.
The next morning brought all-out weather Armageddon to Austin with black ice encrusted roads with numerous collisions and spin outs, but luckily none of us needing to be on the road. We were happy to wait things out and by the afternoon the roads had improved to the point where we were able to get back on track with our plan, which was to head for Luckenback.
Luckenback! What an amazing experience. It was truly like a step back in time, but this one is reality and not any kind of re-creation of history. We pulled into "town" which is no more than a handful of old wooden structures and this history geek was pretty much blown away.
Hmmm...does it look like Bill misses the Post Office? In any case, this was like no post office anywhere that I've ever seen. Upon stepping through the door, you find that it is also the general store. Continuing through the store into the bar room in the back we could hear old time Texas guitar picking. There is a large iron stove in the center of the approximately 12x12 room with a rough wooden bench and a couple of bar stools. We took seats on the bench and spent the next couple of hours soaking it all in.
The musician that was playing when we got there (wish I'd noted his name) continued on for about another hour and then was replaced by the legendary Chris Wall, who we had actually come to see. For me, I felt that Chris's songs were the last piece that I needed to put me totally into that old time Texas mode. He was an amazing entertainer as well, joking and story-telling between every song. We all chatted and got to know him better during the break and after the show and he is definitely someone we hope to see again. Can't wait to listen to my autographed CD.
For me, Luckenbach was an enchanted place. The stories those old wooden boards could tell...
Saturday morning I joined Teresa and Tom at their old dog training club and got to see a few of the obediance trials. Very interesting to see the different levels of training and so many beautiful dogs. The focus is mostly on German Shepherds but there was a tiny little chocolate lab puppy just along for the ride that stole my heart. Bill had stayed home to attend to a few home chores (and kill some computer zombies!) and we all got together later for dinner before heading to the Saxon Pub to see Del Castillo, Tom's favorite Austin band. They are a Latin rhythm and rock band and they really rocked the place. Lots of high energy and amazing guitar playing with a very different sound from typical bar bands.
After the show we stopped by the Broken Spoke, another Austin must-see. It was very crowded so we didn't stay long but at least we got to see it. We then continued on to 6th Street and walked up and down for a while, just to get the pulse of that area. We were pretty much the only ones over 25 there - this is a college town - so we didn't even stop anywhere but we had to experience it. We did pop into the Driskill Hotel, built in 1885 and reputedly haunted. The hotel is beautiful and we wandered around for awhile, into an open ballroom and then out onto a balcony.
Sunday morning we set off bright and early for Gruene, TX, the site of the famous Gruene Hall. Gruene Hall is the oldest dance hall in Texas and like Luckenback, so packed with history.
Many musical greats have played on the stage at Gruene Hall, names like Willie Nelson, Merle Haggerd, George Strait and many, many more. It's just exactly like it always was - no tourist traps here. There aren't even hotels in town, just a bed and breakfast for anyone wanting to stay right in the tiny town. Otherwise, accomodations can be found in neighboring New Braunfels.
There were two different bands playing on Sunday, beginning with Slim Bawb. This was a trio that played their own music, Louisiana Cajun zydeco as well as Texas country blues. The second band was the South Austin Moonlighters, who played a few covers as well as a lot of their original stuff. Both were really good and we all enjoyed the Gruene Hall experience. What a fun place.
During a break, I took the opportunity to get outside in the warm sunshine (Armageddon had given way to much better weather) and walk around the town a bit. The single intersection of the two main streets consists of a number of old buildings, well preserved but still all original. No fake living history here, just the real thing. I could have spent hours just hanging out in Gruene, soaking up the feel of the stories it could tell.
We later went to dinner just down the street at the Grist Mill Restaurant, a lovely old structure that overlooks the Guadalupe River.
We had a great dinner and then headed home. That was our last night with Tom and Teresa so we bid a fond farewell at the end of the evening. It had been a great few days hanging out with them.
Monday we reconnected with a couple of other old friends. Bill's childhood friend Marty and his wife Deb live in Round Rock, near Austin, and last night they joined us for dinner. It was so nice to reconnect with old friends after being out of touch for years. We had a very enjoyable evening reminiscing and catching up on what's going on with each of our families - happily, all good stuff!
Our plan was to head out this morning, but the weather decided otherwise as there was another ice storm overnight. Tomorrow is looking much more promising, so we'll be eastbound first thing in the morning as we begin the trek back to Tampa.
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