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Cheap Vacations: Austin, TX

Charla — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:47:32 +0000

Austin is a fun place to visit and can provide an inexpensive vacation. It really is a pretty area, and one part of the vacation can include driving on the west side of Austin and enjoying the beauty of the hills and the Colorado River.

There are several free things to do while visiting Austin. Here are some places that do not charge admission:

* Texas State Capitol - open daily. It’s 14 feet taller than the National Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., and is recognized as one of the nation’s most distinguished capitol buildings. It is definitely impressive inside and out. The view from the ground floor looking straight up to the top of the rotunda area is awesome! Children enjoy going up the beautiful staircases. Located at 1100 Congress Ave. (512) 463-0063

* Austin Nature and Science Center - provides families, individuals, and also groups with recreational and educational experiences including a “living museum,” trails, interpretive exhibits, programs, and collections. Open on Saturday 9- 5 & Sunday 12- 5. Located at 301 Nature Center Dr, Austin, TX.

(512) 327-8180

* Texas Memorial Museum - a natural history museum which contains exhibits about Texas’ geological and zoological history. Children especially enjoy the first floor. They are open on Saturday from 10 - 5 & Sunday from 1-5 and are located one block north of the UT football field at 2400 Trinity St. Austin, TX (512) 471-1604. Free admission.

OTHER ATTRACTIONS WITH ADMISSION FEE:

Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum - an excellent museum worth visiting! Located at 1800 North Congress Avenue. (512)-936-8746
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum – also a museum worth visiting. Located at 2313 Red River Street. (512) 916-5137
Austin Children’s Museum located at 201 Colorado Street. (512) 472-2499

* Texas Rowing Center located on the Hike and Bike Trail on Town Lake – a fun place to rent canoes. They are open 6 AM until dusk every day. (512) 467-7799. (We have done this a couple of different times, and it’s a fun activity for the whole family. Town Lake provides a great view of downtown Austin.)

Chuy’s Has Great Tex-Mex Food!

Charla — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:32:38 +0000

We made an overnight trip to Austin this past weekend for State UIL Band Solo Contest. This is the third (and last) year we’ve done this. Our family tradition is to eat at Chuy’s when we’re in Austin, and so we had to eat there this time, too. Besides, we had to celebrate our son getting a score of “1″ which is the highest score one can get at UIL.

Chuy’s is big on atmosphere and great food. They have awesome enchiladas, guacamole, and salsa, just to name a few items. Tortillas are made there on location at their restaurants, chicken is cooked there (not frozen or canned chicken), guacamole and salsa are freshly made…does that give you an idea about the quality of their food?

They are also known for their cool T-shirts which they sell at the check-out counter, and probably their most famous T-shirt is “Keep Austin Weird.”

Their locations have spread from Austin to other Texas cities. I looked online, and these are the Texas cities in which Chuy’s is located:

* Austin (3 locations)

* Dallas

* Houston

* Round Rock
* San Antonio

* Selma

* Arlington

If you visit one of these places, try to eat at Chuy’s while you’re there. It’s a fun place to eat great Tex-Mex Food. Maybe it will become a family tradition with you, too!

NOTE: The original Chuy’s from Austin is not located in Ft. Worth. The one in Ft. Worth is “Chuys Mexican Restaurant” and Google just happens to have a link to the original Austin Chuy’s beside each Ft. Worth listing. However, I made a phone call to verify and found out those are two distinct restaurants.

You Can Tell You’re in Texas When…

Charla — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 04:23:43 +0000

…you go in a fast food place and see this on the wall.

Texas Ranger Hall of Fame & Museum in Waco, Texas

Charla — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:10:48 +0000

While traveling, we stopped in Waco, Texas, and visited the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame. We all enjoyed it, but my husband especially enjoyed it. The museum not only shares the history of the Texas Rangers along with artifacts, but it also memorializes 30 Texas Rangers who gave their lives in the line of duty or served with great distinction. It is truly worth visiting!

Check here for Visitor Information.

The W.H. Stark House in Orange, Texas

Charla — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:52:42 +0000

I love to visit historical sites, especially houses where people lived. It’s like taking a step back in time! I try to imagine what it would have been like to live in that era and try to learn about the lives of people who lived in those houses.

The W.H. Stark House is a great example of a beautiful, historical house built in 1894. Designated as a National Historic Landmark and a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark by the Texas Historical Commission, this 15-room Victorian mansion is located in Orange, Texas, and has been a community landmark and point of interest for many visitors through the years.

Now let me introduce you to the family who built the house:

William Henry Stark was born in 1851. After a long courtship, he married Miriam Lutcher in 1881. He became a prominent businessman and philanthropist in the Orange, Texas, area. He died in 1936.
Miriam Melissa Lutcher Stark was born in 1859. After marrying William Stark, they had two children. Frances Ann, however, died as a young child, so Lutcher became their only living child. Miriam was a collector and donated much of her collection to UT in Austin. This included works by Byron, a page from the Gutenberg Bible (circa 1456), and a first issue of the King James Bible dated 1611. She died in 1936, shortly after the death of her husband.
Henry Jacob Lutcher Stark was born in 1887 to W.H. and Miriam. Later in his life, he established a private foundation to improve the quality of life in Southeast Texas, including education, the arts, and health and human services.

When I read about this family, it sounds like a family who cared about other people. They had a tragedy in their life, the death of their young daughter, but they didn’t let that keep them from being a productive and helpful family.

Visit the W.H. Stark House website to learn more about this beautiful house and family.

Tours are available Tuesday – Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Admission is limited to individuals who are ages 10 years and older. Part of the tour includes stairs.

Consider the city of Orange, Texas, for your travel plans, a city that has a lot to offer!

“National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame” Located in Ft. Worth, TX

Charla — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 02:33:09 +0000

The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame is a beautiful museum dedicated to the women of the American West, and in fact, it is the only museum in the world dedicated to honoring those women who were really courageous and had trail blazing spirits that wouldn’t quit. The museum is actually famous and is known nationally for its educational exhibits, library, and photographs. It’s a great resource to people all over the country and probably in other parts of the world as well. Our family enjoyed learning about the West and these extraordinary women through neat exhibits and hands-on experiences. Make sure you allow enough time when you go because you don’t want to miss any part of it. Bring the whole family because it’s great for kids of all ages.

We had been hearing about this museum, finally got to visit it a while back ,and really enjoyed it. I imagine Lori, who blogs about being the wife of a cowboy at A Cowboy’s Wife, would really enjoy it, too!

Fossil Rim Wildlife Park

Charla — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 02:14:51 +0000

If you’ve never been to a wildlife park, I recommend going to one. We like to go to Fossil Rim Wildlife Park close to Glenrose, TX. It’s been named by USA Today as one of the ten great places to go on a safari in our country. We’ve been there quite a few times over the years and always enjoy it every time. The first time I went was probably twenty years ago with a bunch of public school teachers for a teacher’s workshop. A teacher friend and I signed up for this workshop together and had a lot of fun! That’s when I first became acquainted with it. Then in later years we took our family, one year took our daughter and son-in-law with us, and one year took my mother-in-law with us. It was fun seeing everyone’s reaction to the animals. One time I went with a dear friend of mine. We both had our sons with us and enjoyed the animals through the eyes of her young son. Now that we have a grandson, I can’t wait to take him when he’s old enough. Go to the link below for more info:

http://www.fossilrim.com/

“Frontier Texas” Makes the New York Times

Charla — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 04:11:09 +0000

If you’re traveling west in Texas on I-20, make sure you stop in Abilene and visit Frontier Texas for a great educational experience. It made the New York Times recently. We heard about it a couple of years ago and decided to stop and check it out. I thought it would probably be the average historical type of museum. But I was mistaken. It is not your average museum. I was impressed and highly recommend it. I don’t want to tell you too much…I want you to experience the state-of-the-art technology yourself. Visit the links below for more information.

The “Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum” – A Must if You’re in Austin, TX

Charla — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 13:28:09 +0000

My family enjoys going to Austin, TX, for a short vacation now and then. The last time we were there, the new Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum had opened and we decided to check it out. It’s within walking distance of the Texas State Capitol Building. You know they say everything is big in Texas, well that’s true of this museum. It’s three stories tall and even the outside of the museum is impressive. But the neat thing about the museum is all the interactive exhibits it contains as well as an IMAX Theater. We not only enjoyed going through all the exhibits and the IMAX but we also enjoyed eating in the museum’s Cafe. This is such a fun place to go as well as an exciting learning experience not only for the kids but for adults as well. We were really impressed with it and plan to go again when we’re in Austin for a family get-a-way.

Click to read more about the museum.

Pate Museum of Transportation

Charla — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 21:46:37 +0000

West of Ft. Worth on HWY 377, near the town of Cresson, is the Pate Museum of Transportation. It is an awesome place to take kids for a fun, educational trip that the whole family will enjoy.
Mr. A. M. Pate, Jr., started the musem in 1969 with a small collection. It has grown through the years and now has treasured antique cars, airplanes, a railway palace car, Army tanks, a Navy minesweeper, to name a few.

When we went, our son really liked the periscope and enjoyed looking through it to see what was outside. That was one of his and his friends’ favorite parts.

Many senior citizens could take a walk down memory lane looking at some of the vehicles. The two rarest cars are a 1917 Premier, which is probably the only model of its kind in existence and has a push-button transmission, and a 1904 Schacht, which looks like a horseless carriage.

It’s a fun place for the whole family, no matter what their age. Click to see more pictures from the museum.

Pictures by cmt2779 on Flickr