Work Wednesday - Austin

Now that I've started to travel more for work again, I always look for the opportunity during a jam-packed few days to enjoy a view or outing if time permits.  When booking the hotel for my couple of days in Austin, I chose the downtown Hampton Inn because it was close to several of my appointments.  What I didn't know was how great the location was going to be:

I saw the river as I crossed over it coming into town.  Oh, wait, it is called Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake).  But it's really more of a river.

At the end of the day, it was great to go outside in the sunshine with only a fleece jacket on (not my down coat, scarf, gloves, hat and boots), and drop down a set of stairs for a walk along the water, cross to the other side on the many options for bridges (some only pedestrian, others shared a respectful distance from the snarls of commuter traffic), and checked out the other shore.

People out walking and jogging, sometimes with their dogs, strollers, bikes, you name it.  There were ducks, turtles on a log....

So many invigorating views:

But no bats - they are in Mexico this time of year.

The next day I had an hour to take a B-cycle for a spin so I could see more of the trails.  It's the second time I've taken one out - Jeff and I rode a pair of them around Miami Beach, and it's a perfect way to get a feel for a scenic part of town.

See the traffic at a standstill behind the bike?

Other notes from this trip:

• Gruen, TX (pronounced "Green") is a charming town halfway between Austin and San Antonio.  I had a dinner meeting at the Gristmill, a converted mill turned into a restaurant.  Right by the restaurant was what I was told is the oldest dance hall in Texas, where Willie Nelson and Lyle Lovett still play sometimes.  The music was hopping because it was Mardi-Gras, but I was too tired to stick around that evening.  Gruen has a couple of streets in their historic area full of quirky restaurants, shops, and a river running through it all for tubing and canoeing.  And I saw four deer darting through the woods before it got dark.
• Cappuccino at the Four Seasons is veddy nice...and comes with a complimentary pistachio biscotti, and not one of those ones you break your teeth on.  Happiness.
• Mozart's Coffee Roasters alongside Lake Austin takes "coffee shop" to a new level(s).  From a glassed in porch where all the quiet computer types sit typing madly to the 3 tiers of decks and seating to enjoy your beverage and the view, it is a place I would not have found on my own.
• Austin smells good - BBQ is in the air wherever you go.