Picks and Pans – Austin, TX

Our first stop in the Austin vicinity, McKinney Falls is a peaceful spot just a 30 minute or so drive from town. There are plenty of tree shaded campsites and a great swimming hole populated with turtles at the base of the falls. I imagine the place can get pretty crowded on hot summer weekends, but for good reason. We also had an encounter here with one of the more eccentric cardinals I’ve met. In the morning I awoke to what sounded like a squirrel manically scampering from our van roof to the branches of a nearby tree and so dismissed the sounds to roll over for a few more winks. Later, as I was brewing my morning tea, I realized my initial evaluation of the sounds had been incorrect as I watched a cardinal repeatedly try to perch on our van windowsill so that he could primp in front of the side view mirrors. This persistent little guy continued to try to find the perfect preening position for the next hour or so and probably would have continued if we hadn’t ventured off to see more of Austin.

Halcyon oozes cool. By day, an arty looking coffee shop; by night, a bar/lounge. We enjoyed their coffee, sandwiches, wireless and the scene.

Sixth Street is the epicenter of Austin’s bar scene and, after about 5pm, is swarmed by UT students. Almost all bars, restaurants and clubs here advertise live music, and walking down the street on a Tuesday night we had more than a few options for our listening pleasure. It seems on any given night in Austin you could find just about any kind of music you might want to hear and it’s probably going to be down around Sixth Street. The only downside is that it sometimes has the Bourbon Street, made for tourist vibe, that can leave you feeling like you’re in a live music amusement park.

Classically kitschy in its decor, Texas Chili Parlor serves up one of the most disgustingly delicious burgers I’ve had. Called the Texican, the burger is topped with cheese, piles of green chiles, refried beans, fritos and a dollop of mayo as the finishing touch. It’s gooey, salty, slightly spicy, a little crunchy (from the fritos) and perfectly accompanied by a Tecate with lime.

Free music, $1 shaved ice with watermelon juice, sidewalks filled with dancing children and it’s a happy Cinco de Mayo for all….or at least for Erica. Sean says it would have been substantially more enjoyable  if they didn’t have a giant cage right in front of the stage that you have to stand in if you want to enjoy a beer while you listen to music. Take a clue from Lafayette, LA people! And if there are any sound technicians reading this: please, DO NOT over-pump bass to the point of drowning out the rest of the music. It doesn’t sound good.

Lady Bird Lake is like the town square of Austin, except instead of everyone coming out for an evening constitutional, they’re all jogging and there are dogs, lots of dogs (and no leash laws!). We walked all around the lake, but I kept wishing that I had my shuffle and my sneakers so I could join in the fun. Maybe next time. Reportedly, on the south side of the lake, in Zilker Park, there is a great natural spring fed swimming hole called Barton Creek, although we didn’t get a chance to try it out.

Austin is the corporate headquarters of Whole Foods and as a result has a Whole Foods store that could satisfy the needs of four Upper West Sides put together. There are organic gardening and yoga books, there are hemp clothes, there are aisles upon aisles of Burt’s Bees products. There’s a gelato stand, a gigantor salad bar, and a concierge desk (no, I’m not kidding). It’s like Whole Foods goes to Vegas. Oh, and their bathrooms were delightful, lavender scented hand soap and all.

We met Barbara at a gallery opening in Houston, and enjoyed her art and conversation so much that we had to make a stop to see her in at her home in Austin. Her art is really super! And if you’re ever in Austin, I’m sure she would love to show you around her studio.

Luke helps keep the weird in “Keep Austin Weird” and was a very fortunate quasi-random meetup after emailing the Austin dorkbot list. The maker of the Garduino (a gardening helper circuit that automatically regulates watering and lighting based on soil moisture and hours of sunlight per day), Luke showed us around his project filled house, gave us tons of fantastic food from a recent Whole Foods dumpster dive, and shared good times of late night porch chillin’ with live music and interesting conversation. A perfect evening for a couple of exhausted travelers. Only wish we had more time to chat and see his tree house.

Luke also introduced us to the marvel that is the Don Juan special at this great Tex-Mex joint. For $6, you get a bottomless cup of coffee and this huge plate of breakfast-y, cheesy, bacon-y, egg-y, tortilla-y, salsa-y goodness. It’s incredible. Oh, and there’s wireless.

Vince Hanneman has been building his Cathedral of Junk since 1988 and when we dropped by he was out in his backyard adding some more bits of salvage stuff to his creation. The Cathedral is like a human sized nest made from all kind of discarded stuff — toys, CDs, plastic furniture, metal scraps, and anything else Mr. Hanneman thinks will work. It was great fun exploring the place, finding delightfully hidden treasures of junk and imagining what it would be like to have a fort of my own.

Sean says: Of all the “visionary artists” we’ve met on the trip thus far, with Vince we had some of the best conversation. On a discussion of how to contribute to a better world, he pointed out the importance of sharing a good idea. He also reminded us that things will come to you and that all you have to do is make your needs known to the world and be patient for them to be filled. That’s definitely an idea that rings true for him as people bring him all kinds of junk by the truck load for his cathedral.

I gotta say that despite our high hopes for the taco quality in Austin, Maria’s couldn’t hold a candle to our old hometown favorite Taqueria Downtown in Jersey City. Shocking, maybe, but true. If you do happen to go to Maria’s, be sure to get some of their delicious tortilla chips and the al pastor tacos were medium tasty. However, the barbacoa tacos are to be avoided. The shredded beef was dripping in clear, tasteless grease that made for some GI unpleasantness later in the day. Not really worth the trip out to south Austin. Any Austinites out there have better taco joint suggestions for our next time around?

What do three cops on mopeds hiding in some trees, a school zone and two lost and distracted roadtrippers add up to? That’s right, a lamer than lame speeding ticket. Who would have thought we would get our first (and hopefully last) speeding ticket by going 31 mph? Not me.