Austin TX vacation! - incl. the Hill Country and San Antonio (May 20-27, 2018)

[Rooster_Ties]

Mrs. Rooster and I are taking a week off to visit Austin, staying in one Airbnb type rental semi-near downtown Austin (same place the entire week).

Back in the mid 90's, I worked about 50% of a whole year in San Marcos TX (flew back and forth between Kansas City every other week) -- almost my very first and practically only exposure to Texas (save for one minor trip to Amarillo a few years before).  Got to Austin ~10 times that year, and San Antonio a few times, and up in the Hill Country a bit -- and I've been meaning to get back ever since.

No big agenda yet, save for the San Antonio river walk, and the LBJ presidential library.

So what all else is must-see in the area? My family is German on both sides, and I know that much of the Hill Country was heavily German dating back to the late 1800's, iirc - so that's of interest.

BBQ of course. And almost any museum is potentially of interest. Neither of us are beer drinkers, but we both love hard cider.

Oh, and architecture!! Especially art nouveau and deco, through mid-century modern.

So what shouldn't we miss?

Edited March 31, 2018 by Rooster_Ties

[JSngry]

New Braunfels, both the current city and the historical "original village", for the German stuff. See it before river-rafting tourism ruins what's left of it. And do drive out to the country and look at some of the remaining dance halls, the old ones. Maybe even go to a dance, you gotta see that shit to really appreciate it, it is indeed cultural.

[Neal Pomea]

Broken Spoke dance hall in Austin. country music. I checked their schedule for April (May was not up yet) but the only bands I recognized were Alvin Crow (played with Doug Sahm),. Dale Watson, and a band called The Derailers.

Edited March 30, 2018 by Neal Pomea

[Big Beat Steve]

2 hours ago, JSngry said:

And do drive out to the country and look at some of the remaining dance halls, the old ones. Maybe even go to a dance, you gotta see that shit to really appreciate it, it is indeed cultural.

https://www.amazon.com/Dance-Halls-Last-Calls-History/dp/1556229275/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522430161&sr=8-1&keywords=Dance+Halls+Last+Calls

 

21 minutes ago, Neal Pomea said:

Broken Spoke dance hall in Austin. country music. I checked their schedule for April (May was not up yet) but the only bands I recognized were Alvin Crow (played with Doug Sahm),. Dale Watson, and a band called The Derailers.

From all I've heard about this legendary place (including from friends who have been there during US holidays), if you are into (relatively) "traditional" no-frills country music at all, both Alvin Crow and Dale Watson should be a treat in these settings.

 

[kh1958]

Country music, no thanks; the music club  to go to in Austin is Antone's.

 

 

 

 

[BFrank]

The Continental Club is a great place for music! The Broken Spoke is literally a 'dance hall,' so if you're looking for somewhere to sit and watch music, it's not really the best place. Antone's has moved (several times, actually) and is currently near the convention center, but still books good music. Lots of other small clubs around town - check out the Austin Chronicle for listings.

For BBQ, there's the legendary Salt Lick outside of town and I like Iron Works near the convention center.

[JSngry]

Music aside, some of those old rural dance halls are a marvel to see from the inside. And the "country" music you're likely to hear is not at all "modern", and not necessarily "country". They still do shit like schotiches and polkas and stuff. Regularly. Plug your ears if you must, but to see one of those old buildings, built with old school carpentry techniques and materials packed with people of all ages moving in multi-layered concentric circles in contrary motion and everybody dressed for a night out....whew! It can be dizzying just to watch.

It's a dance hall. People go there to dance. I don't care what kind of music it is, watching people who come to dance (and who take it seriously) dance is a gas. I've had it in blues clubs, funk joints, country bars, you name it. It's a good time, even if, like me, all you can do is watch.

Seriously, it's a culture thing. Around Austin and outward, there's the German influence. Go a little north towards Waco and it's more of a Czech thing. But either way, a Saturday night dance is a big part of the social fabric for a lot of people in those parts. It ain't no casual thing, not even.

[kh1958]

I haven't been there, but Gruene Hall (in or near New Braunfels) claims to date back to 1878. And they have a reasonably diverse live band schedule.

http://gruenehall.com/

 

[JSngry]

Yeah, that one! I played a wedding reception there once, they had a "variety" band as well as a local band.. It was intense. Did the same thing at one some place else, back out in the behind of nowhere, some octagonal job that was just awe-inspiring, even when empty. Looks like it's run down outside, you go inside and WHOA!!!!!

Again, quite apart from the music, it's something to experience for "cultural" reasons.

[mjzee]

If you’re going soon, you should be able to catch the bluebonnets.  Find a nice field.  Beautiful!

[Neal Pomea]

Bluebonnets peak early April, no? i would love to see that one of these days!

Nobody's mentioning the bats in Austin? It's a thing to watch this huge colony of bats take off from under a bridge right at dusk.

Edited March 31, 2018 by Neal Pomea

[Aggie87]

Bluebonnets will be gone by May.  The bats under the Congress St bridge are fascinating - I've seen them from the river shore and out in a boat while they pass overhead, both are cool. Largest urban bat colony in the world, I believe.

If you want barbecue, there are plenty of excellent places within a 30-40 mile drive from Austin.  Lockhart has excellent barbecue at any of Smitty's, Black's, or Kreuz.  Luling has the City Market as well.  All are great.  Austin has good bbq as well, but be prepared to wait in ridiculously long lines these days.  Literally hours. Salt Lick is pretty damn good - I got married about 3 miles away from there in a little open-air nondenominational chapel in Driftwood (south of Austin).    

If you venture out into the Hill Country, check out Wimberley, Fredericksburg, and that area. Wimberley has alot of small mom & pop arts & crafts stores in the downtown area.  Enchanted Rock is pretty cool.  Cool swimming hole at Krause Springs. Also Hamilton Pool. Barton Springs is also a cool swimming place - natural springs in Zilker Park right in Austin.  Water is like 68 degrees year round.  Zilker Park is where the ACL Fest is held each year.  

BFrank's recommendation to check out the Austin Chronicle is spot on - there's so much music available, and it's constantly updating.  That's probably the best place to see what's available when you're there.

Also, second the recommendations for Continental Club and Antones.  For another out of town dance hall, Schroeder Hall is pretty cool, way out in the country near Goliad (and literally nothing else within 10-20 miles).  Probably too far to travel though, but it's the real deal.  Took my wife there a few years back (not my first wife, the one you met in D.C.) and 10 year old local kids were embarrassing us on the dance floor, two-steppin'.  Gruene Hall gets more big-name acts due to location, and is also well worth a visit.

If you're music hunting, check out Waterloo on the corner of 6th and Lamar.  Best vinyl & cd store in Texas.  Also, End of an Ear is well worth a visit, with a more diverse inventory.  

The SRV statue on the bank of Town Lake (now called Lady Bird Lake) is a tourist thing, but still cool.  

Edited March 31, 2018 by Aggie87

[Aggie87]

Hamilton Pool:

Enchanted Rock:

[BFrank]

On 3/31/2018 at 8:25 PM, Aggie87 said:

Hamilton Pool:

Enchanted Rock:

Whoa! One of these days I'm STILL gonna go there NOT during SXSW.

[Rooster_Ties]

T-minus 3 days until we fly to Austin.  Looks to be fairly hot (at least by my wife's standards) -- low 90's most of the entire week we're there.  But on the plus said, the humidity looks to be less than 50% the whole time (thank heavens for that).

Don't have a detailed plan, day by day -- but we do have a big list of things we want to do, grouped into logical bunches.  Probably 3 full days in Austin, one full day in San Antonio, and 2 full days in and around other parts of the Hill Country (including San Marcos).  We're staying in Austin the entire time, at the same place the entire week - so we can do whatever we feel like each day.

[mr jazz]

We caught the early (no cover) show at the Continental club and then had an excellent Italian meal next door at Botticellis. They have outside dining in the back if it's not too hot. Lunch at Stubbs BBQ was good and practically empty. They have live music as well.