Adventures in Austin

A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike.
And all plans, safeguards, policies and coercion are fruitless.
We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us. John Steinbeck

“Okay babe, we are headed to Austin, TX, so how do we get there?” Jamie is in charge of driving and I’m co-pilot. What would we do without directions obtained as easy as just picking up our cell phones? My Dad is a retired truck driver and I remember him always mapping out his trips the night before I have no clue how he managed. Granted I still look at a map before we head out but I leave the majority of the planning to my GPS.
The problem with that becomes not always knowing if these are the best roads for a decent size travel trailer, are there clearance issues, small roads, or tight turns, all of which cause a huge headache for unexperienced house movers. I love how I get on the phone with my Dad and he helps me map some of our journeys, yes I still use my GPS but he has helped me figure out bypassing major cities and I love how much he seems to enjoy breaking out his map again. One of my fears about our journey to Austin was getting to the campground. I had been told by a fellow camper the campground was “interesting” to get to. We decided to go for it anyway and the Emma Long Metropolitan park did not disappoint but man was I wishing we could have teleported there or that we had a camper van. The road to the campground began a steep climb, one resembling the initial climb of a rollercoaster. The return trip was even a bigger nail biter. After many miles to the gate of the park we paid our dues and were greeted with deer crossing the road, I knew then the struggle was worth it and was just glad we had just started back rolling after our stop at the gate.

We arrived at our site to find someone parked there so we picked another site to park, drop, and discover they didn’t have 30 amp power. Just a few days before I mentioned we should always make sure the electric worked before going through the whole process. Oh how quickly we forget the smart ideas only to make a rookie mistake. Finally settled in, we caught an amazing glimpse of the swans on the lake just as the sun was setting. We headed back to town for groceries and some food because living on road snacks alone just doesn’t cut it. On our way into town the warm day brought a sight to the campground I have never seen, I lost count at 25 deer grazing in this wonderful piece of land saved as city park land. Way to go Austin! We grabbed some Meta Modern beer that we first tried in Denton, TX to get pumped up for our Oasis Brewery visit in Austin and a pizza from Austin Pizza. No complaints for this food and beer stock up.

Arriving in Austin and this beautiful campground was short lived. Living in a camper and traveling has some amazing moments but there are also the issues you run into. After moving the camper several times our slide wouldn’t go out and the check engine light came on. When you can’t open your living space and the vehicle that moves you from place to place has an issue, the stress levels rise. We figured out how to override the slide mechanism and would have to address the major issue once we arrived at our destination. The truck was another story so we drove to the dealership first thing the next day. Thankfully there was no real issue and we were back to enjoying our time so we headed to Oasis Brewing. We love craft beer and had been excited to visit this brewery. Not only did they have good beer but the view was amazing can’t wait to visit again when it’s not January.

We love the history, sites, and food a big city provides but loathe the traffic. Our day started with a trip to the famous Baylor Street wall art where we got to see spray paint art of whales and a tribute to “mom” which made us both a little homesick. A walk through Zilker Metropolitan Park scored us a great city view with only pedestrian traffic. After a long walk we were famished and hit up a food truck park. I had Korean bbq tacos and Jamie had chicken and waffles with an asian twist.