Austin Visit - Spring, 2013

Several events delayed my sorting and posting photos of my trip to Austin, but it was a wonderful trip full of visits with friends and lots of good food.

Thanks to Southwest Airlines, there is now a daily direct flight connecting Austin and DC, using National Airport (sorry - I’ll never call it by a certain President’s name - not going to happen).  

The view from my window

It was great getting to catch up with friends and family.  

John and Michal always generously open their home to me, whether they are in town or not.  This time they were there most of the time I was visiting, except for a brief trip to visit with his mom over Easter Weekend.  There is no way I can repay their constant hospitality and friendship.

Anita indulging me by
wearing the scarf I made her

Marijohn & Anita looking
unhappy maybe because
their glasses are empty

Brian on left, Ethan on right, other
buddies in the middle during lunch
at Moonshine

What a thrill to catch up with high school
buddies:  on the left, Judy, across from me on the
right, Laurie, and joining us, my friend, Michal

John, chef extrodinaire and Texan through-and-through. 

Michal, the leader of the pack

I had a lovely lunch with John and Joanna (note the candles - how elegant).
It was fun getting to try to return the favor by having them stay over with us on their return trip from an African safari.  We hope they visit often and I look forward to visiting with Joanna next year on the Isle of Wight.

When I go to Austin there are a few favorite places I love to visit.  On my trips I can only get to a few of them.  Here are some I saw this trip.

It is always fun just walking around John and Michal's neighborhood where "Austin creativity" is on full view.

You can't get lost with yard signs like this.

Now this is a mail box - just open the mouth and there's the mail.

Good to know Austin is still weird and you can still get tacos on S. Lamar.

It was really sad to see Lake Travis so low.

 

This used to be all under water

I still have a set of dishes from Sunset Canyon and I try to get out to Dripping Springs to add to my collection.

While in the neighborhood, Michal and I found a delightful restaurant/garden shop.

One of the lovely Gazanias in the garden.

This was my first visit to the Oasis since it was completely redone and greatly expanded.  The inclusion of art everywhere was most impressive and I now have another restaurant to add to my favorites list.

This is a terrific seafood restaurant with views of the lake.

Well, it is what they think

Michal and I went on a search for bluebonnets and we actually found a few, but so few we could have counted them with just our fingers.  The good news is we did find some interesting photo opportunities and some lovely Talavera pottery from Guanajuato State, Mexico.

Found in Johnson City

I remember watching the artists in Delores Hidalgo, Mexico, painting this type of pottery by hand.  The working conditions were primative - open large shed with no heat or air conditioning and the artists were sitting on stools.  It is amazing that they can produce such gorgeous pieces.  

No trip to Austin would be complete without a trip to 6th Street  to do some shopping

During the trip I was playing with my new point & shoot camera with the 1000mm zoom.  The red bird was shot from the kitchen across Michal's backyard - amazing!  On my last night it finally rained just a little bit and I got a shot of the rain hitting the pool.

Now that I'm retired, I certainly hope to return to Austin often.