Austin - Tourist Style....

So 2 weekends ago, Keeton and I went to Austin to visit Matt and Luz!  We had so much fun of course and I love Austin!  It is my 2nd fav. city in TX (first being - Funky Town, of course).  Since my bia is pregnant, this Austin trip was a little different than one I have ever done before.  Why???  We totally did the Austin tourist thing and I LOVED IT!  So fun and different and as many times I have been to Austin, I have not done any of these things.  So here is the run down and not in any particular order.....

1 - We went to the highest peak in Austin - Mount Bonnell and climbed the 102 stairs (yes, I counted them).  It has great views of downtown Austin, Lake Austin and the Loop 360 bridge.  Here are some pics and look at my bia, she made it - 7 months preggers! 

 

2 - I saw a moonlight tower!  I had never heard of the history of the babies, but I was informed.  I couldn't snap a pic b/c we were driving.  But here is some info.  

Austin, Texas is the only city in the world known to still operate a system. The towers are 165 feet (50 m) tall and have a 15 feet (4.6 m) foundation. This type of tower was manufactured in Indiana by Fort Wayne Electric Company and assembled on site.  In 1894, the City of Austin purchased 31 used lighting towers from Detroit. A single tower cast light from six carbon arc lamps, illuminating a 1,500 feet (460 m) radius circle brightly enough to read a watch.

The Austin Moonlight Towers were erected, at least partially, in response to the actions of the Servant Girl Annihilator. This claim has been repudiated by some since the towers were erected in 1894 and 1895, ten years after the murders took place.

When first installed, the towers were connected to their own electric generators at the Austin dam (on the site of present day Tom Miller Dam). Over the years they were switched from their original carbon-arc lamps (which were exceedingly bright and time consuming to maintain) to incandescent lamps in the 1920s, and mercury vapor lamps in the 1930s. Mercury vapor lighting allowed the installation of a switch at each tower's base. During World War II, a central switch was installed, allowing citywide blackouts in case of air raids.
1970 saw the towers officially recognized as Texas State Landmarks. This was followed by the 17 remaining towers being listed in the National Register of Historic Places on July 12, 1976. At this time, only 6 are in their original locations as established by the Board of Public Works and City Council in 1895. Additional designation was given them as State Archaeological Landmarks in 1986.

In 1993 the city of Austin dismantled the towers and restored every bolt, turnbuckle and guy-wire as part of a $1.3 million project, the completion of which was celebrated in 1995 with a city-wide festival.
One of the towers was prominently featured in the 1993 film Dazed and Confused as the site of a high-school keg party, in which the character played by Matthew McConaughey exclaims, "Party at the moon tower."

The City of Austin has ordinances in place to protect the towers from demolition; however, since 2004 two of the remaining 17 towers have been taken down from their locations. The towers at 4th & Nueces and 1st & Trinity have been removed due to new construction. It is unclear whether the towers will be replaced, or erected elsewhere.

Here is a pic I found online -

3 - I saw, in person, this really cool Austin mural painting - I have seen this in so many pics, but I actually got to see it for real!  Pretty neat..... Location?  Still don't really know.... ha!

4 - Austin has been called the "Food Truck City of the World" or something like that, so we went around to bunch of them and THEY ARE EVERYWHERE!!!!!  We ate at a smaller one - which included Izzoz Tacos and Gourdough's.  Gourdough's is like this donut place that sells all these speciality donuts.  But they taste more like a yummy cake, not really a donut and so much better.  Keeton and I had the "Bring the Heath" and Matt and Luz had the "Miss Shortcake."  BOTH AHHH-MAAAAA-ZING!



3 - We went to Hyde Park, yet another awesome little area in ATX, I had never been.  Here is some info on this area - Located in Central Austin, Hyde Park is defined by W. 38 Street to the south, W. 51 Street to the north, Duval Street to the east, and Guadalupe Street to the west. It is situated just north of the The University of Texas and borders the neighborhoods of Hancock and North Loop. Hyde Park traces its origins back to 1891 and is considered to be Austin's first suburb.
We ate at this awesome place called Hyde Park Bar and Grill - SO YUMMY and SO NEAT!  The polenta was like the best ever and we started with some yummy fries (no pic though, Fresh Hyde Park Fries - Consistently voted “Best French Fries in Austin”. A big platter of hand-cut Idaho Potatoes, dipped in creamy buttermilk, rolled in seasoned flour and lightly fried. Served with our special Hyde Park sauce) that were awesome too!!!  I was really impressed with this whole place.  Here is the website - http://hpbng.com/#.  And some pics....

4 - BINGO!  I have never played BINGO at a BINGO hall before, how awesome and fun!  We didn't win anything, but still something different and fun to experience.

I really enjoyed my entire weekend!!!  I got to feel Baby Bia kick too!  So neat - I love that little girl so much and I haven't even met her yet.  Matt and Luz are so fun regardless what we do.  This was fun and a different way to experience Austin for us and we loved every minute of it!

Oh yeah.... I almost forgot - I schooled Matt, Luz and Keeton that the word "nunnery" really does exists!!!!!  BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!  Nunnery - a building or group of buildings for nuns; convent.