What a fun day!

We finally made it to Austin, Texas--one of my favorite places in the United States. When I lived here three years ago, I was so busy I hardly had time to really explore and see what the city had to offer. I also wanted to show James what it was like and find new places we could share together! We left Dallas and arrived here early this morning--just in time for breakfast. We had breakfast in Northwest Austin at this cool 24 hour place called Kerbey Lane Cafe. They serve breakfast all day and night, and luckily it was not too crowded when we got there. One of our planned destinations of the day was the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, which does not open until noon on Sundays. To pass some time, we headed up to Mount Bonnell, which has a panoramic view of the Colorado River and the Austin skyline. The picture above is of the bridge over the Capitol of Texas Highway--360 from Mt. Bonnell. As we were driving back down the hill, we just happened to stumble upon a small nature preserve! It was a much needed chance to wander a bit, although it was probably about 90 degrees and 90 percent humidity!

I am surprised I was able to find my way around the city so well, after being gone for three years. It also gave James the chance to relax and not have to drive or navigate for once. :)

After our nature preserve wanderings, we headed down to Southwest Austin to the wildflower center, which was so amazing and beautiful. The grounds were meticulously maintained and landscaped with plants native to the Texas hill country. Many people do not even realize that this portion of Texas actually has hills! But it is actually very lush and green. They had a little observation tower where you could go up and get a view of the surrounding countryside. It was extremely hot, but definitely worth the time and small amount of money. We even walked on a small trail that led us around gardens and oak trees.

After the wildflower center, we just drove around the area and explored a bit. We happened to come upon some model homes, and checked those out just for the fun of it! It is so amazing, what 300K can get you here! :)

Since we are staying at the Holiday Inn on Town Lake--which is actually the Colorado River--we have close access to a trail that leads downtown and through Zilker Park. We wanted to eat dinner on 6th Street, which is the historic street where there are many music clubs and restaurants. We again ventured out into the heat and humidity and walked about two miles to dinner. Our plan for the evening was to go to the Congress Street bridge and see the bats that roost there fly out to feed for the night. But those plans were interrupted by a HUGE thunderstorm! We started off on the bridge, but as soon as the lightning and thunder started, we headed underneath to seek shelter. We were trapped there for about an hour and a half, and due to the massive rain, wind, lightning, and thunder the bats never did come out! After being there for so long, we decided to make a break for it and called a cab to take us 3 miles back to our hotel. It was still an adventure, even if we did not get to see the bats! If the weather is good tomorrow night, we want to come back and see if we have better luck in our quest for the bats. :)