Family Trip To Austin, TX
Last week, Ben had the privilege of attending a worship conference in Austin, TX and Isaiah and I got to tag along! This was a huge blessing for us to be able to get away from our normal routine and explore a new city together. Neither of us had been to Austin before and we had a long list of places to visit, so I thought I would share our experiences, food spots, and some fun kid-friendly activities on here!
The first two days of our trip were Ben’s conference days, which meant Isaiah and I had the whole time to ourselves! I got some kid-friendly recommendations from a friend and luckily some of them were close to where we were staying. The first place we went to was the Thinkery, an interactive kids’ museum with science exhibits, indoor and outdoor play areas, all suitable for toddlers and up. Isaiah absolutely loved it and I think he would have been content to stay all day if it weren’t for naptime! The cool thing about our time there was that we met another mom and her daughter at the park right outside and she offered to let us go in for free using her membership. It normally is about $14 for adults and free for kiddos under 2-years-old, but thanks to this kind woman we got to experience it without having to pay!
Another fun activity we did was go to Zilker Park. There are a variety of things to do in that area including some playgrounds, a nearby nature center, and a kids train ride (which is only open during the spring and summer). In the same area there is a natural springs pool called Barton Springs - a great spot to go swimming in the hot summers!
During our day dates together, we also feasted on some good food and treats. Amy’s Ice Cream is a chain ice cream shop that we enjoyed more than once. We had dinner together at Rudy’s, a barbecue joint all over Austin (think the Chick-fil-A of fast food barbecue) and it is so yummy for a quick bite.
Once Ben was finished with the conference we got a chance to explore more of Austin together. We walked along South Congress Ave at the recommendation of a friend to visit some shops and snap pics at a couple of Austin’s murals. We loved this opportunity to see the unique stores, a lot of which featured art and merchandise by local artists.
We also spent one of our days in Waco, TX visiting Magnolia in all its glory! Highly recommend this seeing as it’s only an hour and a half away from Austin. Isaiah got to meet Santa at the Silos, we enjoyed delicious food at Magnolia Table, and all three of us downed our sweet tea from the Alabama Sweet Tea food truck.
If you’re like us and you love Friday Night Lights, you won’t leave Austin without checking out the ultimate guide to FNL filming locations. We had the best time driving up to Coach and Tammy Taylor’s house, walking around the outside of the Panther field house, and even drove by the landing strip which looks the exact same from the show.
Ok ok, now to the good stuff - the food! Our Uber driver told us about a great spot for breakfast tacos and it was within walking distance of our AirBnB! So one morning we stopped in and these were some of the best tacos, breakfast or not, that we’ve ever had. We even tried other breakfast tacos at Magnolia Table and they didn’t compare to the ones at Marcelino’s. Delicious. We were also recommended by so many people to check out Terry Black’s barbecue and it was fantastic, for sure felt like that was the best brisket we’d ever had. But then we heard about Franklin barbecue, and whoa. THAT was truly the best brisket ever! It is so well-known and loved that it was a two hour wait, on a slow day! But Ben stuck it out and it was more than worth it. Incredible brisket, delicious pulled pork, all topped off with their own signature sauce…man I’m hungry just thinking about it. And now for a negative food review, In-and-Out burgers. Ben and I both tried it for the first time while in Austin and I wish the outcome was more positive, but we did not like it. Loved the prices! Cheaper than most fast-food burgers but we were so disappointed! I don’t get it - what’s the hype all about?! That was a sad lunch, indeed. But overall, our food experiences in Austin were amazing and the barbecue and tacos did not disappoint.
Can’t end this post without a quick tribute to the four airplane rides we endured with our precious toddler cargo. Man, what a whirlwind those were! Stressful, chaotic, long, loud, but we made it and I’m grateful to not have any upcoming travel plans that involve airplanes anytime soon. And after having extreme jealousy toward any parent who has ever posted pictures of their children asleep on an airplane, after three rides I finally got mine to do it so I had to snap a pic. Hats off to anyone traveling with a little bundle of energy - it’s not a walk in the park but it is so worth it to make these lifelong memories together.
