Keeping it (Somewhat) Weird in Austin, TX

With Dad feeling pretty good midway through his last planned cycle of chemo/immuno therapies before surgery next month (hopefully), Mom suggested we take another road trip. Dad is a huge fan of the University of Texas Longhorns, but we had never visited Austin--the Home of Weirdness, 40 Acres, and the backyard of Bevo. Well, there is no time like the present. So, using secondary roads, we traversed through portions of Houston, Madison, and Robertson Counties, etc., and through several rural-America towns with lovely bucolic scenery.

 

Along our route we noticed the huge Samsung semi-conductor plant in Taylor, Texas. The complex is ginormous, with barracks and camp areas for workers and contractors. Interestingly, Samsung is also moving their corporate headquarters from New Jersey to Plano, Texas. It is just one of the many big corporations relocating to Texas and propelling our Texas economy.

We also glimpsed a Titan Missile Silo.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Downtown Austin, which was attached to another Hilton property. In addition to the room fee and various taxes, it costs $45/day to park in the private underground garage shared by both Hilton properties. Though safe and secure, it was a pain in the butt for hauling our luggage in and out because the elevators from the 4^th floor of the underground parking area to the street level registration area (which also was shared by both properties) were not functioning. Upon garage entry, the company that runs the garage used a license plate reader and immediately charged a $10 temporary fee to a credit card that we used in 2025 at a Memphis, Tennessee parking garage that the company also operates!  I find it a bit disturbing and Orwellian that our parking history AND our credit card numbers are kept in their database!   

 

We began our tour of Austin at the Visitor Center, which has a variety of interesting exhibits giving the history of Texas and how Austin became its Capital.  

The Visitor Center has a magnificent LEGO model of the State Capitol.  After 18 months of planning, it took 4 months to build the model with 65,000 standard LEGO pieces!

The "Goddess of Liberty" statue, made of zinc, was installed in 1888 on top of the Capitol.  The current statue that adorns the top of the Capitol is only an aluminum replica that replaced the decaying original in 1986.  This photo shows the hand and star from the original statue that is on display at the Visitor Center. 

We took a guided tour of the Texas State Capitol, which stands 14 feet higher than our Capitol in D.C. In fact, it is so tall that the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor sans her pedestal can fit within the Rotunda—with 69 feet to spare!

The current structure, dedicated in 1888, is the 4^th building in Austin to be used as a Capitol for Texas. 

Though she looks miniscule in this photo, The "Goddess of Liberty" statue on top of the building stands 309 feet tall!

The walls of various levels of the Rotunda contains portraits of all the governors of Texas. Sam Houston holds the distinction of being a governor of two states—he once served as governor of Tennessee before he came to Texas. In all its history, only two women have served as governor of Texas. (Ladies, we need to do something about this lack of representation!)  

Original solid brass door hinges.

The underground extension, added in 1993, doubled the size of the Capitol, making it the largest (by square footage) of all State Capitols.

The Senate Chambers.

The House Chambers.

The framed flag hanging within the curtain in this photo resides in the House Chambers.  It is an original from the Texas Revolution! 

The chandeliers in the House all are original to the structure.  The bulbs spell out "TEXAS".

I think we all need a cushy job like a Texas State Legislator.  They work “for the people of Texas” only 140 days during a two-year period!

The grounds of the Capitol are beautifully landscaped.  These are just two of the many...

...bronze sculptures that adorn the lawns.

And these are just two of the multitude of squirrels who reside on the grounds.  Boy, they sure look stunned to be photographed.  Maybe they are in the squirrel witness protection program!

 

We dined that evening at The Clay Pit. Housed within the historic General Mercantile building from the mid-1800s, it offers delicious Indian cuisine, attentive service, and a nice ambience (that is until a group with 7 preschoolers arrived. Fortunately, their arrival coincided with us getting ready to leave).

We devoted a full day to touring the University of Texas (UT) campus. We started by walking to the Hall of Fame, which is situated on the original forty-acres of land designated for the college in 1883. Longhorn territory in Austin sure has grown. It now encompasses 431 acres!  Dad was in his glory taking in all the displays, exhibits, and trivia surrounding all the Longhorn teams. 

There have been 15 bulls serving as Bevo since the live mascot was introduced in 1916. Some served for only a year or two (they may have been multi-purposed into Christmas dinner); others like the current Bevo, have been a mascot for a decade or more.

I just gotta find Dad one of these ducks!

We went upstairs to peruse the Stark Museum.  Most of the exhibits were dedicated to artworks and photographs of very virile, nearly naked men, from Hercules to Arnold Schwarzenegger to "The Incredible Hulk" Lou Ferrigno, giving the history of body building and sports training.

 

Obviously, this photo does not represent one of the virile, naked specimens!

But these pics of Hercules...

...and Lou Ferrigno, AKA "The Incredible Hulk" surely do.

Though not part of the body building/sports training exhibit, I was intrigued with this unique and magnificent piece of artwork depicting a cattle drive.

It was a hot day for walking the campus, but we wanted to get the full flavor of UT Austin.

The Clock Tower is undergoing repairs, hence the scaffolding surrounding it.

We cooled off by taking in a free exhibit entitled, “Lives and Literacy in Ancient Egypt” at the Harry Ransom Center. It is amazing what can be deciphered from a small fragment of papyrus!

 

Afterwards, we spent considerable time at the UT Co-op Store. It’s a milestone birthday year for Dad, and Mom and I wanted to make it extra special. So, we purchased him new cowboy boots, T-shirts, baseball caps, and decals. Our wish is that he lives a long, enjoyable “Hook ‘Em” life.  Mom was pleased to learn that all profits from store purchases provide scholarships to students.

 

We dined that evening at Sapori, a charming Italian café that specializes in homemade pastas. We each enjoyed a different rigatoni entree, with perfectly cooked “al dente” pasta and fried calamari as our shared appetizer. The café scored extra points for serving bread (something that has gone to the wayside in many Italian restaurants these days) and for no upcharge for credit card use.

 

On another day we visited the Bullock Texas State History Museum to peruse the three floors of fascinating exhibits. We spent 3+ hours exploring this wonderful museum, which is well worth the $17/adult entry fee.

Mosaic on Terrazzo inlay that illustrates the history of Texas.

One gallery was devoted to all the festivals celebrated throughout the State. (Surprisingly, we realized we have attended a few of them already). I have already marked our calendar to attend more in the future (except the Rattlesnake Roundup, 'cause I don't want them snakes considering me "dinner")! 

This exhibit focused on the recovered artifacts and preserved hull from the shipwreck of La Belle, one of French Explorer La Salle’s fleet of 1685. 

Even the remains of one of my ancestral brethren, a black rat, was recovered from the ruins.

This folk art carving was pretty cool.  It was created for the Texas Centennial in 1936!  Though hard to see the detail from my photo, it contains the 6 Flags of Texas, portraits of governors, and includes other important milestones in the history of our great State. 

Of course, nothing represents Texas better than my beaver buddy Buc-ee!

We stopped at the Texas State Cemetery, where Steve Austin and other prominent Texans are buried. The Cemetery, which was created in 1851, is also the final resting place for some Texas Revolutionaries and 2,000 Confederate soldiers. State Highway 165 runs through the grounds, the only State Highway that closes to vehicle traffic at 5 p.m. each day.

  

Gravesite of Albert Sidney Johnston, General, Confederate States Army.

With some cloud cover and a light breeze to cut down the heat, we decided to go to Mt. Bonnell, the highest point within Austin. I must say it was a bit anticlimactic—I climbed up 102 steps to see an obstructed view of the Austin skyline at an elevation of 775 feet. 

View of Texas's Colorado River from Mt. Bonnell.

We planned to hike along Barton Creek to see Sculpture Falls, but we scrapped that idea after reading recent reviews highlighting car break-ins at the parking area.

 

Instead, we had a late lunch/early dinner at Outlaw Pizza. Let me tell ya, this was THE BEST pizza I have had in Texas. Thin, foldable, made with sourdough, and baked to perfection with a “bubble” on every slice. We also partook of their Meatball Flight, a threesome of mouth-watering wonders topped with mozzarella. One meatball was made with ground beef, one with ground pork, and one with ground elk.  D-LISH-US!

No visit to Austin would be complete without watching the night flight of the bats from Congress Avenue Bridge. It was fun to watch, but produced terrible pictures, especially compared to those we have taken of the bats at the prison in Huntsville, Texas, and at Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston, Texas. 

Cityscape from Congress Avenue Bridge.

Afterwards, we dusted off our boots and headed to the Wild West Dance Club. It was Ladies’ Night, so the $5 cover charge was waived for Mom. The cashier could not resist the charms of this stuffed Rambling RV Rat, so there was no cover charge for me either (Dad was not so lucky). We knew a few of the line dances performed, so we joined the young crowd on the dance floor.
 

Our trip had come to an end. We believe walking is the only way to really “see” a city, so we clocked a lot of miles over our stay. And we enjoyed every minute of it.

The oldest and considered the finest operating hotel in Austin is the Driskill, dating to 1886.

Interior of Driskill Hotel.

Saw lots of Waymos driverless vehicles.