Will be in Austin, TX July 20-Aug 1 for a 2-week journalism teacher workshop at UT.

Question is: what to do with the LITTLE amount of free time I will have from 5PM Friday afternoon to Sunday evening (26th to 28th).

Touristy suggestions?? Meet-ups? Shop tours?

OH, and if anyone knows, what's the closest LC-MS church to where I'll be staying: the Double Tree Guest Suites?

THANKS!

My kid, Chef-boy, went to school in Austin at the Texas Culinary Academy. They have a restaurant there. I don't know. I mean there might be something cool happening at the school they have speakers & stuff.

But the biggee here on I-35 if you find yourself on 35 at exit 353 if memory serves or wherever it is is the Czech Bakery EAT THE KOLACHES eat lots of them. Eat poppy seed kolaches and apricot ones and proooooon ones and stop there and I mean just fill your lungs and smell that lovely sweet yeasty goodness mmmmmm

Don't miss the Czech Bakery--it's on the way to Austin and hopefully on the way out of Austin. Aghh, don't tell me you're flying!

drat...yep, I'm flying in from NYC (where I'm at a different workshop the week before. Anyone in Clifton, NJ or thereabouts?)

and I sooooo love kolaches!

In my best Maxwell Smart voice, "But I said don't tell me you're flying."

Would you believe, rent a car??

lol

There is always the Capital, or the burned governor's mansion. I suggest that what ever you do that it be inside. We are already hitting triple digits now, and we don't usually do that until July/August, so I imagine that it is going to be unbearable by the time you come.

Here is a link to some stuff to do:

http://www.austinwebpage.com/tourists.htm

and another:

http://www.austintexas.org/

Not sure what a LC-MS church is, but here is a church search for Austin:

http://www.churchsearch.com/austin/home.htm

My sister lives in Austin. I will ask her what's good to do around there and where's good to eat.


LOL...you could always go swimming at Hippie Hollow...http://www.hippiehollow.com/

Try the Hula Hut on Lake Austin Blvd (you take 6th street to get there)...I drive 2 hours just to eat lunch there. They have the best tex-mex!

If you like good music, Austin is the place to be. I would ask at your hotel if they can recommend a good place for whatever type of music youlike.

And if you're really bored, you could always come visit me in San Antonio!

you definitely have to go by Hey Cupcake!!!!

http://www.heycupcake.com/austin_cupcake_story.htm


and have one for me too....I want to go sooo bad....and IM IN HOUSTON and haven't gone!!

All I have to say is be warned Traffic is HORRIBLE there! I live in Fort Worth but where I used to work we had an office in Austin also and all I heard was how bad the traffic was (and I have driven thru there a couple times to get to San Antonio and they weren't lying!)

All in One Bake Shop is there.

http://www.allinonebakeshop.com/clubandevents.asp

Capital Confectioners is the cake club there that holds the Cake Art show at the beginning of the year. Too bad you will miss their DOS for August. (the 10th)

Yup, All in One is a great cake shop! Its on 183 near Burnett... its small, but jam packed with good stuff! To eat, I would suggest Hula Hut on the lake, or Trudy's. Both tex-mex, but Austin faves!

The bats are always a touristy spot. Go to the congress street bridge right beofre dusk. It is amazing! Theres some great shopping on First street, very unique!

I'm so jealous! I just moved from Austin and I miss it so much!! Have fun, its really a great city!!

http://www.utlutheran.org/
This is probably the closest to the DoubleTree. There is a ELCA church right down the road but I believe this is a closest LCMS looking at addresses.

The Bob Bullock Museum is suppose to be really interesting and right now they have an exhibit on the TV show Dallas along with all you could ever want to know about Texas History and an IMAX.

http://www.thestoryoftexas.com/

wow! lots of good ideas and advice T H A N K S ! !

---tho'---

is there a plot afoot among you all to fatten me up even more? Gosh, I'm going to be in sugar overload hitting all those cake and cupcake shops!

definitely have too see the bats (cousins I think, considering how everyone seems to say I'm a bit batty)

and since I love Tex-Mex, will be sure to hit one or both of them.

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is there NO one in Austin who wants to visit for a bit? or play tour guide? or just let me come play in your bakery?

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hmm...may just have to take up that offer of heading to SA for a visit!

Austin is a great city. Some things you might do while here:

• Visit the Capitol

• Visit the Umlauf Sculpture Garden

• Wander through the

Zilker Botanical Gardens

• Hear some live music, after all we are the music capital of the world!

• See the Bats under the Congress Street Bridge

• Do a walking tour of Austin from the Visitors Center

• Listen to a Concert in the Park every Sunday at Zilker Park

• Eat BBQ. So many good places. Try County Line or Rudy's or...

• Attend the Sunday Gospel Brunch at Stubb's

• Visit the Bob Bullock museum, skip the Spirit of Texas film unless you just want a heck of a good belly laugh

• We have some great restaurants. Try Shady Grove and Hut's Hamburgers or Hula Hut

• See a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse where you can eat and watch a movie at the same time

• Walk the Town Lake trail

I'm not a good person to suggest Tex-Mex because although I loooove Mexican food, I hate Tex-Mex.

Ooh that reminds me, another good bbq place is the Salt Lick...it's not quite in Austin. It's actually in Driftwood, TX, but that really isn't THAT far!

The Salt Lick is awesome and if you're up that way, you're pretty much in Wine country so if you enjoy wine you can tour through some wineries while you're at it.