Friday, January 24, 2014

Austin and beyond...

From Galveston, we traveled west past Houston to Austin, capital of Texas and home to the main campus of the University of Texas. We indulged ourselves there by staying in the dog-friendly and completely unique, Hotel St. Cecilia.


Olive in the courtyard of the Hotel St. Cecilia
Each room in the hotel is unique but they all sport old-fashioned turntables and in the lobby is a fine collection of old record albums that can be checked out. But the best part is the location, the Hotel St. Cecilia is on a quiet street that is just a short walk from Congress Street, the main drag that has a great variety of restaurants and shopping, much of which is dog-friendly. We walked down each morning and had breakfast at Jo's. We enjoyed great coffee and pastries and Olive enjoyed the company of other canines like this beautiful pooch...



While in town, we toured the state capitol building. It has a beautiful understated elegance.

The dome of the Texas Capitol Building.

The Senate Chamber.
When we were on the grounds of the capitol, I experienced a little lens envy. But, you know, I would never be able to hold that thing still.


Austin is also a great base for exploring the Texas Hill Country and we took a day to check it out. We stopped at Perdernales Falls State Park and took a gander at the river that has made the area what it is today.


We checked out the boyhood home of President Lyndon B. Johnson and his adult ranch.

LBJ's boyhood home.
We stopped by Luckenbach, which Greg informed me is the subject of a country song by Waylon Jennings.


But, in spite of all the natural beauty we took in and all the cool things to see in Austin, the coolest thing we saw has to be this!


14 comments:

Unknown said...

You've seen more of Texas than I have and I've lived here most of my married life! It does have it's quirky beauty and I think you managed to capture that.

barbara l. hale said...

We like nothing better than to wander around. We do it everywhere we go. Sometimes we miss the stuff in the Tourist Guides, but we often see things that others overlook. But those boots on the fence were just over the top fabulous.

TexWisGirl said...

love the boot fence. :) wondering if the gate in your header is recent or one you had posted before. olive is cute. love the big tree at lbj's old homeplace!

MadSnapper said...

the boots and the dome are my most favorite today. LBJ boy hood home is what i would like to live in today...

The Furry Gnome said...

This trip is sounding very interesting! How warm was it down there?

Unknown said...

Does sound like you are having so much fun with great images to back it up...I'm glad Olive talked you into staying at the St Cecelia. She does look right at home ;)

barbara l. hale said...

The warmest it has been has been around 80 degrees F. and the coolest has been below freezing here in Marfa the night before last. In general, it has been in the 60s F. and I love that!

Tina Fariss Barbour said...

Great photos! That Capitol dome is beautiful. And the boot fence is so unique. I love that Austin seems so dog friendly.

Gail Dixon said...

Austin is a great city! We've thought of retiring there. You captured some great images of the city. Love those boots on the fence especially.

Nicki said...

I'm so glad Olive got to travel with you. You found some interesting sights (like the box for bills - lOL).

Brian King said...

Very cool photos! I love your shot of the capitol dome! And the boot fence is pretty darn unique! I've been to Austin, San Antonio, and Laredo. Would love to go back.

Nancy said...

We have a boot fence here on the farm... I love that shot you took!

Debbie said...

olive always steals the show BUT i really love boot fence!!

beautiful images today barb!!

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Barbara, we too like to take off on road trips and I am behind in viewing your recent Texas posts. You must be happy to be enjoying 60 degree weather and not the colder New England temps. We've even had snow twice within a week on the VA eastern shore, but then we do like it being natives of NJ.