Austin City Limits and Beyond

While Millie was off having fun in California, the four of us planned a quick trip to Texas' capital city. The rest of us wanted to have fun, too. Mr. Smith had a conference to attend in downtown Austin on Friday, July 12, and he was eager to have traveling buddies. 

Our bags were quickly packed, and into the car we went again. This time it was only a three and a half hour road trip. We spent the nights of the 11th and 12th at the downtown Embassy Suites. 

Unfortunately, on Friday morning, the two older Smithlings and I overslept and missed the complimentary hotel breakfast. We easily found a Starbucks and ended up being treated to three free drinks by a very kind barista. We had free breakfast, after all!

Our tour of Austin began at the Texas State Capitol. 

Little did we know that this was the day that the Texas State Senate was deciding whether or not to pass new, tougher abortion laws. It was busy with supporters from both sides, but we managed to squeeze in and go on a guided tour of the building. 

The TX Capitol was completed in 1888. The Lone Star state paid for the construction of this impressive structure not in dollars, but in land: some three million acres in the Texas Panhandle that would later become the famous XIT Ranch.

Attention to detail is evident everywhere, including the door hinges. Each decorative hinge weighs over seven pounds, and measures 8"X8".

The Bullock Texas State History Museum was next on our to do list.

Look! I found a lone star...

...or two.

From Native American facts and artifacts to the present day oil industry, we learned a lot about "our" state.

We were nearly finished with the museum exhibits when we realized that we had not eaten all day -- except for the liquid (coffee) breakfast. It was 2:30.

We remembered that it was Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A -- FREE food!

Do I write about food too much? Perhaps. What we ate, where we ate, and when we ate tends to dominate the details of many a blog post. Oh, well.

Dinner was AWESOME. Jack Allen's Kitchen was chosen by my son because of the 94% approval rating on Urbanspoon. It was a good call.

The next morning, we arose early enough to venture down to the hotel breakfast bar, but it was disappointing. 

Nothing disappointing here... We took a walk for about a mile and ended up being delighted by Gourdough's Big. Fat. Donuts. Well, I'm not so sure about the light part of being delighted. Let's just say that it's a good thing we walked.

We ordered one Flying Pig, one Miss Shortcake, one Sin-a-Bomb, one South First Hipster, and they added (just for me!) a chocolate beauty that wasn't even on the menu. These are monstrous fried dough confectionary delights. After a few bites, it was evident that we had ordered two too many donuts for the four of us.

We had to get a doggie bag. We knew that we'd be skipping lunch after this hearty breakfast fare.

We left Austin mid-morning and headed for Fredricksburg. We really only had one reason to take this circuitous route back to Ft. W. -- the Choo Choo Patio shop was beckoning. We wanted/NEEDED to get some yard art.

This place is hard to describe -- it has a little bit of everything!

And there's a lot of stuff I'd never want.

If only we would have had room in the car for this Spanish conquistador. I'm sure our neighbors would love seeing this in our lawn.

We did purchase three objects d'art for the Smith Haus.

 We selected a rebar tree that now has glass baubles hanging from it.

The next item is an oversized peacock. (We call her "Kevin" because she reminds us of the bird from the movie Up.) No pink flamingos came home with us.

The third item is a gazing ball (far right) that is in a globe stand.

Whaddya think?