Trip to Austin

Dan arrived in Houston last Sunday, Chelsea arrived Wednesday and this weekend we made the 3-hour trek out to Austin to visit with some of his former college roommates and our fellow BHS alumni. In all there was a group of 9 of us hanging out in a 2-bedroom apartment all weekend: Dan, Chelsea, Brad Murphy, Dan Greenhalgh (one of the apartment residents), Eric White (the other resident), Scott Dombrowski, Kelly (Greenhalgh's girlfriend), and Krista (Kelly's cousin). By the end of the weekend, Dan and I were in the market for Austin jobs and apartments.

Austin is far from what you how you imagine a typical Texas city: there is grass, trees, water, hills, I didn't see a single cow. Having been in Houston for nearly 3 months now, I fully appreciate Michigan's landscape, which Austin seems to replicate. As Greenhalgh said, Austin "is like Ann Arbor and Chicago combined.", a statement with which I fully agree. You get the big city feel of Chicago, combined with the comfort and friendliness of Ann Arbor.

The city grows out of the hills as the river runs alongside it

After arriving Friday evening, we had dinner at a local place and then enjoyed the bar scene for the rest of the night. Saturday we had big plans. After a slow start in the morning, we headed to the Hula Hut for lunch. As seen below, the deck stretches into the Colorado River and the other side of the river had hills and greenery, making for a beautiful view. Greenhalgh told Dan if he jumped in the water, that his meal would be free. Dan was halfway out of his chair before realizing it was a joke. I would have been following him into the water however if that was actually true.

Our view overlooking the Colorado River. We were seated in the back, right along the water.

After lunch we headed to Zilker Park, a huge park (351 acres) that somehow maintains lush, green grass amid the summer heat. We played a little football and relaxed in the shade with a view of the cityscape as the backdrop.

Simply gorgeous

After sweating it out in the heat for awhile, we headed over to Barton Springs. I am not sure how to best describe the spring, as it is the combination of a pool, river, and dam. The city has dammed up the river and built concrete deck and stairs around it, while also maintaining some of the natural grass and rock setting. The river itself is left untouched as the bottom is full of rock and seaweed. At 69 degrees year round, the water was extremely refreshing following a bit of physical activity. The picture below doesn't do it justice, but it's the best I have.

The far bank has been left mostly untouched to preserve the beautiful  landscape

Afterwards we headed back to Greenhalgh and Eric's apartment and ordered a bunch of pizza's and took them down to the pool. After we ate, we played pool volleyball for a few hours before getting ready and heading out on the town for the night. None of us really sure how we managed to stay awake all day and night but we somehow powered through.

The ball made it over the railing a few times, but fortunately there were usually people below who threw it back

On Sunday we woke up late, but headed down to the pool right away to play more volleyball before Chelsea had to catch her flight. Scott and Dan took her to the airport and when they got back at 3:30, Dan and I made the sad journey back to Houston. Though I would miss Michigan, I can understand how Brad has had an easy time convincing his friends and family to relocate to Austin.