There comes a moment in every parent’s journey when they are hit with the reality that their babies aren’t babies anymore. Has this moment hit you, yet?
That moment came for me last week during our stay in Austin, Texas. We had already ridden bikes for several miles, exploring the city and the trails at Lady Bird Lake. My 9-year-old effortlessly kept up with the adults – no surprise there.
It was when I realized my almost-6-year-old was right in line with everyone else – never lagging behind, never complaining, never needing anything from me or anyone else – that’s when my heart about exploded with pride, excitement for her, and what’s that??! Total excitement for our whole family!!
Why? Because we are now in what my sister-in-law calls the “golden years” of parenting – the years between preschool and teenage years. These are the years when the freedom of spontaneity replaces nap schedules, and some level of independence replaces my kids’ total dependence on me.
It’s wonderful.
So, what did we do in Austin? ALL. THE. THINGS. We ate, we walked, we biked, we shopped, we kayaked. We seriously had THE best time.
As a side note, I will say I didn’t find Austin to be the most kid friendly city. Not like Colorado Springs where we felt welcome to bring our kids most everywhere we went. I felt like our kids were tolerated in Austin, but not exactly welcome. Thankfully my kids don’t lose their minds in public so we still enjoyed everything we did. Just wanted to throw that out there for your information.
Things to do
- Ride bikes at Lady Bird Lake – The paths are crushed granite and generally pretty flat, so riding bikes was very easy for our 5YO whose bicycle doesn’t have gears.
- SXSW – An annual conference geared toward film, music, culture, and technology. Typically in March. We were fortunate that our condo balcony was across the street from a restaurant that had live music every day (and night). Even if you visit during the other 51 days of the year, there are always places to hear live, local music.
- Visit the Capitol Building – We did a self-guided tour of the Capitol Building just after playing a game of kickball on the Capitol lawn. Great memories!
- See the bats on Congress – Okay this is not something I would have signed up for, but everyone else wanted to go. You walk to the Congress Ave. bridge and about 20 minutes before dark, the bats who live underneath the bridge wake up and take flight! It’s strange and beautiful, and the kids loved it. There were a lot of people there so go early if you can.
- Hunt for street murals – Austin is known for its many wall murals. There are so many to find and they make incredibly memorable photos!
- Rent kayaks, canoes, or paddle boards at Lady Bird Lake – I think we paid $15/hour for a kayak and an hour was enough. The kids loved dipping their feet in the water and paddling around. Totally worth it.
- 6th street – 6th street is home to an endless supply of local dives, interesting people, and clubs. It’s insanely busy on the weekends (and during SXSW), so if you’re not interested in a large crowd experience I would steer clear of this area.
Places to Stay
- Hotel – Marriott Hotel – upscale hotel downtown. Very convenient to LBL, downtown restaurants, and 6th street.
- Condo – The Guild – We booked our condo through The Guild and our 2 bedroom/2 bath set up was extremely spacious. So much so that we were able to keep all six of our bikes in the room without impeding on our walking space. We also had a full kitchen and a large balcony.
- Air b&b – there are tons of places around Austin that offer air b&b lodging. I have heard of people having tiny houses air stream campers in their backyards for this purpose.
Places to eat
- Pic Nik – this might have been my favorite restaurant. The entire menu is super clean, so sorry, no fried food here. Their specialty is butter coffee and it is divine. I am still trying to figure out how to make it myself at home.
- Wild Wood Bakehouse – Wild Wood is 100% gluten free and has every comfort food you can think of one the menu. My whole family is gluten free, so this was a super treat! They even make fresh cupcakes daily in a variety of flavors. If you are not gluten free, don’t let that stop you from going to Wild Wood. The food is legitimately delish- even my father-in-law who proudly claims to be “gluten full” loved it!
- Licha’s Cantina – This was a fun little dive on 6th street. If you like what I call “exploratory food” and aren’t afraid of eating something a little different, then you want to eat at Licha’s for sure! If seeing octopus, cow tongue and pork belly on a TexMex menu would freak you out, then maybe don’t go to Licha’s. Of course, there are dishes on the menu that aren’t as exotic, and we stuck to those. 🙂
- Saperlipopette – a French crepe food truck run by a true Frenchman! He was very kind and his crepes were certainly a crowd pleaser! Check his website beforehand for hours.
Desserts
- Yummi Joy – a candy and ice cream shop that offers dairy free (vegan) ice cream options. My kids were thrilled to pick whatever flavor they wanted, and I was thrilled to let them! Yummi Joy is conveniently located downtown, a short walk from our condo.
- Lick Ice Cream – Can you say, delicious?! Lick is an experience and worth the wait in line. They offer a variety of dairy and dairy free ice creams at several locations around Austin. Their cream is locally sourced and non-homogenized which means the cream they get is the creamiest! Lick also offers several dairy free options that are coconut based, and while I wouldn’t say they are as tasty as the dairy ice creams, they are still good and I would eat there again.
What are your favorite things to do and eat in Austin? Tell me in the comments below!
