[mostly OT] Austin, TX

[Davelozzi]

I'll be going to Austin next week on business and was wondering if anyone can tell me anything about cool things to do or places to check out. I've always heard that Austin was a really cool city but unfortunately I don't know anyone there so I'm not really sure what to do.

I'm getting there Thursday afternoon 11/7, working during the day on Friday 11/8 and leaving the next morning, so basically I'm trying to figure out how to kill some time Friday night, maybe just walk around a cool area and get a feel for the place, nothing major.

On a slight on-topic note, does anyone know of any cool game stores in the area that I can check out in case I want to pick up a book to read on the flight home?

Dave, there was a typo in the thread subject, so I changed "Autin" to "Austin" for you. Thought you wouldn't mind. - Piratecat

 

[Felix]

Go to 6th Street if you like a bar scene. It does have a big time college feel, but there are some quality bars down there if you have the time to look.

Otherwise, take a stroll around the University of Texas campus. It was beautiful in the May I visited, and autumn might make it more so.

Besides that, Austin is basically a small town; although the Texas capital building is boasted to be bigger than the one in D.C. Silly Texans.

 

[jgbrowning]

look up "dragons lair." its on Burnett street and is very nice and friendly.

use to live in austin and that where i went. good store. If you like jazz go to the white elephant. maybe you'll see tony campeze play.. great sax man. its on congress just south of 6th street if i remember rightly.

look 'em up in the phonebook at the hotel..

joe b.

 

[Mystic Eye]

6th street is the way to go for some fun at night. Good food, lots of live music, etc.

There is also a new Dragon's Lair store in the north of Austin (Round Rock) which is a bit easier to get to.

There are tons of other things to do but it depends on what you are into and how much time you have.

 

[Davelozzi]

There are tons of other things to do but it depends on what you are into and how much time you have.

The other things that I'm into are hiking, biking, and driving around. The time that I have available (basically just an evening) limits those options, of course.

Thanks for the ideas about 6th St. and Dragon's Lair, they should allow me to kill a few hours.

 

[seasong]

Depends on what you're looking for. We've got good eats, lots of live music, a few microbreweries, some very nice parks (Mt Bonnell is good unless you're a damned yankee with real mountains coming out your ears; McKinney Falls is nice regardless), and jubilance-inspiring weather (currently a clear blue sky at 80 degrees).

I'd recommend a search on City Search Austin or our homebrewed Austin360 for the real info.

For your gaming book needs, Dragon's Lair probably has the strongest Austin homeyness to it, although they're no longer in someone's restructured house .

But like I said, it depends on what you are looking for.

 

[Desdichado]

There's a lot of pretty wild bars and clubs, if I recall (haven't been to Austin in probably 5 years, and I was never really into that scene anyway. Although a lot of my friends were.)

I don't think fall would necessarily make Austin prettier. Texas fall colors are just brown. And it's probably too early for that anyway.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Avoid 6th street, unless you like to gawk at drunken coeds.

Go to "the drag" (26th St. next to the University). Gaze up at the tower, from where Charles Whitman killed several people (1960s) and where I worked for five years (1990s). No correlation, just a coincidence. Then have a cheesesteak (with #2 secret mustard sauce) at Texadelphia (unless The Cadeau has taken over the entire Drag and forced them out of business). Laugh at the drag-worms (pan-handlers) and bow-heads (sorority members).

Stop by S. John Ross's apartment and say 'Hi' to the author of GURPS: Russia and GURPS: Warehouse 23 (and other cool stuff).

Find mouseferatu and say 'Hi' to EN World's resident WW author with the screen name that still cracks me up.

Go to the Arboretum and see the marble cows.

Go swimming in the hot springs at Zilker Park. Ride the train when you're done.

Go to Chuy's for the decor.

If you're hungry, go to Katz's in the middle of the night. "Katz's never closes!"

Look at Town Lake and laugh at what Texans call a "lake."

Drive to 3915 Becker Avenue (one block east of Red River and 40th, just north of the University) and marvel at the house where I lived for two years.

Drive down I-35--at the William Cannon exit, note the apartment buildings with the blue roofs where I lived for two years.

Go shopping on S. Congress street.

Have some Amy's Ice Cream.

Go to any decent grocery store and marvel at the choice of salsa and hot sauce available. Sometimes I really hate Wisconsin.

Take a tour of the capital building. It's interesting, and I do believe it's bigger (either more sq. feet of space or a bit taller, but not both) than the U.S. Capitol.

Visit the oldest building in Austin - the French Legation.

Drive down I-35 from downtown, heading south. For a while, that was the second most dangerous stretch of highway in the state of Texas (poor design + college students = bad road). Be careful.

Go to the East Side Cafe. Have something organic!


Ok, ok, some of these you can't do in your limited time there. I lived in Austin for 8 years. Except for the weather, I miss it a lot. Of course, I haven't been there since 1995, and a lot of things may have changed since then....

There's a lot of pretty wild bars and clubs, if I recall (haven't been to Austin in probably 5 years, and I was never really into that scene anyway. Although a lot of my friends were.)

I don't think fall would necessarily make Austin prettier. Texas fall colors are just brown. And it's probably too early for that anyway.

LOL - so true, so true.... Of course, the summer and winter colors are usually just brown, too....

 

[Shadowdancer]

Don't know if this is the right time of year, but go to the Congress Ave. bridge at sunset and watch the bats from the bat colony that lives under the bridge fly out for feeding time. It's pretty cool. There are restaurants nearby with patios looking over Town Lake (really just the wide part of a river) from which you get an excellent view of the bats.

There's another hobby store in town you should check out if you have time -- King's Hobbies on North Lamar. They aren't just games -- they have a lot of model trains and airplanes stuff -- but they have a large selection of out-of-print gaming stuff.

One thing you absolutely must do while in Austin. Go to Freebird's World Burrito at 1000 E. 41st St. in the Hancock Center (right next to the Interstate, easy to find). Eat one of their burritos. These are the biggest, baddest, best tasting burritos made. They put everything inside them -- meat, beans, rice, lettuce, cheese, pico, sour cream, the works. They have different flavor flour tortillas, and hot sauces with different degrees of spicyness. If you get a Super Monster, be prepared -- it's like a bedroll. It's huge -- you can make two meals out of it.

 

[dead_radish]

Definately go to Freebird's, and Amy's. Both very Austin places, and both excellent for their respective foods. Hyde Park Bar and Grill has excellent food as well.

If you just want to drink, Mother Egan's Irish Pub is nice, Trudy's is good for Mexican Martini's and Mexican food, Baby A's has the strongest margarita's I've ever experienced, or Daiquri Factory on 6th for cheap drinks, but it is on 6th street (although to be fair, 6th street is a fairly famous Austin feature, so you'll probably ant to visit it, so you can say you were there). Don't expect to park on 6th if you're going there, though. It's a walk 3 blocks minimum sorta thing.

Music is good in Austin, natch (Live music capital of the world, kinda). Check out www.auschron.com and go to music. Antone's is the home of the Blue's, SRV's home club, etc. Lots of goodness.

Oh - and sob quietly to yourself, as you're missing Clandestine by one night (They'll be at the Cactus Cafe on Saturday night, as will I).

The Capitol is very nice at night to wander, especially since the weather is nice now. UT campus is fairly nice too, but I've been there too many times.

Dragon's Lair is aan excellent game store. They used to be better, when they were in a yellow and green house, but the corgi's are still in shop, as are all the cats, and their stock is fairly good for current stuff. For back issues, I like Austin Books on Lamar (Remember - in Austin, everything is just off Lamar).

If you're highly adventurous, you can attempt to locate Warehouse 23, of SJ Games fame. SJ Games' offices and warehouses are in Austin, in a very nice tin warehouse (You'd never guess the 3rd largest game company was in an old house and tin warehouse), but it's hard to find. But Steve is often there, and would likely love to talk gaming, if you could sneak in.

www.auschron.com is good for what's happening, austin360 is good for what's around restaurant-wise and such.

Yeah, I like it here. What's it to ya?