Lady Bird Lake

On Sunday, we decided to take an outdoor adventure since we both had to return to work on Monday. We debated on whether we should visit the greenbelt and take a new entrance or visit the Nature and Science Center where they have animal exhibits of local wildlife. In the end we decided it would be fun to finally walk the full trail around Lady Bird Lake.

We parked by the Long Center, walked towards Lamar and over the foot bridge and then made the loop back around. Because of construction we couldn't take the normal bridge back across, so we walked a little further to the Congress bridge. Because of more construction, Congress was closed off there and we got to stand in the middle of the bridge and snap some cool shots of the view into town.

It was terribly hot, and once again, we took our trip around 2:30, when it's scorching. Luckily we hit shady spots and we had Gypsy's portable water bowl for frequent stops. We were pooped after our walk (I think it was somewhere between 3 and 4 miles). We ended our exercise-tastic adventure with some Bill Miller BBQ. I had a baked potato and fruit salad; Joe had chopped beef sandwiches; we both had TALL glasses of sweet tea.

On Tuesday, Joe bought a bike and he has already ridden it twice. Once on the way home from buying it, and once to get Subway sandwiches. He's super excited for me to bring mine back from Houston so that we can go on excursions together.

Mayfield

Yesterday was a warm one and I am hesitant about what temperatures the summer brings. But, it was a day off together, which meant we needed to go on an outing. We talked about swimming - I want to go to Deep Eddy Pool and Barton Springs sometime soon. But in the end, we decided on visiting Mayfield Nature Preserve, which was mentioned last week with our peacock picture.



We gathered Gypsy and some water and headed out. Upon arrival we discovered that dogs are not allowed - understandable in the garden area because of the peacocks. We trudged through the preserve trails for a little bit where my flipflop-feet got covered in dust and stabbed by a stick. After taking some pictures in a tree we headed home. Mayfield is still on our list of places to see, as the garden area looked really nice!

Mount Bonnell - hot, hot, hot!

We both took a day off of work (for different reasons) and made it a day of fun activities. It started with a little bit of sleeping in, which is always nice in the middle of the week. Once done with that, we hung out with some friends for a little bit, and Joe played story teller - something he does very well.

We then grabbed some Einstein Bros. and headed to Mount Bonnell. According to AustinCityGuide.com, "Austin's Mount Bonnell is one of Austin's oldest tourist attractions being documented as far back as 1850. It is the highest point within Austin City Limits at 785 feet." Like everything else we try, Mount Bonnell has been recommended by several people for beautiful, scenic views, which sparked our interest. It did not disappoint.

We went at a pretty toasty time of day, around 2:30 p.m. The puppins came along with us, of course. Mount Bonnell is located off of 35th Street, west of Mopac. The winding road takes you through West Lake Hills and some lovely houses. Once you turn on Mount Bonnell Road, you know you're climbing a mountain - Joe's Honda got a workout driving uphill.

After parking, we walked up a steady flight of rocky stairs in the shade. We came out on a round sitting area with several sets of natural rock benches and a lookout spot with the most gorgeous view of the Colorado River and the wealthy bits of Austin. By this time, Gypsy is panting like she just ran a marathon.

We continued down a rock path with lookouts on our left of boat docks, mansions and hillcountry scenery. After walking for about 10 minutes, while sweat dripped in our eyes, down our backs and through our hair, we realized the poppins pads were burning up and it was definately time to go. I wish it hadn't been so hot or we would have kept going.

Luckily we had a cup of ice water for Gypsy to drink out of, because I have never seen her pant this hard or this much. I carried her little scalding body back up the hill and down the stairs to the car, where we blasted the AC and headed home.

But before we made it back to Mopac, we passed the Mayfield Nature Preserve (now added to our list of to-do's) and saw a colorful and stoic peacock.

Joe and I concluded the evening with our first Capital City A&M Club Happy Hour. We did our best to meet and greet and make friends. Joe even found out about National Karaoke League from the president of the club. We'll see what happens with that! :)

Green Belting in Austin

After work today, Joe and I relaxed at the Barton Creek Upper North Greenbelt. We were supposed to meet some of Joe's co-workers, but as usual, it ended up being us two and the pooch.

We first learned of this area right after we moved to Austin, when a girl we met on 6th told us about it. She suggested we go to Twin Falls to really involve ourselves in true Austin culture. We went out in January to hike around a dry, but beautiful, wilderness trail. Now that we have had several downpours, the creek bed is flowing nicely and there are two waterfall areas that actually tumble with water - Twin Falls and Sculpture Falls. I have yet to see the latter, but Joe went a few weeks ago.

The weather was beautiful today and we found a small nook that was off the beaten path, somewhat. We trekked past Twin Falls and the party nest of people and dogs. Instead of being next to the large pool of water, we settled on big rocks along a little feeder creek. People passed by on the trail with bikes and dogs occasionally, but otherwise we were secluded. Two women stopped by to take some pictures of our view and deemed us lucky, because we "had the best view." We agreed.

Gypsy even ventured into the water a little, after I made her. When you set her on wet pebbles in the middle of the creek she has to get out somehow. Once she jumped around a little bit she was ready to run - as usual. The video doesn't seem to want to embed, so I will post it seperate.

Eeyore's Birthday Party

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Originally uploaded by pastelmagick

I wanted to post about this fun festival before the info becomes a dull memory. Last Saturday, Joe and I went to Eeyore's Birthday Party in Pease Park with the dog and some friends. It is an annual event in Austin and this year was the 45th anniversary. Originally started to honor the start of Spring, it's known for large drum circles, crazy costumes and occasional recreational drug use. It was a ton of fun to wear my black angel wings again and just to see so many fun-loving jugglers, dancers, crazy Austinites... I love where I live!