Top 10 Ways to Experience Austin, TX

Austin is a unique and exciting place. After spending a week there for our anniversary, we highly recommend a visit to this growing city. We had adventure after adventure with lots of food and sweets in between. (Don't worry - those posts are up next!) We never felt stressed about time and managed to sleep in while still covering a lot of ground. Our time in Austin included five days and four nights - we made them all count!

{ONE}

Our first stop in Austin was a local brewery that Chris wanted to check out. South Austin Brewery turned out to be a double win because they were also having a record sale. Later in the week, we also ventured over to Waterloo Records for additional record perusing. And swung by ABGB for a quick drink with the locals before we left Austin.

{TWO}

Everyone knows that Texas loves football. We hadn't originally planned to attend a Longhorns game, but the timing worked out with our schedule. The most impressive part of the game proved to be pre-game when the team rolled out a nearly 50-yard Texas flag and proceeded to sing the state song. WOW! Definitely never seen anything quite like that before. Texans sure are proud to be Texans. We also happened to be there on alumni band day so the halftime show proved an extra special treat as well.

{THREE}

We left the game a tad early in order to make it over to the Esther's Follies venue on 6th Street in time for the late show. Esther's Follies is a combination of comedic musical theater (think SNL skits set to music) and magic. The focus of the evening leaned heavily toward politics given it was an election year, but we really enjoyed the performance. Definitely a must-attend event! Afterward, we walked up and down 6th Street taking in the scene. Austin is known for its music scene and we were able to take in a bit of the eclectic music atmosphere as we wandered this Bourbon Street type environment.

{FOUR}

Chris found a brand new cider tasting room near our South Austin hotel location. We spent a good portion of the afternoon visiting with the owner, Mike, and trying his four different ciders. It was practically a private tasting since no one else arrived until about 15 minutes before we departed. Surprisingly, I liked Hefe Apfel cider best. The tasting was great, but the company even better - there's nothing like chatting with a local. If you live in or visit the Austin area, stop in Austin Wine & Cider for a drink and tell Mike we said hello!

{FIVE}

The number one item on Chris' things to do in Austin list was visit the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum. I left amazed by the volume of communications and information on display. We both could have stayed there all day. The most fascinating part of the museum proved the recorded phone conversations.  There were stations set up throughout the various levels of the museum where you could listen to phone conversations between LBJ and J. Edgar Hoover, MLK, Jr., Lady Bird, incoming President-elect Nixon, various Senators, and so many others. I was completely hooked. Chris and I went to see All The Way on Broadway a couple years ago so a chunk of the info was quite familiar, but we were still engrossed in all the details and artifacts. The museum was easily the most interesting place we encountered on our visit. It is certainly worth a look (and listen)!

{SIX}

I had heard mixed reviews regarding the Austin Bat Tour before we made our plans. As it turns out, the tour is a great way to learn more about the history and growth of Austin. The first hour of the tour was a sunset cruise on the lake with a humorous and engaging commentary on the skyline buildings and area. This portion was far more interesting than the actual bat watching portion. We definitely saw the bats. Perhaps about a million of them. Seriously, it was a tad unnerving how many of them just live in the crevices of the bridge. After about five minutes of seeing these tiny creatures fly back and forth between the bridge and a nearby tree, I was ready to head out. I would say skip this, but the sunset cruise portion was really neat and informative. Also, please note that opting to stand on the bridge and watch the bats for free will NOT give you the proper angle to see anything. If you are willing to make the trek over to the bridge, definitely go ahead and book the boat tour.

{SEVEN}

As a blogger, I have seen Austin murals (particularly the I love you so much one) for years now. I was beyond excited to be able to drive around and find them with Chris. He was decidedly less excited, but since it was our anniversary he played along nicely. It was fun to spot them, but since we were playing tourist on a random Tuesday it was much more difficult to find a photographer. We made the best of it though. We even found a graffiti park along the way.

{EIGHT}

A local recommended Mount Bonnell to us. While it didn't blow us away like we were expecting it might, we did enjoy the opportunity to see the city from a different vantage point.  I can imagine it is beautiful during sunrise and sunset. We didn't spend much time here, but I'd glad we made the trek up to check it out.

{NINE}

After our delicious anniversary dinner, we stopped by a mini-golf location that we had seen open the night before. It was inexpensive to play both courses (18 holes each) and as we discovered halfway through our first game it was also BYOB. The course seemed to be a popular spot for both couples and groups celebrating a birthday. One course was more challenging than the other and we split wins. Definitely a fun way to end the evening.

{TEN}

Finally, let me recommend a free tour of the Capitol Building. They run on the half hour. We enjoyed learning more about the history of Texas and how their state government operates. The building has some beautiful design work throughout as well.

Have you ever experienced Austin?

What did we miss?

Andrea :)

Relaxing in San Antonio

San Antonio is easily on my list of top five most relaxing US cities. The atmosphere is simply unbeatable. We made sure to visit the Alamo, but otherwise we just roamed around, people watched, and enjoyed the warm weather.

We opted to make use of the audio tour option at the Alamo. I think we would have missed out on some valuable stories and touch points if we had self-guided. Definitely worth the minimal cost. We also tried to go earlier in the day to avoid the crowds and rising temperatures. After a couple of hours spent remembering the Alamo, we ventured over to the Riverwalk area and hopped on a boat tour to get a good layout of the area before we started roamed about on foot.

We managed to find a Blue Bell Ice Cream shop without much issue. It was definitely quite high on my priority list since it is so popular among my crew of ever-growing friends with Texas roots.  We also decided to the beat the heat by spending a couple hours at Dave & Buster's in the Rivercenter Mall. We got pretty competitive with the basketball game there!

Since we started the day with the historic Alamo, we decided to end our evening with both the oldest restaurant and oldest bar on the Riverwalk. Casa Rio had quite a long wait for the outside tables along the Riverwalk, but we managed to get in pretty quickly by opting for an indoor table. The food was delicious with overflowing portions. This meal began a week of fantastic and fulfilling options. Texas definitely does it right when it comes to food.  The drinks at The Esquire were unique with fancy garnishes and neat names. I'm more interested in cider than mixed drinks these days, but the atmosphere was great in this older venue.

Have you visited Texas?

What do you enjoy most about visiting a new place? 

Andrea :)

An Indoor Beach Wedding

A few weekends ago, we packed our best summer clothes and headed down to Miami for a beach wedding. Little did we know, our weekend would be spent almost completely indoor.

The wind whipped viciously and continuously for our entire trip. Any time outside the resort venue found me in a windbreaker with the hood up. It was truly unbelievable. We made the best of it by spending time with family that we don't often see and catching up on some reading and Netflix documentaries.

Despite the drastic change of environment, the wedding was lovely. It was great to enjoy dancing and chatting with Chris' cousins and aunts from England, Memphis, and Atlanta as well as the crew from NY.  Family weddings are always such a fun time!

When was your last family wedding?

Andrea :)

Five on Friday!

It's FRIDAY!! It been an eventful week that spanned ALL the emotions. For now, I'll leave it at that. Today, I wanted to share a few tidbits about the happenings of my week/month.

{ONE}

A few weeks ago, Chris and I ventured over to New Jersey to watch his cousin play in a collegiate soccer game. The weather didn't really cooperate with us that particular day, but despite the drizzling rain and cold temps our team was victorious!  And Myles Jordan even scored the first goal of the match! It was great to watch him play.

{TWO}

Loving is a beautiful love story that finds justice at its core. Fortunately for me and Chris, Richard and Mildred Loving (alongside their ACLU legal team) fought the good fight for many years and finished the race in 1967 with a Supreme Court decision that makes our marriage legal today. As Hillary reminded us in her concession speech, "please never stop believing that fighting for what's right is worth it." Needless to say, I highly recommend that everyone watch this movie.

{THREE}

I've volunteered for organizations that assist under served students in the past, but I recently became involved with Let's Get Ready. This organization provides low income high school students with free SAT preparation, admissions counseling, and other support services needed to gain admission to and graduate from college. Services are provided by volunteer college students who serve as role models and mentors. We are hosting our annual benefit next week. I'm excited about the opportunity to see how it all comes together after the hard work and effort our committee put into the event. If you have interest in learning more about the event, click HERE.

{FOUR}

This month I am co-hosting an instagram challenge. Find me @alhadventures - I invite you all to participate! It has been a lot of fun getting to know others by using #novemberphoto2016 on all our posts. Please join us for some photo fun the rest of November!

{FIVE}

I'm going to DISNEY WORLD!! I'm actually just going to be there for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, but I am super excited to have my niece and nephew show me all their favorite rides. I have never been a major Disney fan, but I can honestly say I am stoked to have the opportunity to experience it with my two favorite kiddos! It should be a blast!!

What is going on in your life this week/month?

Andrea :)

Erin's Book Challenge 5.0 - Reviews!

Reading provides knowledge. Knowledge is power. It also allows me to experience a world different than my own. To get to know and love characters that I might have never met. Reading is a wonderful thing. I signed up for Erin's Book Challenge 5.0 to give myself a push to read outside my comfort zone. Some of the categories were a stretch for me (I'm looking at you published over 100 years ago category) while others were right in my wheelhouse (hello historical fiction and book to movie categories). It proved no easy task, but I managed to finish all ten books (that was A LOT for me!) in the four month window. I enjoyed the majority of them - learning something about myself as well as my preferences along the way.

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan 

(freebie category)
Highly Recommend

I selected this book because it was also my "J" choice for the ABC Reads challenge that Mia and I host. As I mentioned in my ABC Reads post, I was surprised how much I enjoyed this one. The storytelling pulled me in pretty quickly. I also enjoyed gaining a better understanding of the Asian culture through this account of four families and their transition to American life through the eyes of two generations.

Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman

(letter "R" title category)
Skip It

I added this book to the mix when one of the members of my NYC book club chose it. Honestly, I had an extremely difficult time getting into this one. It is incredibly long and drawn out. The story itself is fine, but it just took SO long to get there. I actually had to switch over to audible for the last half of the book to get through it all. I did find it much more interesting once I made that switch. Not sure if it was the more passive listening option that helped or if the story just ended up getting a little more interesting at that point.

The Unraveling of Mercy Louis by Keija Parssinen

(5 word title category)
Skip It

This selection served a dual purpose as my "U" ABC Reads Challenge book. I highlighted in my previous review, that I didn't particularly enjoy the book as a whole. However, the characters were a lot of fun. I enjoyed the development there, but the story lacked a bit from my perspective.

We Are Called to Rise by Laura McBride

(mostly blue cover category)
Highly Recommend

I listened to this book entirely on audible, but I want to purchase a hard copy. It was a fantastic story interweaving characters and social themes throughout. Even though I pegged the ending fairly early, I managed to become completely engrossed in the characters and discovering how they were all connected. I love the message of the story. The way it honestly portrays the real life struggles and issues of the current day made it completely compelling.

The Silent Twin by Caroline Mitchell

(twins category)
Skip It

As someone that really loves twins (at least the conceptual idea of twins), I was excited for this category. Unfortunately, I didn't make a great choice. The book was more of a murder mystery whodunit than anything else. I was bored to tears initially, but it did pick up a bit throughout. By the end, I was hooked on finding out the culprit. After I found out who and why, I was a bit disappointed. I kind of want a do over on this category so if you have any good twin book suggestions, please pass them along to me!

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

(book to movie category)
Worth A Read

I listened on audible to this one. It had me hooked from the start. I had seen the movie previews so I had a general idea of the story. I enjoyed going along with Louisa on her personal and professional journey. It was tough to imagine the circumstances completely, but the author did a phenomenal job of creating feelings of anger, pain, and understanding. I was completely wrapped up in this one from beginning to end. And I'm looking forward to reading the sequel in the coming months. I did manage to catch the movie shortly after I finished the book. As usual, it wasn't quite as detailed and left a bit to be desired on my end.

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

(country you want to visit category)
Worth A Read

Another audible read, but a very intriguing one. I have enjoyed other Liane Moriarty books in the past so I was familiar with her back and forth style of writing. The characters were all well developed and the story (while somewhat predictable at points) was quite interesting. I particularly loved how she tied everything up in the epilogue. Nice to have a bit of a peek down the line after I had invested so much time in the characters at that point. 

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

(historical fiction category)
Highly Recommend

I managed to knock out three birds with this stone - Erin's Challenge, a book club selection, and my "N" ABC Reads Challenge choice. As I mentioned in my ABC Reads review, I was completely consumed with Vianne and Isabelle's story. Completely. I love the parallel life it painted with strife and struggle at both ends. A phenomenal story. One of my favorites of the year actually.

Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) in Song by Sara Bareilles

(related to music category)
Highly Recommend

I'm not sure there is another solo artist that I enjoy listening to as much as Sara Bareilles so this selection proved an easy one. It also helped that I had personally required myself to read her book before purchasing a ticket to Waitress (her FABULOUS show) on Broadway. I provided my full analysis of the book and show last month, but let me just say I couldn't have asked for anything more with either.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

(published over 100 years ago category)
Skip It

Saved the most impossible for last with this pick. I attempted twice (once in hard copy and once on my kindle) to read this book before I gave up and moved to audible. I am certain that I would not have made it to the end without listening. While it was interesting to see how far women (and dating) has come since this time period, I did not really enjoy this one at all.

What have you been reading lately?

Andrea :)

Our October Date Nights

October is our anniversary month - yay!! We spent a week in the middle of the month having adventure after adventure in San Antonio and Austin, but we still managed to work in a couple of fun date nights in NYC as well. Chris planned his at the beginning of the month and mine was near the end - perfect timing!

Chris planned a date night in the West Village. We shared tasty Belgian fries and then satisfied our sweet tooth with some rice pudding.  Both locations were relatively new and we enjoyed our time at both.  Each place provided lots of opportunities to choose unique flavors and combinations. Definitely look forward to going back to these great spots when we are in that area for a comedy show or movie sometime!

I decided it would be fun to support our friend, Kristen, in her cabaret show so I got us tickets for it. We loved the Broadway show tunes and other fun songs that Kristen and her partner-in-song, Berkeley, performed. The venue was perfect for the intimate crowd. We can't wait for their next show!

Have you been on any interesting date nights lately?

Andrea :)

2nd Anniversary - Cotton Gifts!

Chris and I decided to take a little excursion to San Antonio and Austin to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. Since we were taking the trip, we opted to spend a minimal amount on our traditional gifts. The traditional theme for year two is cotton.

I played it safe with a simple cotton button down for Chris. I made sure it incorporated a purple hue as a throwback to our wedding colors. And, of course, I had to get a bag of Twizzlers. That goes back to our wedding day - in fact, just mere minutes after we officially became husband and wife!

Chris got a little more creative with his gift. I really loved how it reminded me of our wedding day though. When we did our first look, Chris gave me a solitary rose - much like the replica he gave me to celebrate two years of wedded bliss!

I'll share more about our trip and our tasty anniversary dinner in the coming days, but I wanted to be sure to document our special 2nd anniversary gifts today.

Andrea :)