Wofford Travels – 2019-10-24 – Austin, TX-4
Greetings,
Here we were in our last full day in Austin. The plan was to visit the Bullock Texas State History Museum and take a tour of the State Capitol. We had our usual coffee and oatmeal and normally would go back up to our room and get our paraphernalia for the day, but we ended up getting delayed some. What I failed to mention yesterday was that after our “clubbing” for the evening and return to the hotel, we noticed a hand-written sign on the lobby counter which said: NO VACANCY. It’s rare to see no vacancy signs, so we knew something was up. Well, we learned what it was the next morning, as we encountered two separate young male travelers.
Austin was hosting its Annual Film Festival. And, although not the biggest in the country/world, it ranks up at the top. So, we ended up getting the scoop on this event. One young man had submitted an hour-long TV script while the other, who was a writer as well, was functioning as an intern (he was attending college) for an Australian filmmaker. They provided us with their routes into this field, explained the complexities of putting on a simple TV show…what it takes behind the scenes to make a show seem seamless, and just the normal banter back and forth. They would be in town several days to a week.
It was 11:30 when we headed out the door to catch our bus, a mere half block away. (We told the desk receptionist, how much we enjoyed “Extended Stay America” for it’s convenience in terms of getting about town, and that if we came this way again, we would consider seriously this hotel again.)
During our discussion with the film folks, we heard one of the men mention a good “real” Tex-Mex restaurant in town. Didn’t pay much attention to the name, so Tom began checking our Austin literature. As he went down the list, I heard him say “Julio” and realized that that was the name I heard earlier.
The restaurant is Uncle Julio, billed as “made from scratch” Mexican recipes. There are 21 restaurants in seven states. North Carolina wasn’t listed, although they are continuing to expand. So at about noon, we ended up there for brunch. The building is right in town. The interior is large and very well appointed with beautiful tiles, arched windows, a fireplace, an attractive bar with stone a wall behind it, Mexican wall paintings, and a beautiful cooker in the center of the floor in which a woman was dropping breaded food items.
We ordered the Tex-Mex Combination with Ground Beef Enchilada, Pork Tamale, and split a Crispy Beef Taco. Rice and beans came with it. The food was delicious, but what impressed me were the taco chips…the best ever! I have never seen any so thin. They had the consistency of Pringles, delicately crisp.
We caught the bus again, getting into the swing of it…following the map and the bus guide…and reached the museum after walking a few blocks. The building is, need I say, impressive architecturally and expansive. A 35-foot bronze star sits in the front, which totally dwarfed us in our photos. A colorful terrazzo floor in the Museum’s rotunda features a campfire scene with enduring themes from Texas’ past.
In 2018, the Bullock Museum unveiled its newly renovated long-term first floor Texas History Gallery titled Becoming Texas. The exhibition explores more than 16,000 years of Texas history beginning with one of the earliest known objects created by humans in the Americas, a projectile point discovered at the Gault archaeological site 40 miles north of Austin. The exhibition also examines the early American Indian civilizations that cultivated the area prior to European arrival, European ambitions to colonize the land, and the global politics that influenced the growth of early Texas.
The third floor explores land, culture and technology in Texas and includes sections dedicated to Texas ranching, oil, civil rights, science and space exploration, as well as Texas sports and music. The museum’s Austin City Limits Theater features musical performance clips from the long-running PBS television series based in Austin.
We spent 2 hours there, but if you wanted to read all the history, you could spend another 2. We left the museum at 4:00 and headed over to the Capitol Building where we got a 30-miniute tour…typical of government building tours. We found it interesting, nevertheless, especially seeing the beautiful interior architecture. Each one is unique unto itself.
Having met our goal with these two venues, we got the bus and headed back to our hotel…to “chill” a bit. At 8:00 we left for the Broken Spoke Honky Tonk Dance Hall. Now, this is a one-of-a-kind dance venue, established in 1964. And, it looks like it’s been around since 1965, very well worn. Two-step lessons are offered before the band plays. The floor was packed with people, it seemed, who were fairly new at this type of dancing, although, you will always have your “seasoned” two steppers…and they are a joy to watch, gliding across the floor. All I can say is that this is a place that you really have to experience to fully appreciate the look and feel of an almost by-gone era. I don’t think you would find very many of these dance halls around.
Our last stop was around 11:00 to grab a bite and we, or I, decided on a vegan restaurant, Bouldin Creek Café. We ordered the Joe’s Smokin’ Omelet with cheddar-jack cheese, sautéed organic spinach and onion topped with chipotle-pecan pesto. The food was delicious, and well prepared…but how did I miss the “chipotle?” So, for someone who doesn’t do hot, I got hot. And where was Tom to say, “You probably won’t want to eat that…”as he sometimes says. Oh well.
Back to the hotel and to bed…wow, by 2:00. We can’t seem to “retire” before that. But, that happens when you’re trying to get in some daytime sights and still experience Austin’s night scene. It works you a bit, but isn’t that what travel is all about?!
Tomorrow will be a travel day to Louisiana. Ok, we catch a breather!
Tita