HILL COUNTRY REGION: AUSTIN

AUSTIN

AUSTIN RESTAURANTS

Austin, Capital of Texas Five scouts were sent out in 1839 to explore around the new Republic of Texas, looking for a site for the new capital city. A location was found on the north bank of the Colorado River, where the prairie met scenic hills. At the time the site was lived on by 4 families who called their settlement. Waterloo, soon to be renamed Austin, named after Stephen F. Austin, also known as the Father of Texas.

In addition to being the capital of Texas Austin is also the country seat of Travis County. With a population, at last count, of 757,688, Austin is the 15th largest city in America and the 4th largest in Texas.

In 2006 Money magazine picked Austin as the #2 Best Big City to live in the United States. By 2009 Austin had slid to the #3 spot in the Money magazine "Best Place to Live" survey. MSN has called Austin the "Greenest City in America. Somehow CNN and Travel & Leisure magazine determined Austin was #2 on a list of cities determining where the "best" people lived, according to the personalities and attributes of a town's citizens.

Austin has what is called a subtropical humid climate. That means it can get hot and muggy, with hot summers, with mild winters.

There is plenty to see and do in Austin and the Austin area. If you are a fan of the longest running PBS show, Austin City Limits, you can try and get the hardest ticket to get in town and attend a taping. If that does not work out you can go on the Austin City Limits Tour. Both watching a taping and the tour are free.

The Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum is on the campus of the University of Texas. At LBJ's insistence, admission to his Presidential Library is free. You can walk through LBJ's Oval Office, listen to an animatronic LBJ spin some of his homespun humor and wisdom and view exhibits that tell the story of LBJ's life and Presidency.

Austin has 9 major parks covering almost 8 thousand acres, including 5 city golf course, 75 playgrounds, 70 tennis courts, 15 recreation centers, 44 swimming pools and 172 athletic fields. Among the parks are Emma Long Metropolitan Park, Walter Long Lake & Park, Fiesta Gardens on Town Lake, Mayfield Park and Zilker Park where you'll find Barton Springs Pool.

If you were a Stevie Ray Vaughan fan you can visit a memorial to him by strolling along on Town Lake's hike and bike trail, stopping at Auditorium Shores to visit a life-size statue of the guitar legend.

When Lady Bird Johnson was First Lady she put in motion a Make America Beautiful program that spruced up towns all across the nation. In Austin you can visit the 42 acre Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center which she founded in 1982. The site includes display gardens, themed gardens and a lot of landscaping showing how to use native Texas plants. There is a visitor center with exhibits.

The Lone Star Riverboat paddle wheeler takes tourists on sight-seeing trips on Town Lake, cruising under bridges, past limestone cliffs and wilderness scenery on a 1.5 hour tour.

If going to a clothing optional beach is something you'd like to do, Austin has that covered, too, at Hippie Hollow on Lake Travis. Hippie Hollow is a 109 acre, secluded sunbathing swimming beach, that people come to from all over the world.

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