Exploring Austin

While I am certainly not pushing you to move to Austin I do absolutely adore my city ... unless I am sitting in traffic...but after ten years of living here there are so many experiences and places I haven't taken advantage of yet. And a few weeks ago that lesson was really driven home...in that sort of judgmental voice..."box get off the couch and go do something."

A few weekends ago the mister had a friend and his fiance come into town from Chicago and we pushed ourselves to really give them the true 'Austin' experience. Meaning we racked our brains for two plus weeks and came up with our four regular places to show them...and hoped they had something in mind to see.  Go us!

The fiance suggested the Hope Gallery and boy was I blow away...

Basically right across the street from the boys football stadium is this hidden gem of living art work. 

"The HOPE Outdoor Gallery (HOG) is a three-story educational art project located at 11th & Baylor Streets in Austin – one of the largest outdoor galleries in the USA. This project was developed to provide muralists, graffiti artists and community groups the opportunity to display large scale art pieces driven by inspirational, positive and educational messaging. In addition, the project activates and beautifies a dynamic yet underutilized space with a great view of Austin!" 

I certainly wish I had perhaps read the website before we stopped by...lets just say there are no stairs up that three story wall...and I don't wear practical shoes. ever. 

Going on an adventure!

I mean don't get me wrong I wasn't wearing heels or anything but I was wearing unsensible flats...so like a child I climbed on my hands and knees and scooted down that building on my butt.

Now I wish there was a picture of that...

Regardless of my choice of shoes the views were amazing.

After climbing back down without killing myself we were famished, the mister suggested Franklin BBQ...supposedly the best BBQ in Austin served out of a food truck on the east side. The only catch is once they sell out they sell out for the day, meaning you could wait in line for an hour and get nothing. You might have seen the BBQ place in the Chase credit card commercial...yep Austin is pretty much a big deal.

We passed by the trailer and the line was down the street so we opted for John Mueller BBQ, same concept as Franklin...just a shorter line.

The owner was walking around passing out Lonestar's, so I was basically in love. The BBQ was melt in your mouth and the four of barely said a word the entire time we were shoveling piles of meat in our mouths.

I noticed guys with cameras on their backs walking into the trailer area, I didn't think much of it until they actually closed the gates to the trailer area. Then there was a lady walking around telling us to put our cellphones away they were shooting a scene for Jimmy Kimmel. 

So the next time you see Jimmy Kimmel proposing to a guy at a BBQ trailer, I was there in the background...covered in dirt from the Hope Gallery, drinking a Lonestar and shoving piles of BBQ in my mouth...which pretty much makes me famous.

I think we did a pretty good job of showing our guests a few of the many special spots that Austin has to offer and the plus side it pushed me out of my normal Austin comfort zone. Hopefully over the next few months...aka before it reaches 100 degrees daily...the mister and I can go exploring Austin a bit and break up our normal weekend routine.

Have you ever just gone exploring in your own city? 

What treasures does it have to offer?

- The Babbling Box!