It’s the state capital of Texas and we love it. Austin boasts eclectic live music venues, tasty restaurants, beautiful views of the surrounding Hill Country, and great parks for the very active Austinites.

We spent about a week at La Hacienda RV Resort near Lake Travis and Mansfield Dam. We met Michiganders from Ludington and Holland at La Hacienda and they were welcoming and fun to chat with. It was a 20-minute drive to downtown Austin. We drove in and easily found parking everywhere.

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We were so pleased to have Stephanie with us for Christmas. She surprised Brian with a Top-Golf excursion on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day started with orange cinnamon rolls for breakfast, baked in the microwave/convection oven on the coach – it works like a charm, we found. We did miss Lauren’s Monkey Bread, but we muddled through. After that, we saw two movies, ate fine Indian cuisine for dinner and visited Dave and Busters. A successful and fun Christmas on the road. We missed Monica and will be with her soon.

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Due to the Chrismas holiday, the downtown area was pretty quiet with little live music and food trucks closed down. Who knew it was such a food truck city? We were delighted to eat barbeque at Stubbs. We have used Stubbs marinades for about 15 years, yum.

One of the things we like most about this area is the Hill Country. We took a jeep-about and followed the Hill Country Trail through Johnson City, Fredericksburg, and Luckenbach. We had no idea there were so many wineries in Texas. You can probably guess that Brian sampled a few. I focused my energies on the shopping. We almost missed Luckenbach, population 3. If you aren’t paying attention, you will drive right by. There were some good ole’ boys singing on stage, but it was not Waylon or Willie. It was not what we imagined, but still fun!

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That’s a wrap from Austin,

Betty & Brian