One Extra Day in Austin, TX

iflyvfr

iflyvfr

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Greg
I will be in Austin for a couple days next week and will have basically Tuesday night and Wednesday to burn until my flight home that evening.

Given the weather has been horrible lately, I'd like to do something aviation related, maybe even grab a CFI and go for a scenic tour. Any suggestions on where to focus my search? I'll be staying downtown at the Driskill on Brazos if that helps any.
 
Prepare for hipster overload dude.
Yeah, I'd get in the air quick.
 
A "scenic tour" of the Rainey Street pubs comes to mind.
 
Isn't redbird sky port close by? I think so but not sure.
 
Redbird Skyport is about 45 min South at KHYI San Marcus. I'd be happy to give you a ride in the Mooney, but I'm out of town next week. And as a proud Austinite, I might be too Progressive anyway ;-)
 
Zeldman said:
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

I grew up 90 miles from Austin and that was too close for me..... :yes:
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Ya know honestly, I grew up in Dallas and any chance we could, we would go to Austin because it really is a great town, and there is a lot to do.

Skip 20 years into the future. Me and Mrs. Me fly to Austin last year... Let me say this first. I realize the issue is not Austin but the fact that I am not 22 anymore and I am a grown dude (physically (except in my pants))

So I was different when I was young and I get it

We went to Austin and the part I don't get and maybe I am not supposed to is I feel like they are faking.

Pabst Blue ribbon is NASTY. It doesn't taste good. but it is like gold down there. We visited a couple breweries and people raved about them and it was siht. Seriously, I am not one to walk away from a beer and everyone raved about Jester king. I love 512 and live oak and the others but "Oh you gotta go to Jester king"

It was horrible. I bought 3 beers and each one was horrific. We didn't drink them and ended up leaving. But I felt like group think had taken over or something. These people are all pretending to like something that is not good.

I can handle personal style. Everyone has the big ear lobes and you have to have a beard and thick black glasses. Okay but it is everyone. Everyone looks the same Nobody stands out or is different.

I told Eren, I feel like we have walked onto the set of a play and we are the only ones not in character.

Maybe this is what getting old is about. My parents thought my long hair and piercings were stupid and I am sure all my friends had them but I never claimed to like art, beer, or other subjective stuff that I didn't truly think was pleasing to me.

And maybe they are being true to themselves but I flew home from that town thinking I don't fit in there and that is totally okay and I know I have changed but I am not sure Austin is what it always was.

Even their slogan "Keep Austin weird" tells me they are trying or pretending, or working at it versus just being.

Doesn't matter, I am willing to concede that it is 100% me and approaching 40 and I am growing out of touch with the next generation, and that is ok. That is how it is supposed to be.

If everyone is happy cool. The San Antonio riverwalk is close enough that i can fly there and get some good Tex Mex and be old over there :)
 
iflyvfr said:
I will be in Austin for a couple days next week and will have basically Tuesday night and Wednesday to burn until my flight home that evening.

Given the weather has been horrible lately, I'd like to do something aviation related, maybe even grab a CFI and go for a scenic tour. Any suggestions on where to focus my search? I'll be staying downtown at the Driskill on Brazos if that helps any.
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Holler at me. I'm based out of KGTU just north of Austin. I have my own plane...happy to fly you around...do the tour over the F1 track, Lake Travis, downtown, etc... if you want to get some flying in.

The weather has been sketchy down here too...got super nice for a few days, then we got hit with this cold thing...nice today again...hopefully next week warms up.
 
Do that. KenJr is good people. One of these days I'm going to go down and listen to his band. That would be cool.
 
Bryan
Wow! You hit it perfectly. I live in Round Rock (the Conservative Side of Weirdville) and although I love this area and have lived here for twenty years, I very rarely go into Austin proper. I tell people that if you go into some of the places on Sixth Street and look at the calendars, it will still show in the 60's. Lots of fried brains trying to stay in the land of unicorns and rainbows and be different...just like everyone else.

Austin...a three lane town with five lane traffic.




SixPapaCharlie said:
Ya know honestly, I grew up in Dallas and any chance we could, we would go to Austin because it really is a great town, and there is a lot to do.

Skip 20 years into the future. Me and Mrs. Me fly to Austin last year... Let me say this first. I realize the issue is not Austin but the fact that I am not 22 anymore and I am a grown dude (physically (except in my pants))

So I was different when I was young and I get it

We went to Austin and the part I don't get and maybe I am not supposed to is I feel like they are faking.

Pabst Blue ribbon is NASTY. It doesn't taste good. but it is like gold down there. We visited a couple breweries and people raved about them and it was siht. Seriously, I am not one to walk away from a beer and everyone raved about Jester king. I love 512 and live oak and the others but "Oh you gotta go to Jester king"

It was horrible. I bought 3 beers and each one was horrific. We didn't drink them and ended up leaving. But I felt like group think had taken over or something. These people are all pretending to like something that is not good.

I can handle personal style. Everyone has the big ear lobes and you have to have a beard and thick black glasses. Okay but it is everyone. Everyone looks the same Nobody stands out or is different.

I told Eren, I feel like we have walked onto the set of a play and we are the only ones not in character.

Maybe this is what getting old is about. My parents thought my long hair and piercings were stupid and I am sure all my friends had them but I never claimed to like art, beer, or other subjective stuff that I didn't truly think was pleasing to me.

And maybe they are being true to themselves but I flew home from that town thinking I don't fit in there and that is totally okay and I know I have changed but I am not sure Austin is what it always was.

Even their slogan "Keep Austin weird" tells me they are trying or pretending, or working at it versus just being.

Doesn't matter, I am willing to concede that it is 100% me and approaching 40 and I am growing out of touch with the next generation, and that is ok. That is how it is supposed to be.

If everyone is happy cool. The San Antonio riverwalk is close enough that i can fly there and get some good Tex Mex and be old over there :)
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We are opening a new office downtown Austin. I just went down to look at the space and some other IT stuff. I am 42 and I didnt get it. I work for a very conservative company and finding a place to eat that wasnt a bar was difficult in the downtown area. Other people that travelled there said the same thing. Unless they were young, then they loved it. I agree its gotta be an age thing.

I said the same thing about about the slogan, it almost seemed like its trying too hard to be weird.

I was disappointed that I didnt hear one authenicate Texas accent though..

I find that quote fits it perfect. "A three lane town with five lane traffic"

I will have to go back a few times as the space opens and people move, so I am watching this thread. I would like to see Texas from the air too.
 
Is it like this?

Unless you're a famous musician, actor or some type of celebrity when I see someone with their ear stretched out I think "The bigger the gauge the lower the wage".
 
There are some pretty good BBQ places in the area. If do get get hold of a rental plane stop in at Lockhart (50R). You can grab the courtesy suburban and you have a choice of four places. Flying around Lake Travis is stunning. Stop in at Lakeway Airpark 3R9 and phone "The Grille at Rough Hollow" and ask them to pick you up so you can have lunch on the patio overlooking Lake Travis. I like Austin (don't live there) the trendy nature does not bother me. I like the music scene. Just enjoy it and ignore the people if they annoy you. You probably annoy them too ;)
 
I was going to suggest driving out to the Salt Lick, but its changed so much in in the (mumble mumble) years (decades?) since I went to school there. Besides, Lockhart has better BBQ.
 
I've heard Franklin BBQ is now the best in town if you're driving but haven't been there myself.
 
I can't imagine a guy with a day and night in Austin can't stay entertained. Head toward Fredericksburg for a nice drive to a nice town. Poke around the Hill Country. My favorite Austin attraction is Whole Foods in downtown. I don't prefer barbecue but Kerbey Lane for breakfast and the Hula Hut for lunch are family faves. There's no shortage of watering holes and good music. Hope for some warmer weather. It's been cold for a couple of days and it's supposed to be cold to start out next week as well. It was warmer in Anchorage yesterday than in central TX. Go figure.
 
narchee said:
I've heard Franklin BBQ is now the best in town if you're driving but haven't been there myself.
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I'm gonna go all naked-emperor here. I tried Franklin's, and it was good, but no way, no how would I wait in line for any material length of time (which is the standard there) for it; it is good, solid, middle-of-the-road brisket, but I'd choose Bert's (24th Street) over Franklin's any day. But, I don't have the big earlobes and black beard.
 
IMO, hipsters and tech money are ruining the town, but there's still a lot to love. You just have to talk to the older locals about where to go.
 
By the way, all those hipsters? Not one in ten is from Austin, and probably 2/3 of them are not even from Texas.
 
Ok, I gotta chime in here. I'm a born and raised Austinite. Yes, the town is absolutely over run with wanna be's and poser. Yes, our traffic sucks. Yes, there is a whole lot of group think and "oh my god have you had the kale, goat cheese and tripe taco at that new food truck on noburn (north burnet). Yes, there are a lot of craft beers here where I swear they got a deal on a container of hops. All of that being said, I love this town when you get away from the downtown hipster stuff.

You are staying at the Driskill. Great hotel right in the middle of everything. Don't waste time on "Dirty Sixth" (6th street between I35 and Congress). It's wanna be drunken debauchery for college students. Lots of good places to go, hit me up if you want more information. I'll second J. Muellers for BBQ. After all, he trained Aaron Franklin and usually doesn't have much if a line.

I'm based out of Austin Executive, like Kenjr said, weather has been weird.
 
N2124v said:
I'm based out of Austin Executive, like Kenjr said, weather has been weird.
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Austin Exec is staffed with some great people.
We landed and they treated us like royalty. Really good experience at that airport.
 
Hell, I'll bet half the town's population hasn't lived there 10 years. I went to college there back in the late 90s/early 2000s, and it's unbelievable how different it is now. Don't get me wrong - I still love to visit and I love me some Trudy's Mexican Martinis, but it's a bummer to see many of the things I hate about LA start to infect Austin as well.
 
+1 Great food and music. The Weird adds character to the town.

If you want plain and boring there are many other places to go.

N2124v said:
Ok, I gotta chime in here. I'm a born and raised Austinite. Yes, the town is absolutely over run with wanna be's and poser. Yes, our traffic sucks. Yes, there is a whole lot of group think and "oh my god have you had the kale, goat cheese and tripe taco at that new food truck on noburn (north burnet). Yes, there are a lot of craft beers here where I swear they got a deal on a container of hops. All of that being said, I love this town when you get away from the downtown hipster stuff.

You are staying at the Driskill. Great hotel right in the middle of everything. Don't waste time on "Dirty Sixth" (6th street between I35 and Congress). It's wanna be drunken debauchery for college students. Lots of good places to go, hit me up if you want more information. I'll second J. Muellers for BBQ. After all, he trained Aaron Franklin and usually doesn't have much if a line.


I'm based out of Austin Executive, like Kenjr said, weather has been weird.
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kayoh190 said:
Hell, I'll bet half the town's population hasn't lived there 10 years. I went to college there back in the late 90s/early 2000s, and it's unbelievable how different it is now. Don't get me wrong - I still love to visit and I love me some Trudy's Mexican Martinis, but it's a bummer to see many of the things I hate about LA start to infect Austin as well.
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I'm so old, I remember when Trudy's was Hansel & Gretel's.
 
I'm around south Austin as well. I'll be around when y'all are running around so give me a call if you want some company.

KenJr's got you all hooked up for flying, but if you want to try a 172 Diesel out at Skyport while you're here let me know.
 
SCCutler said:
I'm so old, I remember when Trudy's was Hansel & Gretel's.
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I'm so old that John (one of the two guys who started Whole Foods) was in B School at UT while I was over in Engineering.
 
Meh. So what about the earlobes. I'm sure in your day there were some old codgers complaining about your style too. Disclaimer: My earlobes are intact. :D
 
murphey said:
I'm so old that John (one of the two guys who started Whole Foods) was in B School at UT while I was over in Engineering.
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I once had T-cloud deliver a sub to engineering lab in RLM (it had just been renamed from PMA). That was before engineering got difficult for me (as in, I missed too many classes).

narchee said:
Meh. So what about the earlobes. I'm sure in your day there were some old codgers complaining about your style too. Disclaimer: My earlobes are intact. :D
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No issue with big earlobes in and of themselves - but when a whole metric crap-ton of people do the same thing, to be "unique," they are not unique, are they?
 
SCCutler said:
No issue with big earlobes in and of themselves - but when a whole metric crap-ton of people do the same thing, to be "unique," they are not unique, are they?
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Too true. Luckily this is how the more ugly fashions usually kill themselves out given enough time.
 
narchee said:
Too true. Luckily this is how the more ugly fashions usually kill themselves out given enough time.
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Tattoos, spacers, dermal implants, and other body modifications abound in this town. Personally I'm all for a strategic tattoo and the hunt to find it in a good looking 20 something female, but some of these get to the point of "what were you thinking?".

I heard the best description of Austin the other day. "Austin in a Peter Pan town. It is filled with 20, 30, and 40 year old 'kids' that don't want to grow up". Pair that mentality with high paying tech jobs and you've got an interesting mix.
 
So true.

I always recall the old adage, "I got mine, pull up the ladder!" as applicable to Austin.
 
narchee said:
I've heard Franklin BBQ is now the best in town if you're driving but haven't been there myself.
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There are several others just as good now...Franklin's is great but you have to get there early and wait, most times at least a couple hours depending on how early you got there to eat. So, it's a half-day experience...not sure with only one day extra you'd want to spend it that way.
 
kenjr said:
There are several others just as good now...Franklin's is great but you have to get there early and wait, most times at least a couple hours depending on how early you got there to eat. So, it's a half-day experience...not sure with only one day extra you'd want to spend it that way.
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Franklins just doesnt seem like the payback for spending 4 hours in line when you can to to John Mueller's and get BBQ from the guy that originally hired Franklin.

Or, you can go to LaBarbecue and get BBQ from the guy, John Lewis, that was trained by John Mueller, and then was involved in a messy family dispute with the Muellers where John's sister, LeAnn took fired her brother and put John Lewis in charge and named it LaBarbecue.


I will vote John Muellers. If I had 2 days, LaBarbecue or Micklewaith Craft Meats would get the second day of lunch.
 
JoseCuervo said:
Franklins just doesnt seem like the payback for spending 4 hours in line when you can to to John Mueller's and get BBQ from the guy that originally hired Franklin.



Or, you can go to LaBarbecue and get BBQ from the guy, John Lewis, that was trained by John Mueller, and then was involved in a messy family dispute with the Muellers where John's sister, LeAnn took fired her brother and put John Lewis in charge and named it LaBarbecue.





I will vote John Muellers. If I had 2 days, LaBarbecue or Micklewaith Craft Meats would get the second day of lunch.
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Or, drive out to Taylor and eat where it all started, Louie Mueller BBQ....

Lots of good food in Austin. Matts El Rancho is one of the best Mexican food places in town. Cisco's bakery on east 6th is a great breakfast place. Austin Land and Cattle is probably the best steak in them, there are fancier, but none better. The list goes on...

I'm a real estate broker here so I can talk about the good and bad of this town all day long. One area I don't know a lot about is the live music scene. To many years of shooting without ear protection makes music venues miserable for me.
 
murphey said:
I was going to suggest driving out to the Salt Lick, but its changed so much in in the (mumble mumble) years (decades?) since I went to school there. Besides, Lockhart has better BBQ.
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If you like flies with your BBQ go to the Salt Lick, or worse yet, Coopers in Llano.

I take out of town guests to one of the County Lines.

At County Line you get good BBQ and lots of it, good sides, good beer selection (I'm told, not being a beer drinker), and you GET TO EAT LIKE A CIVILIZED PERSON NOT AN ANIMAL!!!!

Besides great BBQ, County Line has real waitstaff, real plates, real tables and chairs, real metal knives and forks, actual bread made from flour rather than styrofoam, real deserts that are not poured out a can, and real vegetables made out of actual plants rather than nasty super processed Walmart generic 'slaw'!

If you want to be crammed in with a bunch of Harley riders in wife beater shirts while you try to manipulate the worlds cheapest plastic knifes and forks, while being posioned by the crap bread and sides they pour out tins cans that's fine, go to a place like Coopers. It's a free country.

But IMHO only animals would eat that way.
 
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