It's Been Quite a Summer!

This blog has been mostly ignored this summer, mainly because we've been out living life to the fullest! Each summer, having more time on my hands and both kids in tow, I try to live it up tourist-style in Austin, giving my children the full, authentic Austin experience. This summer has been no different - in fact, we've been a bit more active than ever, since this is my last summer before Ava heads to Kindergarten! Ahh!

While I plan to feature some more of the summer "Things to Do Around Austin" series I typically write in the summer, there is so much, and I'm so behind in posting, that I thought I'd give a quick preview here first!

Here are some of my favorites so far:

Zilker Botanical Gardens

Fry's Fun Farm Petting Zoo

Pflugerville Lake

Cafe Monet

Hope Outdoor Gallery

Much more fun things around Austin coming up soon on the blog!

Things to Do in Austin: Texas Military Forces Museum at Camp Mabry.

Considering I've been living in Austin for over a decade, I'm ashamed to say that I've never been to Camp Mabry before! Sure, I drive past it more or less daily, but I've never actually been on base, and it was high time that we changed that!

Having recently decided to start working down a less-obvious-things-to-do-in-Austin bucket list, I knew that with the weather finally cooling off to the point of spending time outside, visiting the Texas Military Forces Museum at Camp Mabry was at the top of the list!

We were almost deterred when we saw the outside sign said that it was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, but when I saw that the museum door was open, I decided to check before getting Ava out or disappointing her. Thankfully, the hours had changed, and it's open now Tuesday-Sunday! I'm so glad we checked :) I'm also glad the sign hadn't been changed yet, since we had the place entirely to ourselves!

Let me preface this by saying that I've been to a lot of museums, both in Austin and nationally/internationally, and still, I was impressed by this freebie in the heart of the capital. It was seriously well done, extremely educational and inclusive, and yet it seems to not be very well known - which is a huge shame!

Here are a few of our favorite exhibits in the main hall, where tanks, humvees, aircraft, weapons and artillery, medals and more were on display:

M135 Cooking Tent

Toy Soldiers 

Tanks - Ava was fascinated

Army Plane

Army Jeeps

L4-A Fighter Plane from WWII

Aside from the main room, there were several side rooms, including a State Hall of Honor and an Insignia Room:

There were also back rooms, where Civil War, the Origins of Texas Military History, Cold War, and 9/11 and Beyond were on display, and those were personally my favorite part. Check it out:

A re-creation of the Battle of the Alamo

Paratroopers!

You're allowed to try these on! Too bad they were too heavy for Ava...

Ava: "That's a holy moly!" HAHAHA!

The 9/11 section was one of the most significant, for obvious reasons. It was especially emotional when, holding Ava and looking at one of the most well-known pictures of the twin towers under attack, she asked, "Mommy, what's happening with that fire?" 

How do you explain that to a two-year-old?! I didn't want to play it down as not being important, so I told her that sometimes there are people in the world who aren't good people, and sometimes those people make bad choices, and this was one of those bad choices. I know, I know - so obviously understated, but she's too young to understand what I will one day tell her about the 9/11 attacks, so it'll work for now.

Another of the more amazing things that were on display at the museum - and another great conversation starter if you have older children - was this unimpressive looking slab of concrete:

I'm so glad I stopped to read the plaque: As it turns out, this is a piece of the Berlin Wall!!! When I read that, and the accompanying plaques, I felt chills all over my body. This once stood between East and West Berlin and was broken down as a symbol of both the end of the Cold War, and the end of the oppression in East Germany. How beautiful is that piece of concrete now?

And I know, I know, you're not supposed to touch the displays, but how can you stand inches away from a section of the Berlin Wall and not touch it?!? 

Feels like freedom.

At this point, we'd managed to go through the entire inside of the museum, so we took to the outside to see the rest of the artillery and armor display before heading home:

After that, we capped the afternoon off with an impromptu picnic (well, by picnic, I mean the working mom's version of a picnic - P. Terry's!) at Mayfield Park, where Ava proceeded to remind me "Mommy, that's where you were married!" Awww.

I highly, highly recommend paying this free and fabulous museum a visit. The Texas Military Forces Museum is located at 2200 W. 35th St. Austin, TX 78703, and is open and free to the public. Museum hours are Tuesday - Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., though check the site to confirm hours before you visit to be certain. Enjoy!

Things to Do in Austin: Red Bud Isle.

Now that I've plowed through the majority of my Austin bucket list and the temperatures are starting to drop (well, at least out of the triple digits!), I've started tackling my list of the more obscure things to do in Austin.

We started last week at a dog park/island right off of Red Bud Trail between Lake Austin Blvd. and Westlake Dr. called Red Bud Isle. Though it's less of a park than I had thought in my head, it's a perfect space for a.) getting close to Lake Austin for free (!!), and b.) for dog lovers and dog owners alike to exercise and spend some time with their favorite four-legged friend.

Seeing as how we didn't have a dog with us, I thought I would instead let Ava explore the banks of the lake. We weren't alone - there was a family there playing fetch with their dogs, wading in the water (which gets about waist high, FYI), and picnicking - a pretty adorable family outing if you ask me!

As for Ava, well, you saw what she occupied herself doing: taking it all in.

Here are a few more shots of the gorgeous scenery of Lake Austin at Red Bud Isle:

Have you been to Red Bud Isle? Are there any "obscure" spots in Austin that you'd recommend I pay a visit?

Things to Do in Austin: Barton Springs and the Zilker Zephyr!

Few things are as Austin-y as Central Austin's main park, Zilker Park, and the neighboring manmade springs, Barton Springs. In fact, as a 17-year-old college student living out my first twenty-four hours in a UT dorm, Barton Springs was the first place I visited, and holds a special place in my heart for that. I can never visit without being taken back a decade, smooshed into the back of a truck with ten other virtual strangers, to my first exploration of this great city I call home.

Anyhow, back to my child-having, boring-married-lady present, and my visits to Zilker Park and Barton Springs now consist of me toting three children of varied ages up and down sets of stairs, praying that we all make it out alive. Ah, this is the life.

Last week, desperate for something to do outside where we could still keep cool, we headed down to the park early in the morning to ride the train and indulge in the 68 degree water before the triple digits descended upon us.

While my punctuality has remained sketchy at best, I now have a valid excuse: attempting to get three children dressed and out of the house, in between potty breaks and snack requests (Oh, how I long for the days when "I overslept" was considered a legit excuse!). As such, we rolled up towards the train, the Zilker Zephyr, one minute before it was scheduled to depart, and knowing that an hour longer would be an hour hotter, we made a mad dash to get seated on time. I was graced with some serious good fortune that day, and we managed to make it!

Here we are enjoying the sights on the twenty-five (ish) minute train ride that circles around Town Lake, the Great Lawn (where ACL takes place each fall), and back through Zilker Park's impressive playground and tunnel:

Oh, how my heart is happy she hasn't outgrown hand-holding with mommy!

The three prettiest ladies I know :)

Once the train returned to its depot, we hopped off to enjoy a nice picnic lunch in the shaded pavilion before hitting the playground to run off some major energy! Nothing like half an hour seated on a train to rile up three kiddos!

Having bribed the girls to eat a decent lunch with the promise of a sno cone, we then took to the Zilker Cafe to indulge our sweet tooth. Who knew so much of parenting would be bribing children to eat? The cafe also offers a variety of menu items for lunch, as well as other snacks (chips, cotton candy, etc).

Unfortunately, we were on a schedule since P had a playdate that afternoon, and so we ended up not having time to take a dip in the springs. If you do happen to find yourself in the area (off Barton Springs Dr. between Mopac and Lamar) and have the time, though, it is a highly recommended place to swim and catch some sun!

Not only that, but the Zilker Park area has lots of other offerings:

For a list of other things to do in Austin with kids, click out previous Texas Tuesday posts about Riding the MetroRail, Dell Children's Museum, Laguna Gloria and the Austin Museum of Art, and the Austin Duck Adventure Tour, amongst others! Thanks for visiting!