Lev Lazinskiy

Austin Texas

I started 2017 off on the right foot by visiting the Texas State capital during the first week. My only regret is not checking the weather. I assumed Texas never got below 40 degrees but I was sorely mistaken.

Trip Dates

Jan 4 – Jan 7 2017

How I Got There

I flew to Austin on Delta Airlines from Dayton, OH via Atlanta, GA.

How I Got Around

Austin famously had both Uber and Lyft cease operations earlier in 2016. Other companies have filled the gap and in addition to walking and taking the bus to various places around Austin, I enjoyed using a local ride sharing service called Ride Austin.

Where I Stayed

I stayed at the Residence Inn downtown near the convention center.

What I Did

I arrived on Wednesday afternoon and took the bus from the airport which dropped me off directly in front of the hotel downtown. I grabbed a quick dinner at the Roaring Fork, grabbed some coffee, and tried to stay out of the cold. The next day I got lunch at the Driskell hotel, then went to the capitol building and the Texas State history museum. Since this was the only warm (40-50 degrees) day during my trip I went for a long walk by the river in the evening. I went to the modern art museum and ended the evening by getting dinner at an awesome BBQ joint.

On Friday, I woke up to a freezing 30 degree day. I took a ride share to the art museum, grabbed lunch, and walked around the Texas A&M campus. I explored the LBJ presidential library and ended the evening getting dinner at a Gus’s fried chicken.

My flight back to San Francisco left on Saturday so I spent most of the day packing and reflecting on all of the history, amazing food, and cold weather that I experienced during my trip.

What Was The Fuss?

Austin is huge city that I feel like I did not fully get to appreciate due to the cold weather. I will most certainly be going back. It is known as the live music capitol of the US, sadly I did not attend any live music shows, even though there were plenty to choose from. Austin is packed with great restaurants, vibrant culture, really neat parts of town, nice people and tons of truly fascinating history. The Texas State history museum was amazing, and I picked up a dozen books that I look forward to writing about in the coming weeks.