December

Greetings - It's time to awake from my month long blog hibernation and write about December because December rocks. For many reasons. It's a month full of festivities, which include my birthday, Christmas, and new years eve. December used to come with a downfall; winter. Some Decembers were better than others, but cold always crashed the party. More north, this year seems to be no different. The news outlets are continuing to use and abuse their awful pun of "snowmageddon" over and over. Here in Austin, when we "miss" snow we just turn on the TV and view how exciting it is to be in a blizzard. However, my kind of blizzard comes from Dairy Queen and is enhanced with snicker pieces. Enough about the weather exclusively; to the recap...

December is a family month and I started my December with a trip to winter's homeland, Minnesota. This visit served as a way to celebrate Thanksgiving/Bday/Xmas with my family with a bonus quick visit to see some short smiling faces during my Chi-town layover. It was fun to catch up with family and friends and I thank my sister and bro-in-law for their fun, festive hosting of myself. The weather wasn't too cold but still it was quite the change and with that change came a cold which handicapped me a bit. However my 6-day stay was still a great time filled with reminiscing adventures with friends and family and visits to places of interest and restaurants. Experiencing low teen weather and snow does make 50/60 seem like heaven which was a nice bonus upon my return and luckily the MN snowstorm/blizzards (including the metrodome killer) happen before and after my visit. I look forward to my next visit being in the summertime when I need to escape 110 and hang out in 80/90's.

Next came Summer and my exploration of San Antonio, specifically the Riverwalk area. This is where my blog becomes less personal and more factual because if your in Austin, or anywhere, the riverwalk area in San Antonio is a must visit. But before we talk about that, we had a pit stop on the way to visit Real Ale brewery. Now I know Shiner Bock but Real Ale has some tasty handcrafted beers themselves. The brewery is near Blanco Tx, and is near impossible to find without GPS because they have no signs. Anyways, on Fridays from 2-5pm they offer a tour and free tasting of select beers. It was a great time and I could write a blog about how delicious those beers were but I'll save those non-beer enthusiast the read and just post a link to their site: http://realalebrewing.com/beers/yearround I'll conclude by saying that their Pale Ale and Coffee Porter were my favorites while Summers favorite was the Fireman #4 Blonde Ale. I think the blonde thing just a coincidence ;)


Back to San Antonio. We got a hotel right on the riverwalk, which is a necessity. Ours didn't have a balcony because for some reason the week we were there, most hotels were booked, so we were happy just to have an affordable place to stay. There was either a convention or just the timing since at that time the river is decorated with holiday lights. Nonetheless we were rarely in the room anyways since the Riverwalk was our amusement park. The weather was quite nice 70/80's during the day from what I remember and maybe 50/60's during the night. At first we both didn't know what to expect. From our hotel the riverwalk just appeared to be a canal-like river with sidewalks on both sides. As we kept walking we discovered the shops and restaurants along the river and the touristy ambiance which made the area appear to be European in ways. Here's a map I found that shows a bit of what the riverwalk is all about.

Friday night we walked around the riverwalk taking in the scenery and browsing the sidewalk vendors. Hearing about dollar beers made us stop at a British pub called "mag dogs". We had a table with a view and sat to snack and enjoy some beverages. The next morning we took a boat tour of the river, had waterside lunch at a mexican place, walked a lot and had a nice seafood dinner, also waterside. We were debating to either do some bar-hopping or something else next. Since Summer was kind enough to book this trip for my birthday and I was feeling quite happy from the happy hour/dinner beers, I thought I'd indulge her and be open to the "ghost tour". =) Now, I found the tour amusing for many reasons but the best part is I got some of it on video. While taping, I was under the impression these would be way more hilarious, mainly because the tour guides voice and cadence really fit the bill of ghost touring; however upon watching these videos again, I didn't "lol" but nonetheless I invite you to take a watch. Keep in mind these were undercover from an iphone so don't expect the finest quality. In the first video you will see Summer pointing a laser, its a temp thing. I guess the temp will be different if a spirit, ghost or something more tangible is present. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-fVFVVxJOY. There is a guy yawning near the end of the video, it looks like me but I don't think it is because the angle of my filming doesn't fit. Perhaps its my ghost ;). On the next video Summer served as the lady's assistant for this polarity thing. Now this simple instrument could be actually quite interesting and informative or it could just be sensitively reacting to tiny movements in the holders wrist. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoxiY9SBk1w. I'll let you decide. Here the lady again is showing her dosing rod but begins with a physic story to enlighten the crowd. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYT-XFgSEK0 In closing, the tour was interesting and severed as a fun and different evening activity.

We also visited the Alamo which may interest you history buffs. I'll post some pics of that and the general visit below.

Alamo front

Palm Trees

RiverWalk

Another pic of the walk

You can see all the umbrella water side tables in the distance if you squint. =)

More Palm Tree pics to excite and prepare my mom and sister.

The bar had 2-4-1's, the table did not so we stocked up, little did I know it would lead to a ghost hunt.

supposed to take a pic to see if you see someone hanging from the hanging tree. Nope.

same thing but i guess images appear. hmm...nope.

So that was San Antonio. We ended our trip with a visit to a tasty tea house for some good breakfast. Also on the way back to Austin, there was a giant outlet mall on the way back with multiple stores of the same brand. Kind of like how Mall of America had four Footlockers. 

So that was December in Austin. The weather was nice with quite the range. Averages of 50/60's with some nice days in the 70's but a Christmas cold-spell of 30/40's (maybe to remind us that xmas is a winter holiday). In closing, it was a fun-filled month full of adventures mixed with weekday holiday quietness. I have my goals written down for a prosperous and fun-filled 2011 and I'll work on keeping this blog more active.

Wishing you a Happy, Healthy and possibly warmer New Year,

-Austin/Taragos

Filling Time in ATX: Arts & Edibles

Perhaps a pessimistic person came up with the expression "killing time", however, I'm in an optimistic mood and have decided to title this post "Filling time". One could even call it living time, because that's what I did. I had two hours to kill er spend - ha, see that negative phrasing is catchy. So I decided to take a look at what was around me one Friday afternoon. It happened that I was near Zilker Park, so I was about to wander the trails on foot when I came across a sculpture garden & museum [http://umlaufsculpture.org/]. I decided to pay the meager $3.5 and see what this place was all about while filling ;) some time. Inside (the museum part) are some art pieces. I liked the one to the left and how it would look nice in my entryway if the entry way had a nice stair case. The inside part was interesting, but I was more curious to check out the outside. The park is kinda similar to the sculpture garden at the Walker in Mpls, however, the art pieces are smaller and not as spread out. Plus here they have a little stream/waterfall near the entrance. There was also a staircase with a path to walk to the top and look down the stream.

Looking Up

Looking Down

The artwork was interesting. Here's a little sample of what I saw. If the human body offends you scroll down fast. But remember this is art, folks.

I believe this piece was called Eve. or lady in the woods not sure.

This "lovers" sculpture was in the middle of a pond...i thought the detail on the man was quite un-necessary.

They had a circle of animals, I thought I'd take a picture of my Chinese-restaurant place mat animal.

 Was the entire park full of erotica? No and why those were the only three photos I have of the artwork, I'm not sure. I didn't aim for a dirty theme it's just those were the ones that grabbed my attention. Let's end this part of the venture with a little peaceful innocent waterfall. Shall we.

=)

Now after walking around there for an hour or so including some time sitting on a bench staring at a piece of art (no, not one of the photos above, it was an interesting piece, however I didn't photograph it) I felt like I was in that movie "The Thomas Crowne Affair" where the guy sits on a bench at the museum and ponders his thoughts while eating a pear. Restless as I am and with out a pear to chew, I could only sit and stare for about 10 minutes. So then I decided to drive a bit further towards downtown when a rooftop patio caught my eye. I remembered Whole Foods downtown had one, but I had not yet explored. Now, Whole Foods in Austin, is unlike any other grocery store. It's huge, has samples of food and drink and you can purchase almost every ethnicity of food ala carte and eat it in or above the store. (There are people who share a bottle of wine in the grocery store while eating some food. Quite an interesting way to grab groceries). Since I've been craving chicken off the bone, I went for the wings and then grabbed a beer to wash down that deliciousness. Now let me tell you, its a fun experience to pick up edible items at a grocery store and then go to their roof and enjoy each bite and sip with a nice view of the sky. The roof has plenty of seats and tables and even a playground for the young-ins.

So there you have it. If you have 2+ hours to fill why not visit the sculpture garden and then grab a quick bite/happy hour at Whole Foods. Post complete.

Man Bike Wild - "Mission Possible"

One week later from my accomplishment I have decided to slide a slow Thursday morning into a docu recreation of my mission to Zilker. Let me begin by saying that it feels great to achieve goals, whether it be life changing ones or silly ones such as trying to get from Southwest Parkway in Austin to beautiful Zilker Park via bike. They say the 3rd time is the charm and I can't argue. What was my reason/blame for my first failure? It was water and if you know me, you know I love water. I love to drink it, swim in it and watch it fall from the sky. However, on my first trek, water became an obstacle. To reach my goal, I needed to cross the river, now known, I would have needed to cross the river back and forth multiple times. Well, thing about Texas is its nice and green - but dry. Doesn't rain too often, but when it does it falls in sheets. Who would have known that the river would dry up and the bike trails went right across the white river rocks. I thought the trail on google maps was just drawn half-ass when I saw how it zig and zagged through the river.


So now, this is a short story of a man, his bike, in the near-wild, traveling 10.13 miles in around 2.5 hours to accomplish a silly, yet meaningful goal of reaching a destination. Sit back and enjoy my short distraction from your normally scheduled day.

I'm a visual person so lets start with a map. The bottom part is where we live, the top is where Summer works. (This was a one-way bike trip, perhaps next time will be round trip but after 10 mountain miles, its nice to throw your bike in a jeep, which is parked in a ramp and go enjoy a tasty sandwich for lunch).  Plus, now Summer knows she could be even greener and bike to work. ;)

For those reading this on a computer with Google Earth installed, you can view a fly by of this trek. I only recommend this if you have time to kill as it takes a few minutes and may not be as interesting as it is to me.



I feel like I could end the blog right here, cat's out of the bag, I made it to Zilker! yay. I won't cut it short though for those looking to fill a little more time so let's do a little slide show starting from where I entered the trail.

As you can see from above, the water on the right would have been quite difficult to cross.

This swing rope would be even more dangerous right now...

These comparison photos may get old for those you havn't been to the spot but its crazy how empty a river can get.

Here's a gift for that turtle loving couple because with humans out of the picture, the turtles come to play.

More comparisons.


A once filled hole is now empty.

Ok, enough with the comparison photos and on with the bike ride. =)

 It's hard to capture the fun of biking through dried river bends and woods in words but here are some photos to go along.

 I believe this is a beavers dam.

 This was a nice bridge.

 No idea yet what GUS FRUH is but a quick google search claims its just part of the trail and has its own park name to it.

 I was very very excited to see this sign, as I was on my way to the park!

 On the way I found someones phone, which was still on but service was turned off. That means they know they lost it and its only been a day or two. I was a good citizen and called the guys number and he came and got his phone later.

 The bottom of a river/stream is an interesting sight to see.

 Right at the end of the trail, it started to rain, the clouds looked worse in person but you can see a building in the bottom right which meant I was close to my goal anyways.

Yay! I made it.

Well there you have it, what's my ending dr. philosophy message? Don't give up, keep trying and its not about the destination, it's about the journey. haha oh such cheese, but it was a very fun couple hour bike ride, and since it was November it wasn't too hot. Many people were out hiking or walking dogs and it was fun to bike and zig zag between one side of the river to the other. Now I know that it's possible to bike when the water is low I will have to do this ride more often. Man Bike Wild- signing off - Mission Accomplished.

Happy Halloween/Biking thru the Park.

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday, we went for a little bike ride along the river/lake and through Zilker Park. For those curious if we biked directly from our place, the answer is sadly no. That adventure is still to be completed. However, we packed the Jeep with our bikes and had a nice little Saturday stroll through the park with a pit stop that included a rootbeer float and sno cone. Above is the skyline view from the trails and below is Barton Springs Pool. Ill copy and paste a blurb about this natural pool below the pics. Happy Halloween Y'all. And aim for the treats instead of the tricks.  ;)

[brief info| In Zilker Park, just off Barton Springs Road, Barton Springs Pool is one of Austin's famous landmarks and easily the most popular swimming hole in the city. Spring fed and over 900 feet long, the pool was formed when Barton Creek was dammed up, so it has a natural rock and gravel bottom. There are varying depths, diving boards, and stairs and ladders for entry. The water temperature averages 68 degrees F' throughout the year, so enter the pool gingerly. As you swim across, feel how some spots are colder than others. A more refreshing swim is hard to find, but the pool is often crowded, especially on summer weekends.


[For the curious inclined some expanded info] Within Zilker Park's 358 acres, lies one of the crown jewels of Austin, Barton Springs Pool. Three acres in size, the pool is fed from under ground springs and is on average 68 degrees year round. Over the years, Barton Springs Pool has drawn people from all walks of life, from legislators who have concocted state laws there to free-spirited topless sunbathers who turned heads in the seventies. Even Robert Redford learned to swim at the pool when he was five years old while visiting his mother's relative in Austin. Today, Barton Springs still attracts a diverse crowd of people.

Millions of years ago Barton Springs, the fourth largest natural springs in the state, was created as a result of a landshift that created the Balcones Fault.  Named in honor of Andrew Jackson Zilker. "Colonel Andy", as friends called him, donated the land now known as Zilker Park. In 1884, at age 18, Zilker, who had left his native Indiana to seek his fortune, came to Austin with only 50 cents in his pocket and got a job at an ice plant, which he eventually bought. He then became the first Coca-Cola Bottler in Austin. Shortly after Zilker bought the land in 1901, he built a small concrete pool and amphitheater for members of his Elks Club organization, at the site of one of the three springs, where people had gathered for centuries.

Native Americans called them the Sacred Springs and came there to heal their wounds. Spanish friars believed to be the first European settlers in the Austin area set up three temporary missions at the springs in 1730-31 before they moved to San Antonio. In 1837, William "Uncle Billy" Barton, built his rustic cabin on a tract of land which included the springs. Since he owned several adjoining tracts, the area came to be known as the "Bartons". He named the three springs after his daughters Parthenia, Eliza and Zenobia. The largest spring became known as the main spring at Barton Springs Pool. Another spring feeds the Elks Amphitheater pool that Zilker built near the present day Barton Springs Pool. A third spring bubbles up from the Sunken Garden on the east side of the park. 

*[Both info's copied and pasted from the www]

To The Sea

For work Summer went to NASA for a 2 day workshop/meeting last Thursday and Friday. Friday afternoon, while she was daydreaming of it being space camp instead, I can only assume, I drove down to meet up with her afterwards and see what the sea/ocean/gulf a four hour drive from Austin looks like. Here's a map for you visual folks.

Our travels began in NASA town, right off Houston. We stopped at a Boardwalk, as I was a bit tired of being in a car after a four hour straight drive. Summer thought this would be an interesting photo op. The shark was happy because it was ShinerBock in the container instead of water. (My first of the vacation, no I didn't drink beer on my drive down. ha) I reckon this boardwalk was destroyed by the hurricane a few years back and semi recently rebuilt, but I don't know the details on that situation.

Evening one, we walked along the gulf to a restaurant down the street for some seafood. I had some sea bass which was tasty. The night ended with some souvenir store browsing and drinks near the pool. Going to bed at a decent hour meant awaking at an indecent hour but the sunrise was worth it.

oooooo scary haunted hotel in the wee hours of the morning. haha......

took 8 hours of sleep to rock this hair style.

Old man fishing and the sunrise sea

After that we had a mediocre breakfast, and then I went back to bed, Summer went to the pool.

Later we drove the town. Starting with the end of the island.

End of the Island on one side...

Tres ships

A pic of the palm tree lined streets for my palm tree obsessed fam, they actually were abundant down there...

old house

another old house

one last old tropical mansion

the "downtown" area

It may look like Bingo in the streets, but we stumbled upon a Oktoberfest fundraiser.

Since proceeds were going to the Church's hurt from the hurricane and we wouldn't be making a mass the next morning, we decided to purchase one of their large, collectible mugs filled with beer and be altruistic.

Mr. Nerd.

Ms. Nerd

Next was Mini-Golfing, nothing like a huge seashell in front of the sea for a hole. The front of this hole/seashell is just asking for dirty references and Austin, Taragos is a family blog so sorry folks.

Summer kicked some sand the first half...

However, at this mini-golf staple setup, I got a hole-in-one and then continued to take the lead, but its all in fun, who cares if I won ;)

 

Later that evening we continued the seafood by the seaside theme and had some delicious mahi mahi and relaxed the rest of the night. The next morning, we slept through the sunrise, but did a closing walk on the beach before breakfast and our departure.

This hotel looks pretty cool but still needs to be fixed from the hurricane damage, you may not be able to see it but some chunks of the walls were missing. Oh how cool it would have been to tour it. That be one way to raise money. I'd pay like 10 bucks to safely walk around in it.

Ending the Trip with breakfast at a sea-side Sonic.

Houston Skyline.

Conclusion: Our trip to Galveston was quite enjoyable. It's nice to know that the gulf of mexico is only a four hour drive away. I tried to keep this like a blog instead of a photo album so I didn't post tons of photos of the beaches, but I did see some people hop in the waves. As you may or may not know, wave jumping is a huge past-time of mine. However, the water was a bit dirty, there was that oil spill and it was October, so I didn't hop any waves this trip. I believe I could of, but it just didn't happen. My take is that the gulf at Galveston is more to look at and enjoy visually, instead of jumping in. However, I look forward to driving a few hours longer next trip to re-unite with my college spring break destination of South Padre Island (see map at top), where at least 5-some years ago the water was pretty clean and I splashed away. Galveston is a perfect destination for a weekend trip, its not too far away and its a nice sea-side island. On the way back you can always hit up Houston's Ikea or the Outlet mall as well. That's all for now folks.