Austin, Texas

While we were booking our Canada trip, Nathan mentioned a conference in Austin for this weekend. Since we didn't have any plans, we decided to tack it on to the end Canada trip and instead of flying from Detroit to KC, we flew from Detroit to Austin. Nathan's conferences have become a perfect way for us to vacation because his flight and the hotel room is paid for through his work, and Allison and I are cheap tag-alongs.

We arrived during a drought so while it was hot, it didn't feel overwhelming because there was no humidity in the air. We arrived at the JW Marriot, checked in, and decided to explore a little bit. First we went to Trader Joe's to get some snacks and food for Allison and I (Nathan's breakfast and lunches were provided at the conference), then we parked the car at the hotel and walked around our neighborhood.

I was expecting Austin to be very Texas -y. Meaning that I thought I'd see cowboy boots, or Stetson's, or at least her some Southern drawls. But NOTHING! In fact, when I got back to KC and told a few Texas friends my experience, they all laughed because they knew that Austin was the "California of Texas." Everyone was very young and liberal, everyone is on a bike, scooter, or skateboard (and they all ride on the sidewalks), the vibe is very creative - I felt ancient walking around with my 5 year old.

Nathan finished at the conference by 2pm so for our first outing we decided to try to visit the Hamilton Pool Preserve. It's located about 30 minutes outside Austin. Unfortunately, my research had a big hole in it - you need a reservation to visit. I decided to make a reservation for Sunday afternoon, and we traveled a couple miles back and visited the Reimers Ranch Park. We wanted to find somewhere to swim - but with the drought, many places have dried up. We manged to find this little swimming spot. It was shallow and filled with little fish that kept nipping at us. I know that's a spa treatment for some people but it was really strange. It didn't hurt at all but it was strange.