Thursday, April 9, 2015

Day 13 - Wandering Home LA to Toronto


April 2015 - Austin TX



Recap to Date according to Mapquest
1892.63 miles
29 hrs 8 mins

We are taking our time waiting for warmer weather at home.

First item on the To Do list was for John to take the car to the healer, the wipers are not getting any water and it seemed as though the air conditioning wasn't working. While there he also had the oil changed and some other filters changed. Since the car is under warranty  the dealership called Hyundai to confirm it would cover the replacement of the pump. There was nothing wrong with the AC.
John was extremely impressed with the level of customer service provided, even better than in Las Vegas. The customer service reps were all women and stayed with you throughout your visit.

Back around noon and we head out for the afternoon and lunch. We stopped at the Old School bar and grill, I had onion soup and John had a club that he couldn't finish.

Some more cool signs along 6th St. I will say that we have found more pockets of restaurants an bars that are much nicer than 5th St. There are many great places to eat closer to Congress St.






Driskill Hotel rooms start at $450 a night.



The Driskill, a Romanesque-style building completed in 1886,[3] is the oldest operating hotel in Austin, Texas, USA, and one of the best-known hotels in Texas generally. The Driskill was conceived and built by Col. Jesse Driskill, a cattleman who spent his fortune constructing "the finest hotel south of St. Louis".








The Texas State Capitol, completed in 1888 contains the offices and chambers of the Texas Legislature and the Office of the Governor. Designed in 1881 by architect Elijah E. Myers, it was constructed from 1882 to 1888 under the direction of civil engineer Reuben Lindsay Walker.  The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1986. The Texas State Capitol is 308 feet (94 m) tall, making it the sixth tallest state capitol and one of several taller than the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.



The grounds are dotted with fabulous historical sculptures that I will show in detail another time.




You can enter the building once you pass through security and are free to roam.


We exit through the back door and there are more sculptures dedicated to the heroes of many wars,


Spring has sprung here in the south.


On our way back to the hotel, we pass a lot of trendy restaurants and bars, much nicer than being located at the bottom of 6th St.


Back in our room watching the rush hour traffic, pleased we don't have to do that anymore.


We had planned to go to the restaurant in the hotel, Hilton Garden Inn, but when we went up to the 18th floor, it was freezing and we were going to get sweaters when we checked out the dining room and were not impressed, it was dated, too bright and looked like a dated conference room. No ambiance, no class. We chose to go to our room and order room service, once again, excellent.

3 comments:

  1. Sure hope you aren't in any of that bad weather rolling through Texas. Stay safe in your travels. Glad we aren't in it too.

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  2. The Driskill really stands out beautifully, as does the State House.

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  3. Was very disappointed In Austin, since it is considered to be "music city". Not much happening in any of the bars. Honestly prefer Nashville which I strongly consider as "Music City" since there is music all day in every bar.

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