"...and to market again!"

What a wonderful experience the Austin Farmer's Market was at 4th and Guadalupe last Saturday. They actually block off a section of the street to accomodate all the vendors that participate. And there were a lot of vendors!

Again, great selection of produce, meat, cheese, bread, clothing and plants! On top of this, we were able to enjoy some fresh-baked goodies as there were a multitude (OK, maybe not a multitude) of prepared food vendors serving up some ethnic goodness.

Free parking was available at the garage just north of the market. A short walk across the street and you're standing in the market, packed with a variety of people and organic goodies galore! From what I observed, nearly everyone sported a reusable tote (yay!)

One thing that made this market different from the last one we visited at The Triangle, was the live music! It sure added a neat dimension to the experience. It made shopping feel like a party. I like that they had a lot of seating in the shade so people could escape from the blazing sun and enjoy some great tunes.

I highly recommend this farmers' market as it seemed that the majority of the vendors at The Triangle were also here, plus many more. Be sure to stop by the information booth for market merchandise plus a lot of free literature. I received some great information from what I picked up!

In Honor of Lady Bird Johnson (Town Lake)

Despite my recent poll on where I should visit next (Barton Springs is in the lead), my schedule allowed me to see Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake)first. The lake is one of the many reservoirs along the Colorado River.

We met with some friends to take what was supposed to be a leisurely walk around the lake. Our route was to be approximately 3 miles long, despite the possible 10.1 miles available for pedestrians. As we walked, we realized that at the pace we began at, we were not going to make it around before it got really late (and dark), so we ended up walking very quickly, and sometimes running down the wide, dirt path. The path is hospitable to walkers, joggers, bicyclists, dog-walkers and strollers. The non-motorized traffic is non-stop but not overbearing. The path is shaded in almost every place, so an outing at any time of day is amenable.

The first interesting site we stumbled upon was the dock and boat house run by the Texas Rowing Center and owned by the Parks & Recreation Department. This got me excited because I participated on a rowing team back home and have been wanting to see what the rowing was like here in Austin. The center offers rowing packages and programs and kayaking classes and rentals. As a side note, rowing is a wonderful, low-impact sport which is suited for a wide age-range of people. Try it! You'll probably love it.

Next, we crossed the James D. Pfluger Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge. This bridge is beautiful. Crossing over it, I couldn't help but snap pictures left and right, like a paparazzo. Seeing the lake in all it's glory at dusk was something I don't think I'll ever forget. It was well-deserving of oohs and ahs. I think you get the picture.

If not, here are some pictures just to show you how beautiful it was. This picture was taken to the left.

And here is the view to the right! This shot somewhat reminded me of the Waimea River on the island of Kauai.

Along the path are many photo opportunities, such as this one. I thought this one was particularly lovely, with the palms and prickly pear cacti.

I wasn't able to get a shot of the most exciting part of this outing: the turtles. By the time we got to that part of the lake, it was too dark. Still, my 3-year old was able to toss some crackers into the lake and have several small turtles feed around him like ducks would. It really was a cool experience.

We finished up our walk in about 1 1/2 hours. Next time, I'll definitely wear walking shoes versus flip-flops and will definitely bring my camera and maybe an MP3 player.

Whether you live here or are just visiting, Lady Bird Lake is a definite must-see. Zilker Park is next door, so there's a whole days worth of activities to participate in here.

Wholly Foods, Batman!

I've been a fan of Whole Foods since one landed in Bellevue, WA a couple of years ago. Though I love the foods they carried, I rarely shopped there because of the price point. Plus, I had Trader Joe's (which I miss SO MUCH!!!) who's food items are so unique and who's prices can't be beat.

Being that Austin is the home of Whole Foods, I decided that I needed to at least check out the 80,000 square foot, newly-constructed building. Maybe I would buy a couple of things just to say I did. First I'll touch on the parking situation because it is downtown. When it comes to parking, you're covered. Not only do they have a decent sized lot on the street level, they also have underground parking.

Upon entering, one of the first things I noticed were the perfectly erected towers of lemonade, wine, or whatever was on special. Not a big deal, but it made you feel like you were about to shop in an organized environment.

My feeling was validated when I starting walking through the produce department. Not a carrot out of place! Really, it was a sight to behold. The produce was so beautiful that I wanted to buy things that I didn't need and things I'd never tried. I was feeling healthier just walking through the store! Perhaps I was absorbing airborne nutrients!

Though I didn't have time to make a full-fledged shopping trip, I couldn't help but notice that the aisles went on and on! There was a plethora of variety for everything on your shopping list. On this particular trip, I wanted to check out the gluten-free options. I was pleased to find out that finding gluten-free baked products was not going to be a problem when shopping at Whole Foods.

Our trip was cut short because we were late meeting friends at the nearby Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake.) More on that in the next post!

In conclusion, my husband and I decided that we would skip the nearby super market for a weekly, luxurious experience at Whole Foods.

A Glimpse of SoCo

I kept hearing all sorts of wonderful things about the shopping on South Congress, so I eagerly awaited the chance to go. That day finally came. I really don't think I saw very much of what the street had to offer, but it was such a hot day, and with 2 kiddos in tow, we decided to make it a short trip.

We parked at the first place that looked like what South Congress had been described on websites as: eclectic. As soon as I saw the little strip made up of cute cafes, antique stores, and candy shops, I knew we needed to stop.

Our first detour was a large antique store called "Uncommon Objects." If you love the ancient and interesting, this is a store you could spend all day at. The prices seemed really reasonable, but I'm no expert, and the variety was extensive. The only downside was that the store was so cluttered and items were spread out that it made it difficult to see everything they had to offer. The store is literally bursting at the seams with well, uncommon objects!

"Off-the-Wall Antiques" was a different experience. The store was more clean and organized and had different kinds of antiques, or rather, certain kinds. It seemed the owner is more picky about what he accepts. It was a relaxing experience, but prices seemed higher.

No two stores are alike on this particular strip. Aside from the aformentioned stores, there's also a costume store, a barber shop, a grocery store, a clothing store, a furniture store, and a few others which I can't remember at the moment.

Next time we visit, I've made a promise to myself to stop at the cupcake stand in the Airstream across the street. It took great self-control not to stop on this trip! A couple of trolleys, which are free to ride, putter up and down the street making it easier to get around. Next time I may take advantage of that, too! I'm definitely excited about my next trip to SoCo!

RECYCLE. But...

I have a bone to pick. Was it just a misconception that Austin is an especially eco-conscience, earth-friendly, waste-reducing city? I had heard that I was entering the city limits of a leader in the fight against waste. My expectations were high.

Though Austin is the home of Whole Foods and "green homes" exist in every neighborhood, as far as Austin's recycling program goes, it has been found wanting. When I called to set up my trash pick-up, I was shocked to find out that the only thing I can recycle in the tiny bin provided, were plastic and glass bottles and aluminum cans bearing the numbers 1 and 2. Sure, you can recycle paper and cardboard, as long as you provide your own paper or cardboard receptacle. (Despite the website, they do not offer an additional blue bin anymore.) This still leaves items like dairy tubs (whether or not they bear the correct numbers)and egg cartons in the trash.

Back home, Seattle, and as far as I know, every surrounding city, has implemented the all-in-one recycling bin. Because of how easy it is to recycle virtually everything, including most plastics bearing several numbers, non-recyclable waste can potentially be reduced to nearly nothing.

Today, on the City of Austin website, you will find a "Zero Waste Challenge". I applaud the city for encouraging recycling and asking for input on how the public is already doing it. In my opinion, it seems early to start a "Zero Waste Challenge" that ends this month, when the tools for us to reduce our waste to zero or nearly zero are not available to us.

I read that in October, Austin will be implementing the all-in-one paper/glass/plastic rolling cart idea. What goes in the recycling cart?

Paper: (newspaper, office paper, junk mail, cereal and soft drink boxes, corrugated cardboard)
Aluminum and metal cans: food cans (labels left on OK), soda cans
Glass: Jars and bottles
Rigid plastics: # 1 through # 7, including yogurt and margarine tubs

What cannot be recycled?
Plastic bags, Styrofoam (cups, egg cartons, take-out containers)

HOORAY!

Upon exploring the City of Austin website, I came across another ray of hope: Austin's Green District. From what I can tell, it looks like Austin will be creating a community where they will model different environmentally-friendly practices such as recycling and composting.

For more information on what you can recycle and where it goes, see this Flyer.

One last comment. I'm green with envy (pun intended) that Portland offers their citizens a compost bin for $35! They're another city making it easy for consumers to narrow down their waste.

"To market, to market..."

Today we visited the Austin Farmers' Market at The Triangle. I plan on visiting several of the farmers' markets within the city limits, but this one just happened to be today and I needed some produce! What a great first experience. Of course, the weather was great. This goes without saying, but remember, I just moved from Seattle, so I'm still noticing the weather. Each day is miraculous. Ha ha!


The location of the market was great: 46th and Triangle Avenue, at Triangle Park. Plenty of parking. The market is from 4pm-8pm every Wednesday, so coming from South Austin, traffic was bad in both directions. If you want to stick around for dinner, The Triangle has a few good-looking restaurants within a couple hundred feet, so hang out awhile afterward and skip that traffic going home.


There were approximately 24 vendors which made for a nice selection of organic goodness. Wares ranged from produce to cheese, meat to bread, and pasta to gelato. Most vendors sold the same kinds of produce: summer squash, tomatoes, peppers, onions and watermelon.


Non-live music played through the market area, making for an upbeat shopping experience. If you get too hot, hop on over to the triangle fountain. It's an unexpected spot for kids and adults to cool off just a tad. I say unexpected because the shoots of water randomly rise from the ground.

Loops, Expressways and Farm Roads, Oh My!

Prior to my move, a former Austinite aquaintance had emailed me all the nitty gritty details that I could expect from Austin - the good (housing costs), the bad (hot and humid weather) and the ugly (ridiculously large and nasty insects and reptiles). One thing that she failed to mention were the very differently engineered roads. On my second day in Austin, I decided to venture out on a planned shopping trip. Having declined the GPS with my rental car, I Mapquest-ed my trip.

Hint #1: Get the GPS!

I planned on visiting 3 stores, so I mapped out the entire route, from home to stores 1, 2, and 3, and back home again. Easy right? WRONG. What they don't mention until after you get lost is that many of the streets have 2 names and at different points the signs may or may not say the name that you need to see. For instance, on my shopping trip, the Mapquest directions told me to take the MoPac Expressway. At the point where I was supposed to take this road, the only sign I could see was for Loop 1 South.

Hint #2: MoPac = Loop 1

This is the case in a lot of the city. Some of this stuff comes with experience I guess, but after 1 1/2 hours of driving in circles, to not find a single store I was looking for, it was not a good experience. I called "home" and had someone direct me back since I had no idea where I was at this point.

After a few days of driving a.k.a. getting lost, I finally realized that which is my 3rd hint.

Hint #3: The main highways also have service roads.

What this means is that there are roads that run parallel to the highways that make accessing stores a lot easier. They are still called the same name as the actual highway, but usually run below and next to the actual highway. At many points along these service roads, you can jump back on the highway to get to your next destination quicker. This was very confusing to me at first, but now I realize that it is actually a very useful implemenation!

One last random hint. Actually, it's more of an explanation.

Hint (Explanation) #4: F.M. = Farm Road (who knew!?)

I'm sure I have much more to learn about the roads in Austin, but I haven't really had time to explore the city in depth. I'm still considering getting a GPS, if only to help me get home!

Arrival of the Fittest

I arrived in Austin by plane on June 28th, 2008. The reason this post is late in coming is because I finally feel settled enough to blog. Up until this point, I've been constantly searching for the perfect house while caring for my two, young boys. Anyway, back to my arrival.

The minute I stepped off the plane, the humid, warm Austin air pushed me back a bit. I wasn't expecting it, only because I wasn't thinking about it. It was 10:00pm and I couldn't believe how warm it still was. I am accustomed to the evenings cooling off about 20 degrees. Even in the dead of summer.

Austin Bergstrom Airport is a small airport. I had been flying with a friend, and was surprised to see her parents very quickly after de-boarding the plane. We had only walked a couple hundred feet before we were greeted by them. In Seattle, we would have walked for 5-10 minutes before seeing anyone who hadn't passed security. I had reserved a rental car and was pleased to find out that I didn't have to catch a shuttle to the rental company I had chosen. Rather, I just walked across the street and took the elevator up. It was slick. So far, so good.

Now onto my first actual Austin experience. The evening after my arrival, some friends took me to a little restaurant in the downtown district called Freddie's Place (1703 S. First St.) The experience was not far from your typical backyard BBQ - dogs included (read: dogs invited). In keeping with Austin's theme, "Keep Austin Weird", Freddie's was definitely strange, but pleasantly so. The parking lot is on the small side, but there's also street parking available. Something that I'm really excited about is all the outdoor opportunities there are. Sure, some venues in Seattle have outdoor seating and activities, but with the nearly constant chance of rain, it's not common. In Austin, outdoor opportunities abound! Sidetracked again. OK, upon approaching the restaurant, I noticed lots of outdoor seating, using wood picnic-style tables and plastic chairs. Strings of colored lights were strung from tree to tree and funky, hammered-tin figures adorned the outskirts of the yard. Waiters and waitresses buzzed around wearing t-shirts that say such witty things as, "Be a-fred, be very a-fred" and "Fred likes me best." Needless to say, Freddie's has live, outdoor music with the featured artist of my night being The Adam Raven Trio. Ironically, the trio was only a duo that night. The menu boasts mostly unique burgers and salads with normal burger joint sides. I ordered a burger with pineapple and bacon on it. It was good, but nothing to call home about. My favorite point about Freddie's was the playground within the eating area for kids to get out all their pent-up energy while waiting for the food. Adults can also take part in some fun by playing a game of "Washers", which is similar to horseshoes. Overall, Freddie's was a great place to begin getting a feel for what I'm going to find in Austin. I'd go again.