Family Road Trip to Austin

We decided to take a quick trip to Austin before Erin goes back to camp for the next two weeks.  Randy and I have lived in Texas for a long while and neither one of us has ever visited the State Capitol.  Austin is only 2 and half hours away, making it easy 2 day trip.

We booked an awesome hotel on the North side of Austin.  They actually have 2 royal swans, Butch and Sundance, that live in the lobby ponds.  Erin was in love with the swans.  She went down to the lobby many times to check on them.  She even got to feed them pieces of lettuce and spinach.

Erin with a Butterfly Sculpture

Our first stop in Austin was the Domain, a newly developed outdoor shopping area.  It really reflects Austin's eclectic style with metal sculptures lining the streets, large live oaks, beautiful water features and an assortment of stores. 

Erin and Randy talking at Starbucks

The next day, we drove down to the visit the Capitol Building.  It's set in a beautiful garden.  The visitor center houses a newly opened museum that explains a little about how Texas gained it's independence from Mexico.  They also had a great exhibit detailing the colonization of the state and how the settlers lived.  They had letters, tools and replicas of their clothing on display.

We went across the park to the main building.  The entrance is guarded by authentic cannons. The entire building was restored from 1992 -95 to the way it looked around the turn of the century.  The first room we visited was the Texas Treasury.  The original floor to ceiling bars were still in place with desks lining the windows on the other side.  It made you feel like you had walked onto a movie set.  Next, we stood under the beautiful cupola featuring a Texas star at its heart.  The building also houses the State Senate, Congress, the Supreme Court and the Appeals Court. This was a wonderful opportunity to share some of our state's history with Erin.  She really enjoyed discovering the buildings and artwork.

Texas State Congress

Our last stop was the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.  Erin has always loved nature, most especially flowers, making this stop a no brainer.  The center was set up by the former first Lady to highlight the beauty of nature as it was it was discovered in the Austin area.  Every spring, many people come to see the fields of Blue Bonnets and Indian Paint Brushes.  It was wonderful to see how many other beautiful native Texas flowers are in bloom at other times of the year.  Erin really enjoyed discovering the butterfly gardens and a special origami exhibit the Center was hosting.