We recently traveled to Austin, Texas on a quick trip that put us in and around the city for about 24 hours. We wanted to make the most of our trip in our short amount of time. So we did some research, and hit up some of the most popular Austin area spots. Read on about our visits to the beautiful Texas Capitol, Austin’s Barton Creek Greenbelt, and Pedernales State Park in the gorgeous Texas Hill Country. And of course, no visit to Austin is complete without sampling some famous Franklin BBQ!
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Our Quick Trip to Austin, Texas
Our trip to the Austin area was very short. We arrived late Friday evening, and flew back out Monday afternoon. Sunday and Monday were dedicated to the main reason for our visit to Austin – read our Bronco Off-Roadeo blog post. It was an absolute BLAST!
That basically left Saturday to cram in all we could that Austin has to offer. We did some research before our trip to figure out some of the most popular places to visit. We knew for sure we had to make a trip to Franklin BBQ because Josh had been wanting to eat there for YEARS.
Visiting the Texas Capitol Building
One of the top things to do in Austin (according to Trip Advisor) is visit the Texas Capitol. Normally a state government building wouldn’t be one of my top things to see on vacation, but since it obviously came very highly recommended we decided to check it out on our first morning.
Before heading to the Capitol we ate breakfast downtown at Phoebe’s Diner, which I would highly recommend. Josh had the fried chicken biscuit and I had their chile relleno. Both meals were really, really good, and more upscale than standard diner food (but still very reasonably priced).
Upon arriving at the Capitol, one of the first things we noticed were how many armed guards there were! We weren’t used to that back in Indiana, but they were EVERYWHERE! Very nice and helpful during our visit, though!
We also very quickly realized why the visit comes so highly recommended. Texans, like they do in most areas, take great pride in their Capitol. It was evident in the beautiful grounds and ornate features of the buildings. This ain’t your standard bland government building.
Guided tours weren’t available the day we were there, but they make self-guided tour brochures available at the entrances. One brochure covered the rooms inside the building (that open air rotunda – wow!), and another brochure is specific to the grounds and all of their monuments. We spent an hour or two touring the building and grounds.
Lunch From the Very Popular Franklin BBQ
Immediately after leaving the Capitol, we sat out to find the popular “Greetings from Austin” sign. We were surprised to find it on the side of a nondescript art studio building in a residential neighborhood. We took turns taking photos with another tourist couple that showed up at the same time, and were quickly on our way to the next stop.
And the next stop was one Josh had been looking forward to for YEARS. When he started getting into smoking meat a few years back, Aaron Franklin’s book “Franklin BBQ: A Meat Manifesto” was one of his first purchases. He’d been reading and hearing about their famous brisket for years and was anxious to try it after recently getting over his mammal meat allergy (a whole other story involving ticks which I’ll save to blog about for another day).
[Funny side story – the Meat Manifesto book includes their recipe for pinto beans, which references a separate recipe for the seasoning that goes in them. The first two or three times Josh made the beans, I kept telling him they were good but really, really salty. I went to do a little investigation thinking this can’t be the way Texans eat beans, and made sure to tell him the seasoning recipe made enough for many multiple batches of beans. He was using the whole recipe on ONE batch of beans 😉 After he fixed that honest mistake, we’ve enjoyed them several times since.]
Unfortunately, because, well…COVID, Frankin BBQ is currently only doing curbside pickup. That meant he didn’t get the full experience of standing in line from the wee hours of the morning to wait for the world famous BBQ joint to open (I guess it’s sort of an experience in itself). Knowing this, we got our order in for Franklin a few weeks in advance, as their brisket sells out quickly. Only problem was the pre-orders require 3 lbs of meat minimum – and for two people that’s a LOT of food.
We asked for some plates for a picnic, but got butcher paper instead (how cool is that?). All the food was really good as expected, but wowsa – that brisket! We both sat in awe at how someone could make it taste that good. Definitely lived up to all the hype.
Hiking Austin’s Barton Creek Greenbelt
With uncomfortably full bellies, we needed a way to work off our lunch. Hiking part of Austin’s Greenbelt was the perfect solution. We used the less-trafficked Gus Fruh trailhead, and hiked 3-4 miles of the 12-mile Greenbelt.
I was so surprised about the scenery right smack dab in the middle of Austin. You get back in there and it’s very wooded and outdoorsy – not something you’d typically expect to find in a city.
It was an easy hike, but also very hot. We were prepared with full bottles of water, but realized we were quickly going through our supply. Hiking in Indiana and hiking in Texas (in August, no less) proved to be slightly different. Hmm…who’d a thought?
We were able to cool off a bit by taking off our shoes and wading through Gus Fruh’s swimming hole – one of the Greenbelt’s many swimming spots.
Pedernales State Park
After our hike we put the top down on our rental Jeep Wrangler and found some back highways toward Texas Hill Country. It was a beautiful drive, and really opened my eyes to the diverse landscapes of Texas. The Hill Country’s lush and rolling scenery just wasn’t what I thought of when I thought “Texas” prior to this visit.
Our last stop of the day was Pedernales State Park, known for its falls over limestone slabs in the Pedernales River. We took a couple short hikes and enjoyed touring this park that was a great representation of this beautiful area of Texas.
We ended our day at our hotel in Marble Falls, looking forward to Our Thrilling 2-Day Ford Bronco Off-Roadeo Experience that started the next day!
The Last Word on Austin
Whew! That was a jampacked Saturday in the Texas August heat! But we really felt like we made the best of our time in and around Austin, a city that offered a few pleasant surprises that we weren’t expecting. We found that this area is an outdoor enthusiast’s dream, and would’ve loved to spend more time in the area. If you get the opportunity to visit “weird” Austin and Texas Hill Country – do it!
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Comment below with YOUR favorite stops in and around Austin, Texas!