Admiring Austin Part 1

Austin, Texas is a place known for their interesting appeal. From the hippie vibe to the new Silicone Valley feel, Austin, Texas provides a variety of activities for everyone of all ages! Austin is, no doubt, one of the best places to visit in Texas to receive Southern Hospitality!

Due to COVID, some locations may be temporarily closed or limited. Please check on their site prior to attempting to go to their spot.

Wonderspaces

Wonderspaces is a beautiful, interesting, and interactive location for those who are into modern art. With only four locations in the United States, it’s a place one would be lucky to see!

Due to COVID, we were unable to interact with some features. One display was being worked on and not open to the public. However, despite the setbacks, there were several other displays open! They were kind enough to let us know they would be offering tickets via email once they open back up 100% so we could fully experience the displays.

They had several stunning exhibits that were peaking my interest. The only thing I wish they added to each exhibit was a description for each piece. The Illegal Art exhibit was stunning, but I wanted to know more about it. You can find more information online, but it would have been handy to have this in person as well. It very well may be that they normally do have these in person, but, due to coronavirus, they chose to make it digital.

Exhibits

Squidsoup is one of the creators of the Submergence exhibit in Austin, TX. This feature allows guests to observe a beautiful light show that moves with the music to form a variety of shows.

Reed van Brunschot created the large Thank You Bags exhibit. The focus of this piece is the American belief in capitalism and harmful effects of these plastic waste bags on the environment.

Vier Nev created the A Mind Sang. This visual display has a seamless movement through the video. It shares some images of what appears to be optical illusions.

Yasuhiro Chida’s exhibit initially appeared to be dancing fireflies within the display. As we came closer, we thought it appeared to be spiderwebs. After further looking, we realized it was fishing line. The ability to take fishing line and create such a masterful piece is amazing!

This stunning piece made me want to enjoy the nights of Texas again!

Everyware created the Levitate piece. Unfortunately, we were unable to interact with this one due to coronavirus. However, I am hoping soon we will be able to experience it to it’s full potential!

We were unfortunately unable to view this one to its entirety! I cannot wait to see how astounding this one is!

Memo Akten was the creator of Body Paint. This exhibit is interactive with human movements. The use of shadow and body create beautiful art pieces. This is especially ideal for those who grew up in dance, gymnastics, or even generalized sports.

NONOTAK Studio displayed one of the most intriguing exhibits, Hoshi, with their use of mirrors, sound, and lights. At times, the image of you walking may confuse you with the flashes and the multi-way mirrors. My only suggestion on this one is to not bring those who have epileptic episodes watch this!

John Edmark created Blooms. This one was particularly interesting. At times, it would appear as if the sculpture moved and other times it didn’t. The use of strobe lights allows the guest to spend additional time at this exhibit to examine if their eyes are betraying them!

Sweepers Clock was created by Maarten Baas. In this exhibit, they use trash to create time changes within a clock. It truly shows that beautiful art can be made from literal trash.

On a Human Scale was on exhibit that was inaccessible. I could tell this exhibit would be a beautiful creation from Matthew Matthew. I cannot wait to see this exhibit back open. I know it will be utterly astounding when the time comes to see this exhibit to its fullest extent.

Illegal Art had The Last Word. The concept behind this exhibit is absolutely beautiful: unspoken words to form a beautiful display. I am curious if the creators ever plan to reveal what messages are tied within those pieces of paper.

Charlotte Stoudt, Laura Wexler, Angel Soto, Skybound, Ryot & Telexist’s exhibit of Dinner Party threw me for a loop, initially. When I walked into this exhibit, I felt like I was intruding on a dinner part (it definitely fits the name). I remember telling the person I was with, “I’m not sure if we should be in here.” After realizing it was one of the art pieces, I started to look deeper into the meaning behind it. Unfortunately, this is also a piece that we were able to experience 100%, due to COVID.

Michael Murphy’s exhibit of The Immigrant was unfortunately having maintenance completed. Due to this, we were unable to see this in it’s beauty.

Taquero Mucho (Pink Tacos of Austin)

If you love the idea of Tiffany Blue, you’ll love Taquero Mucho! Everything in this location is pink: from the outside decorations to the interior design, and even the plates, glasses, and check payment holder. This place bleeds pink!

The first thing I noticed, aside from the insane amount of pink throughout the building, I noticed the incredibly small menu. Usually menus that are small tend to have delicious food, because they focus so much on flavor! I can attest that this theory is true! Their the carnitas were amazing! The flavors were bursting with each and every bite. I’m not a bean fan, but their beans had an amazing flavor to them as well! Of course all food and drinks were in the color pink as well!

They have a few outdoor delights to enjoy as well, including an old telephone booth, outdoor seating, and an outdoor shop. I was so enthralled by the pink overload I had to purchase a t-shirt in support of this amazing company started by such an amazing person!

Top Golf Austin

As someone who had never golfed before, coming here seemed a bit intimidating at first. I was worried professional golfers would appear and put me to shame. It’s not like mini golf, which you have built in supports (short distances, smaller clubs, etc.).

Luckily, that wasn’t my experience at all! Top Golf Austin had a good mix of professional and beginner golfers. There were families, couples, groups of friends, and more. With COVID restrictions, they limit how many people may be in a bay. They do their best to spread out customers as well to ensure safety! The staff is extremely friendly to include walking new timers through the process (such as myself).

There are several options of playing (from Beginner to Advanced, games to tournaments). I found the technology to be intriguing, which led to a discussion with the employees about the tracking of the ball, video source, etc. I was expecting to leave more broke, but surprisingly it was affordable. As a newcomer, I will definitely making another pit stop at this location to work on my golf game!

Ravishing Round Rock

Round Rock, Texas is a beautiful city located in the Hill Country of Central Texas. As a lifelong Texan, I admire a town with history, class, and a modern touch. Round Rock, Texas provides all of that and more.

Two of the more well-known places within Round Rock, Texas includes the Round Rock Premium Outlets and Round Rock Donuts.

Round Rock Premium Outlets

The Rock Rock Premium Outlets have been around for years. Just located to the north of Austin, Texas, these outlets provide both shopping and dining experience.

For some of the major shopping retailers, the Round Rock Premium Outlets include affordable stores ranging from Skechers, Bath & Body Works, and GAP to the more pricier shopping retailers such as Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, and Calvin Klein. By having a wide variety of choices, these outlets provide something for everyone.

These outlets have beautiful decorations: fountains, seating areas, covered areas for hot Texas days or rainy days, and decorations to fit the season(s) and holiday(s). All these touches on the location welcome guests to an atmosphere that is beautiful, inviting, and comfortable. With several benches to rest along the way, it allows those who have difficulty walking long periods of time to rest, or they can enjoy time with the family chatting away.

Round Rock Premium Outlets often have great sales within their stores. At the VANS outlet (12/29/2020), they were running a buy one, get a 50% off sale. Bath & Body Works has most of their merchandize on sale, which was not on sale in other retail locations and/or online. Victoria’s Secret ran sales that were similar to their Semi-Annual sale. Although we did not enter the Michael Kors store, we could tell a major sale was happening within due to the massive line to enter the store!

Although shopping is the main focus of any outlet, the food options within the Round Rock Premium Outlets is even more divine!

Fast food options are one available choice for the Outlets. Church’s Chicken, Auntie Anne’s, and Starbucks are a few of the fast food options within the Outlets. However, more mom and pop, small business companies, and less frequented places are within the immaculate and large food court. I personally prefer the mom and pop and small business options over the fast food options!

This view is from the East side of the Round Rock Premium Outlets. Due to COVID, it was a bit more empty than usual. These areas are usually packed with shoppers. Some of the stores were not open due to COVID either.

The largest tree within Round Rock Premium Outlets is located at the entrance. Not only does this tree welcome guests to an inviting atmosphere, but it also adds a bit of joy to the location with it’s beautiful, welcoming, festive colors to celebrate the 2020 Christmas Spirit.

Round Rock Premium Outlets includes several decorations for the season(s) and holiday(s). These decorations are spread throughout the location to bring a welcoming feeling to guests.

Round Rock Donuts

You cannot go to Round Rock, Texas without needing to stop for Round Rock Donuts!

Round Rock Donuts was founded in 1926, and it has been a Texas favorite ever since! With the untraditional orange tinted donuts, people who have never had them become intrigued. After trying Round Rock Donuts, people keep coming back near and far to have more!

The World Famous donut maker has been featured in BuzzFeed – often mentioning the Texas sized donut that Round Rock Donuts offers! Day Tripper featured several Round Rock locations and events, with one of the most important being Round Rock Donuts. Man v. Food notoriously tried the famous Texas sized donut as well!

My personal favorite from Round Rock Donuts includes the Chocolate Glazed Sprinkle donut and the regular kolaches. Their kolaches are made on the sweeter side with less grease to prevent heartburn for those with sensitive stomachs, like me! The donuts and kolaches are easy to refrigerate and reheat for upcoming mornings. You can’t come here without buying the Texas sized donut at least once!

Round Rock Donuts was featured on the Food Network. Although always popular, this sparked a higher interest in the company from surrounding areas and visitors.

11 years ago was the first time I tried Round Rock Donuts. On my first trip, I had to get the Texas sized donut. Being impressed by the size, it was my duty to take a picture for comparison by my head and hand. I look different now, but the donut stayed the same size!

Other Round Rock Adventures

Round Rock, Texas offers several other exciting and beautiful places to visit. Located on the old Chisholm Trail, there is no doubt that you’ll find a bit of history, nature, and events surrounding this beautiful location! Modern meets memories of our past: it is a place that any Texan would be lucky to visit!