Austin and Avery Ranch

As I mentioned in the last post, we spent yesterday afternoon in Austin. Of course it is much too large, with waaaaay too many things to see, to do it justice in one afternoon. So we concentrated on one area..... SoCo, or South Congress Avenue. It is several blocks south of the capital. And of course, the Austinites LOVE their University of Texas Longhorns. So much so that you see the burnt orange from the University everywhere! We saw this house along SoCo. Couldn't resist sharing a pic.

As I mentioned SoCo is several blocks south of the capital, geographically. But I have to tell ya, it is many miles left of center, politically. In fact, it felt a lot like we had been transported back to Berkeley! As evidenced by one of the local head shops. This was one of a few "art cars" fixed outside the shop. It is totally covered with paste gems. Amazing!

And this was the backdrop for a stage in their parking lot. I'm guessing they have some pretty "far out" concerts there. Know what I mean? (wink, wink)

We started today with coffee on the patio -- what a great way to start the day! Today we had a special guest for the occasion.

I had just gotten outside when this goose walked up. And believe me, he wasn't bashful! When Max came out, the goose walked right up to him.....and started wagging his tail, just like a dog. I kid you not! It was the funniest thing. He enchanted Max so much that I had to provide a piece of bread for Max to feed him. And he understood when the bread was gone 'cause he wagged his tail a few more times and then waddled on. Apparently he has the humans around here very well trained!

To round out our day, we spent some time on the links. Its almost a requirement that one must play golf when it is sunny and warm (about 85 degrees), with light winds. So courtesy of Golfnow.com we found an awesome course called Avery Ranch Golf Club. It is a public course just north of Austin. And honestly, it was setup nicer than some country clubs that we've played in the past. It was certainly much cheaper to play than most private courses. This is the view from one of the holes on the front nine.

We also ran into a herd of deer on the front nine. Keep in mind that this is a very urban area. So we were surprised to see so many. And they were tame enough that I was only about 10 feet from this one when I snapped the pic.

We made it through to the 18th hole and were greeted by this view. The pool is an infinity edge pool that feeds into successive smaller rock pools. What a great way to cap a round of golf. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that we both played pretty well! Grin.

So we've completed yet another beautiful day in Texas......

Cheers,

Dr J