Beautiful Wedding

I'm running late on posting things, but I'll get caught up soon.  A few weeks ago I attended a wedding of two dear friends at Villa Antonia.  It was a far drive up north for me to get to the other side of the lake, but the site was beautiful and worth it!

Lovely views, gorgeous grounds, excellent in every way.

I would highly recommend this site to anyone planning a fairytale wedding.

long weekend

Partly happy, partly sad.  I went to The Woodlands north of Houston to see a friend I haven't seen in years and meet her lovely family.  We went to Chili's and had lunch, complete with an incredible dessert I can't remember the name of.  But it had chocolate, walnuts, caramel, and ice cream.  So good I couldn't finish it!  Wonderful to see my friend again, but I had to stay in a hotel down south unless I wanted to fight rush hour traffic on Monday morning, which I didn't. 

So down south I go to Seabrook for a memorial service for a 4-year-old boy, the son of a girl I've known since I was 12.  A very beautiful service, very touching.  I could turn this into a commercial for the genetic condition he was born with, but I'd rather not.  I will say that he had COFSS (Cerebral Ocular Facial Skeletal Syndrome).  Beyond that, it's my friend's story to tell, not mine.

I did manage to do some geocaching in both places, and took some pictures near NASA.

I'm still playing with my camera to learn better how to use it.  It was darker than it looks in these pictures.

The light was better the next day.

Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center

Yesterday I went to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center here in Austin.

I have been meaning to investigate since I moved here.  It probably would have been even better if I had gone earlier in the spring, before it started getting hot.  We've had a proliferation of bluebonnets this year.  But even this late in the season, it was a really nice visit. 

I learned the name of several flowers that I've always seen and never knew what they were called. 

There is plenty of cool and interesting art work all over the grounds.

The trails are nicely kept and a good walk.

I really liked the tower.

Plenty of pretty things to see.

They also have the Wildflower Cafe, which was nice, but I thought overpriced.  They rent the facilities for special events--I think it would be a lovely place for a wedding.

Hours:

Tuesday through Saturday 9am-530pm

Sunday Noon to 530pm

Open daily March 15 to May 31 for Wildflower Days 2010

Center closed on Mondays before March 15 and after May 31

Surfside Beach

Last weekend I went to my hometown of Lake Jackson.  I saw the production of Hansel and Gretel at the outdoor college theatre--fantastic show!  That evening I went to the Intermediate School production of Bye Bye Birdie--also fantastic!  I have friends whose kids were in each show, so it was a lot of fun to watch.  Great job, everybody!

But this post is about Surfside Beach.  I grew up going to Surfside, but it has changed a LOT since then.  I really like that there are bridges to walk over to the beach now.  But the oil spill in the Gulf is a major concern.

It's not the cleanest beach in the world, but I miss it every day that I'm away from it.  I lived with friends in a beach house one summer; there's nothing better than waking up to a sunrise on the beach.  I will ALWAYS sleep better to beach sounds than any other sound in the world.  I am sad that The Lookout is no longer there--great BYOB beachclub where I saw some of my favorite performers.

Austin Museum of Art

I really wanted to like the museum.  I wanted to be impressed and interested.

Sadly, I was not.

There is only one floor of the big building on Congress that is the museum, so there isn't much to see.  I kept looking for stairs or something to go to another floor, something else, something more.  The major exhibit right now is the Art of Hatch show prints.  The history is interesting, but not really what I was hoping to see.  The rest of the exhibits, I didn't really understand.  I know, modern art is supposed to be kind of edgy and unusual.  I get that.  But it's also supposed to SAY something.  And I wasn't hearing it.

I saw one exhibit that could have been done by any 10-year-old.  Acrylic on little wooden squares, one of which looked like it had coffee spilled on it, and not on purpose.  Another was two Beatles records with a perfect square of scratches across them.  Right next to it was an old Perry Como record sleeve with an inked circle on the cover.  OK.  What's the point?

I was really hoping to see some actual art by at least one name I would actually recognize.  I was disappointed.

I should have expected it, though.  I went to the Laguna Gloria a few years ago, and I was more impressed by the grounds than the few paintings that I saw on the walls.  I guess it's just me.  Maybe I don't know enough about modern art to appreciate it.  But really, if it doesn't speak to regular people, is it really art that belongs in a museum?  Or is it just somebody's little ego trip?

Austin Museum of Art

Austin Zoo

The Austin Zoo is not so much a zoo as it is a sanctuary.

It's a pretty small zoo; I saw the whole thing in about an hour.

I didn't go on the train though, because there were a lot of people waiting for it.  Next time I go out there, I'll have to see that.

It wasn't so crowded that you couldn't see the animals, but business isn't bad either.  The parking lot was absolutely full!

Chickens everywhere!

And peacocks and peahens.

Lots of big cats.

As a knitter, I am particularly fond of sheep.

This little monkey was rescued from a drug testing facility.

I LOVE their tails!

This wolf was rescued with a long-term pre-existing injury to his left front paw.  Since he hadn't been able to use it, the muscles were underdeveloped.  It had to be amputated, but he gets around just fine!

It was a lovely spring Saturday when I went.  Not a great big zoo like in San Antonio, but big enough to have several large cats, a black bear, birds, monkeys, and porcupines, among other things.  Not too crowded, but not a ghost town, either.  Plenty of kids having a great time.  They have a picnic area big enough for a good sized birthday party with room left over for other families without being too close or crowded.  The train looked like a popular draw, but I stayed away because it looked like there were enough kids to fill it up, and really, it's all about the kids.

http://www.austinzoo.org/

South Congress

There are so many cool things in Austin, and so many cool places I want to see, that I just don't have time to do all the things I want to do!  One of my favorite places here in town in on South Congress:

(click on pictures to see bigger)

As a knitter, of course I love a good yarn store, and Hill Country Weavers is a GREAT yarn store!  Lots of fabulous yarn, but also:

Knit Buzz is the knit cafe right behind the store.  A nice place to sit and knit, and a kitchen stocked with snacks and drinks.

Then there's the rest of South Congress:

Hey Cupcake has wonderful cupcakes.  I like the Michael Jackson, which is a chocolate/chocolate chip cupcake with cream cheese frosting.  AWESOME!

There's live music.  Last July I saw this guy (or maybe another guy in the same spot) sitting on a bucket singing "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer."  It just doesn't get any better than that.

Vegan Sweet Potato Tamales.  Sounds weird, I know, but they're actually pretty good.

The other food carts on South Congress.








And the shops
Looking North

Looking South

And something happening, I don't really know what.

But not everything is wonderful on S. Congress:

This parking lot used to be free.