Austin Luxury and Waterfront Homes

Zilker Park Kite Festival

admin — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 19:57:53 +0000

March 6th is the date for the Zilker Park Kite Festival this year. It is sponsored by the Exchange Club of Austin and the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department. This is an Austin tradition and it’s absolutely free. You do not have to fly a kite to come, but if you want to enter the contest, start making your kite now. Anyone can fly a kite, but only homemade kites will be entered into the contest. Pack a picnic lunch and bring Fido too. It’s a tradition to bring your dog in costume. You have to bring doggie bags in case he needs to ‘go.’ There will be concession stands for food, tee shirts, and of course–kites. So, if you go just to see the hundreds of kites and then decide you want to fly one too, it’s not a problem. There will also be fun things for the kids to do, such as make their own kite and face painting. There will also be a climbing wall, moon walk, and other fun activities for kids of all ages. There will be plenty of food booths in case you forgot to bring your picnic. Every purchase at the festival helps local non-profits working to prevent child abuse. The booths open at 10am and the festival closes at 5pm.

Life and Times in Lakeway

admin — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 20:57:02 +0000

Lakeway is one of my favorite parts of town. Of course, there is the lake-Lake Travis. Lakeway has several marinas to house your watercraft and also offers rentals if you would rather not have the upkeep of owning one. I like to see sailboats on the water when I’m driving to Lakeway. You can also have your big kahuna boats too. There are four golf courses in Lakeway proper and the Academy of Golf located in The Hills of Lakeway. Falconhead and Spanish Oaks subdivisions also have golf courses. The World of Tennis Center offers tennis lessons and sponsors tennis tournaments. Lakeway also has a fabulous swim center, a skateboard park and an airstrip for small airplanes. You don’t have to drive into Austin for the theater, because The Lakeway Players performs several plays each year. Whatever activity you enjoy, you will find a group to enjoy it with. Windsurfing, bicycling, walking, jogging, book clubs, bridge clubs, gourmet dinning clubs, civic groups, political groups and there is probably a do nothing group. I think I’ve seen that one at Starbucks. It seems like the same people show up every day and sit around and drink coffee. If you like to shop you have some choices now that the Hill Country Galleria and shops is open. If you would like to see some homes in this great area of town, just give me a call. I would love to show you around.

Lady Bird Lake

admin — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 21:27:43 +0000

Lady Bird Lake is named after Lady Bird Johnson, who began the effort to beautify our river. We have her to thank for the flowering trees and shrubs along the hike and bike trail that spans both sides of the river. The lake is one of Austin’s beloved amenities that gets a lot of use. Jogging, walking, biking, kayaking, canoeing, or just sitting on a bench and watching the world go by, are all fun lake activities. There are several places to rent a kayak or canoe. Zilker Park Boats located in the park is open from 9 or 10 until dusk. Texas Rowing Center gives lessons and also rents canoes and kayaks. It’s near Austin High School on the north side of the river. Rowing Dock is on the south side of the river just west of MoPac. They also rent canoes and kayaks and give lessons. I’ve noticed a new sport that seems to be catching on. It’s stand up paddle board surfing. It looks like it would be fun in the summer heat. I’m not so sure I’d like a dip in the river when it’s cold outside. There is also an electric paddle wheel boat that goes up and down the river. It’s very popular when the bats are in town from March through November. You get a great view of thousands and thousands of Mexican free tailed bats flying out from under the Congress Avenue Bridge at dusk. None of the watercraft on Lady Bird Lake is allowed to have motors. That’s one reason it’s so fun the walk on the hike and bike trail. There’s no gasoline fumes to clog your lungs, or annoying noise to distract from the sounds of nature. I’ve seen a colony of colorful parrots who live in the trees along the trail. I thought they had escaped from someone’s home, but I found out that they like it here. The next time you are on the hike and bike trail, look in the tops of the trees and you might see one.

Austin’s Trail of Lights

admin — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 17:41:43 +0000

One of Austin‘s yearly Christmas traditions has gone away this year. The Zilker Park Trail of Lights was not funded by the City of Austin. I have three sons who grew up going to Zilker Park every year during Christmas. We would park our car on the north side of the river and ride a trolley over the bridge and be let out by the big Christmas tree made of lights. We usually walked along the trail and looked at the displays. I thought they were kind of cheesy, but little boys oohed and aahed at Snoopy and other familiar figures all lit up. Then we would walk back to the big tree and visit Santa’s Village. There was always a huge hole dug in the ground with a tremendous yule log burning. The boys loved watching it burn. They got to see Santa Claus and listen to some of Austin’s famous live music. Spinning under the big tree was one of the pleasures of Christmas. Most likely, one of the reason’s the city decided to quit funding the Trail of Lights is because of the enormous traffic jam that was caused by people who wanted to drive through the trail. If you’ve ever tried to drive across the river on Lamar, you got trapped in the traffic. And, forget about trying to drive through the park, it’s impossible during Christmas. Surely, someone at the city can think of a way to keep the Trail of Lights for the little ones who get such pleasure with it. Isn’t there some way to remedy the traffic? Are all the Dillo’s out to pasture? For those of you who are not from here, a Dillo is an Austin Trolley. Let’s hope that the Trail of Lights is back on next Christmas.