Honky Tonk Women

I am so very lucky to have a great group of girlfriends. Every year we pick a long weekend along with a new destination and we roam the town...girls trip style! This year we agreed to head south to a crazy lil city smack dab in the middle of Texas - Austin! We had all heard stories of the city but never had experienced it for ourselves. The single point of contact (SPOC) was Karly this year. I shall note each year we draw a new SPOC who becomes responsible for planning and coordinating. Karlos planned an action-packed weekend sprinkled with relaxation and most importantly quality time with the gals.

The stars were aligned as they usually do and we were upgraded from a hotel room at the Omni to a 2 bedroom suite with plenty o room! We all met in Austin on Friday where we ventured out for our first taste of 6th Street. This area is referred to as the entertainment district and it is easy to find on any given night. School was not in session at UT but the street was still blocked off for the thousands of bar goers and music seekers. We later learned 6th street has 2 personalities...dirty 6th and west 6th.

The girls and I enjoyed exploring the streets but Karly knew we had to get outta town and see what else there was to do. Lake Travis is a beautiful body of water about 30 miles outside of the city. Karly also knows we love to be on the water so we did it right and rented a boat for the day! We scoped out the lake before idling on over to what one could call the floating 6th street - Devils Cove. I might be out of touch with my party coves but this was like nothing I had ever seen before. Chains of boats throwing anchor together, floating dance parties, water sports, slides, yachts, beverages a plenty, speakers half the size of the boat, scantily clad people of all ages...the list goes on but it truly was "Austinacious!" The boat came with a tube so yes indeed we went tubing along the lake. On the way home we caught a beautiful sunset from this mega-bar/restuarant called Oasis. For dinner that evening? Sushi of course!








The outdoor adventures didn't stop there. The next day we got up and headed for our "surprise activity" planned by our SPOC. We rented bikes to cruise the greenspace of the city! Lunch was at Shade Grove which was the cutest outdoor venue that felt like a picnic in the park. We pedaled on over to Barton Springs which again is like nothing I have ever seen before. It is the nation's largest natural swimming pool in an urban area. One catch - it is a consistent 68 degrees! We carried on to see some of the natural trails and the city lake (which we call a river). After a dunk in the rooftop pool, we headed out for some tapas and a relaxing night. We caught a little live Blues band at Momo's on West 6th to cap off the evening. I think it has to do with my parents but there is something about live Blues music that makes me happy...relaxing yet tells a story and can still get a little funky! Which just so happens to explain this years gals trip to Austin, TX!







OH...and the official girls trip pose!



XO,
EAT