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09/03/2006
Austin
North America
» United States
Author: Jan
Austin is one of those interesting cities that would be easy to pass through and not imagine that you would miss much, but when you do stop you’re glad that you did. As far as activities go, there’s not much here to compare to some of the larger cities but what is here is plenty interesting.
One of the most interesting activities we did while in Austin was to take a trip down to the Congress Street bridge at sunset. When the sun goes down the bats come out. Literally. Apparently, they sleep all day under the bridge and then come out at night to feet by hunting for bugs. Even if you don’t like the thought of bats, this is some spectacle to see. A local told me that the bat population is at its highest in August. We were there at a different time of year and I was still impressed with the sheer number of them. When they come out it looks a lot like a huge black cloud. Not bad for free and weirdly interesting entertainment.
Another interesting thing we did while in town was the Duck Tour. This tour takes place on board an amphibious vehicle and gives you a great view of the State Capitol Bilding as well as the Texas History Museum, Governor’s Mansion and famous 6th street as well as >Congress Avenue, home of the infamous bats. The bus, known as the Duck, literally cruises across Lake Austin and gives riders a 20 minute cruise. The whole tour itself lasts for a little over an hour.
Before leaving, we ended our trip at the Texas State History Museum. Very informative place to visit. If you have kids with you, it’s a great place to bring them because it’s really interactive. They provide short films along with a lot of the exhibits. Remember to check before you use your camera, because flash photography isn’t allowed in some exhibits. There’s also an IMAX movie, but there’s an extra charge for that. Depending on which feature is currently showing, most films last about an hour. The Texas Spirit Theater is really huge and shows different productions with fantastic special effects.
The museum is open Monday through Saturday until about 6pm and is also open on Sunday afternoons. They offer a combo ticket that is $12.50 for adults and $6 for kids. That covers your admission to the exhibits as well as one Imax film and gets you into one Texas Spirit Theater Production. A pretty good deal.
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