bbq – Jen Holtkamp

We went back to visit one of our favorite cities, Austin, Texas! When we moved to Austin in 2016, we chose a city where we pictured ourselves living forever, a city to love and put down roots. It was bittersweet leaving because we loved the city and people and were also excited about returning to Southern California with its amazing weather and beaches.

Dave had a work trip in Austin and the kids and I got to tag along. We loved visiting some of our favorite places, people and restaurants and seeing some new sights. One of the new places we visited was the Austin Public Library downtown which was everything we could have wanted in a library, a dream public library! It is beautifully designed with multiple levels, an awesome kids area with lots of board games, rooftop gardens, and amazing outdoor reading patios.

We also checked out the Austin Nature and Science Center and our most favorite restaurant in Austin, Terry Black’s BBQ.

Best brisket ever! ^

More of our Austin favorites highlighted here

Austin Texas Travel

We made our first trip to Texas a few weeks ago and BIG NEWS, we’re actually moving there this week!

We loved the city – the lush, rolling hills, food, atmosphere – and my husband accepted a job there soon after. Everything happened so fast as we are in the process of selling our current home in Utah where we’ve been living for the last 3 years.

When we move there, I’m sure I’ll have lots to update on this post! Here’s a few things we loved on our short trip:

Mt.Bonnell – a short walk up about 50 stairs to the highest point in Austin with a great view of the city skyline. Free admission, public trail.

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema – what could be better than dinner and a movie?! The service was great and they had a large variety of items to select. I had a chili burger with a side salad 🙂

Butler/Zilker Park – like the Central Park of Austin, there is so much to do right on the across Lady Bird Lake and downtown. I’m looking forward to trying kayaking or paddle boating when we move there!

To eat:

There were so many amazing places we had recommended that we didn’t have enough time to try them all! A few of my favorites:

Torchy’s Tacos – I grew up in San Diego so of course I love tacos! I was so impressed with Torchys – I especially recommend the brisket taco and queso (cheese dip for chips)

Terry Blacks – this is where I had the best brisket of my entire life, no exaggeration! The meat was so tender I didn’t even need a knife. They have self serve sides which is awesome so you can try a little of everything (which I did!)

Amy’s Ice Creams – highly rated ice cream that to me rivals Salt and Straw (Portland) – they have weekly specialty flavors or you can create your own combo. It’s similar to ColdStone but a hundred times better 🙂

Gourdoughs (donuts) – a few locations in Austin including the permanent food truck that we visited. Their donuts are pretty amazing and come with awesome toppings (fruit, icing, etc)

We’re excited to start a new adventure and see new places! If you have any Austin recommendations, please share!

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