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Old 25 Sep 15, 08:14 PM  
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CrispyA
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Join Date: Oct 11
Howdy Texas! Day 12 Luckenbach and Austin

We all slept well and didn't meet any critters in the night - phew! Breakfast was again hearty - grits, ham, eggs and biscuits. None of us were too keen on the grits but we did try them.

We got allocated our morning ride and invited to stay for lunch on our last day. Our San Antonio friends recommended the lunch as it was fried chicken, so we decided to stay. We packed and chilled for a bit - having a moment of panic when Paul thought he'd spotted a scorpion on his bag but it turned out to be a grasshopper. (Yes, he is having his eyes tested soon!)

The last ride was the most enjoyable. We were a very small group and there were no younger kids so we could go on a more interesting ride. As Evan had ridden the mules without complaint, he got to ride Buddy, who is one of the most interesting to ride - he always goes behind the main wrangler so you get a running commentary as you go. Paul got Ruthie, a laid back horse, Hannah had Little Boy and I got Custer again - who was much more badly behaved this time! He kept wanting to take a bite out of the horse in front, so I had a job to keep him away!







Custer was also quite contrary when we tried to get a picture of all of us - he wasn't going to stand in a line with the other horses, no matter how much we wanted him too!



We finished packing and enjoyed just sitting in the shade, watching the hummingbirds, until lunch was ready. They hadn't been wrong about the fried chicken - it was excellent and we really enjoyed it. After lunch, we settled up and gave Clay, the owner, a present we had brought from Sheffield. The Ranch make their own hot sauce and so we brought a local sauce as a gift - Henderson's Relish.

The one thing that bugged me a little was the fact that a tip was added on and although it was "optional", we didn't feel that we could refuse it. But an extra $90 did feel a bit cheeky, especially as we had already paid $450 a night. Making a fuss would have left a nasty taste so we didn't say anything, but it was annoying. I know Americans probably don't bat an eyelid, and that we probably should have factored it in, but we hadn't so it was a surprise.

We really enjoyed the Ranch and the horse-riding, and it did have a nice chilled out vibe, but 2 days was definitely enough. The food was plentiful but we couldn't keep eating that much each day and I think we'd got to the limit of the horse-riding. It would be nice to do slightly more challenging rides if we went again and we would definitely look to go horse-riding on another trip.

We said our goodbyes and got on the road to Luckenbach (population 3) - visiting solely because of the Waylon Jennings song "
". There isn't much there - a bar, a couple of stores and a stage with shaded seating all around. However, it was full of people enjoying live music on a hot Sunday afternoon.

We listened to the band for a while and enjoyed the atmosphere.



We could have happily stayed but we needed to get on the road, so we did, pausing to take part in a World record attempt before we left. An artist is planning to create a giant picture of Willie Nelson (the size of 3 football fields), using canvases signed by visitors to Luckenbach. With something so random, you have to join in!

Then we took the obligatory Post Office photo.



Next stop was Austin and it was a charming drive through the Hill Country to get there. We were tempted by the roadside stalls selling peaches and wished we had stopped when we visited a supermarket and found that their peaches were all imported!

I had wanted to visit Ginny's Little Longhorn saloon for Chicken Sh*t Bingo - a chicken is in a cage with numbered squares - you buy a square and if it goes potty on your square, you win! However, when we got there, the place was heaving and we could barely get through the door, so decided to give it a miss.

(We did wonder if there was a Lonesome Dove connection in that part of Austin - we parked next to the Hat Creek Burger place, across the street from Woodrow's bar . . .)

We were staying at the Austin motel on South Congress Avenue - we picked it because of the excellent reviews and the location and price. Austin was expensive but this place was a very reasonable price. It is known as the Big Pink P***s. Can you see why?



They have won awards for best motel sign . . .

Check in was hilarious - the clerk spoke like Rich Hall and was in the middle of a phone conversation about a mouse in his apartment when we arrived. As he checked us in, we discussed the mouse and the fact that not only had it taken the bait from the trap without setting it off, it had also pooed on the trap! We agreed this was fighting talk from the mouse and that he was justified in taking extreme measures.

He gave us a hair dryer and asked us if we wanted an iron - saying that he didn't mean anything by it but, yanno, we could probably use one! It was all delightfully random and we loved his sense of humour.

The room was good - they are all individually furnished and as quirky and eclectic as Austin itself. We had a swim in the pool, which was a good size and quite charming, before walking up the street for some food.

Guests at the Dixie Dude had recommended Guero's and we had a fantastic Mexican meal there. As we had eaten such a big lunch, we split a couple of main courses between us and the food was really good. We passed the Hopdoddy burger bar but with people queuing down the street, we decided to give that one a miss. I don't care how good your burgers are - I'm not queuing for 40 minutes for one!

One of the best things about the Motel was the location - we were near plenty of places to eat and drink, and we were also a short walk to the Congress Avenue Bridge which is where we headed next.



There are huge colonies of bats living under the bridge and as the sun goes down, they emerge into the sky. There are thousands of them and it was an amazing sight to see them all come flying out. In August there are lots of baby bats as well, so it's a good time to come.

I love bats - they are one of my favourite animals - and this was on my to-do list for the trip. We got a great view of the bats and had a lovely chat with one of the volunteers from Bat conservation, who was very envious of the fact that bats are protected in the UK.

We eventually made our way back to the Motel and finished off the evening watching baseball on TV. It had been an action-packed day so we were shattered, but also satisfied!

Edited at 02:28 PM.
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Old 25 Sep 15, 08:49 PM  
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Mary A
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Pleased you got to see the famous Austin bats, we were there for 3 nights in July and they decided not to make an appearance all 3 nights! Fortunately our hotel room overlooked congress bridge so we could watch from there rather than standing for 2+hours, in the Texan heat.
Hopdoddy was excellent, but we only queued for about 15 minutes
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Old 25 Sep 15, 10:22 PM  
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Jesslydevie1
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Oh don't know if I could sit there waiting for thousands of bats to come out I can't even go in the bat caves at the zoo am that terrified !
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Old 25 Sep 15, 10:22 PM  
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katiebaz
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Great day! Glad you got to see the bats and love the Willie Nelson world record attempt. Also got to love the motel sign!😜

Edited at 12:09 PM.
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Old 26 Sep 15, 05:17 PM  
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CrispyA
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Originally Posted by Mary A View Post
Pleased you got to see the famous Austin bats, we were there for 3 nights in July and they decided not to make an appearance all 3 nights! Fortunately our hotel room overlooked congress bridge so we could watch from there rather than standing for 2+hours, in the Texan heat.
Hopdoddy was excellent, but we only queued for about 15 minutes

What a shame the bats weren't co-operating in July! We never saw a queue at Hopdoddy which wasn't right around the place but at least they bring drinks etc to queue!
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Old 26 Sep 15, 05:18 PM  
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CrispyA
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Originally Posted by Jesslydevie1 View Post
Oh don't know if I could sit there waiting for thousands of bats to come out I can't even go in the bat caves at the zoo am that terrified !
Fair enough! They were mainly above us but a couple were dive-bombing the crowd at times!
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Old 26 Sep 15, 05:19 PM  
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CrispyA
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Originally Posted by katiebaz View Post
Great day! Glad you got to see the bats and love the Willie Nelson world record attempt. Also got to love the motel sign!😜
That motel sign cracked me up every time.
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Old 27 Sep 15, 12:37 PM  
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Melbatb
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Interesting to read about the Dude camp. I know my DD would love it but it would be my DS's idea of the worst thing ever!

You have got my looking at Texas for my solo trip in April (can't make my mind up - Texas or Beijing or Washington!)
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Old 27 Sep 15, 02:00 PM  
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CrispyA
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Originally Posted by Melbatb View Post
Interesting to read about the Dude camp. I know my DD would love it but it would be my DS's idea of the worst thing ever!

You have got my looking at Texas for my solo trip in April (can't make my mind up - Texas or Beijing or Washington!)
Out of the 3, I've only been to Texas. But I think spring time would be a lovely time to go - see the bluebonnets!
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Old 29 Sep 15, 05:20 PM  
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anji
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This has brought back some great memories! We stayed at the Ausrin Motel too - loved it! - and watched the bats last year
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