The road trip to Texas started out with a bang! Blue skies and beautiful clouds encompassed me the whole way there. The route was a nice change compared to the normal I-40 drive to Knoxville, so the seven+ hour drive seemed to fly by...
Here are the beautiful skies that I encountered on the road
The Garmin Nuvi GPS became my new best friend on this trip. Although I have traveled on several other occasions with a GPS in the car, this was the first time that I road tripped it alone with a GPS... and it was AWESOME! The GPS allowed me to confidently get lost in Austin and Dallas (getting lost is my expression for touring myself around a new city). I successfully got honked at, was given a hand gesture, and was told by a mall security cop that I failed to completely stop at a stop sign in the parking lot. It sure is hard work being a tourist!
Alas, the beautiful skyline of downtown Austin! I was so excited to learn that Lady Bird Lake runs through downtown Austin. There is an awesome park right beside it as well... great for playing fetch with your dogs (see dogs swimming in pic), running, riding bikes, and whatever other form of exercise tickles your fancy.
'On Your Mark, Get Set, Mooo"
By Dale Whistler
Austin is currently hosting the 2011 CowParade. Cows of all colors, shapes, and sizes have taken over in order to spice up the city, as well as raise money for Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas and Superhero Kids Fund. It sure was fun spotting all of the unique cows around the city!
Something unique about Austin, and that I have seen popping up around several other cities such as Atlanta, Georgia are food trailers. This snapshot of Torchy's Tacos was in a parking lot full of other food trailers. Pretty awesome right?? I had the pleasure of nomming down on a delicious burrito from Torchy's.
A great surprise and unique treat during my visit to Austin was Barton Springs. A natural spring that is smack dab in the middle of the city is a haven for those looking to take a load off from the summer heat. Although the water literally took my breath away for a couple of seconds (seemed like a couple of minutes) when I first jumped in, it was well worth the plunge!
One of the main reasons for my trip down to Texas was to attend the Social Media Club of Austin's monthly meeting. A panel of four speakers answered questions regarding social media business, social media's evolution, and thoughts about the successful implementation of social media into a company's business plan.
I also had the opportunity to finally meet the lovely Stephanie Wonderlin (@swonderlin) in person at the Social Media Club meeting. Check her out on Tweetheart TV!
Besides going down to Austin this past week, I had the opportunity to spend some time with my aunt and uncle in Dallas. I did not really get around to taking photos in Dallas, but the above picture is one of my aunt's photos of me while she was on a solo photo shoot escapade. I like the background in this photo...
Overall, my trip to Texas was quite the success! I was able to catch up with some high school friends, eat lunch with one of my study abroad flat mates, connect with new social media peeps, gain some leads on possible job prospects, hang with family, and tour around two fun cities!
I hope to be back in Texas soon :)
Following my pursuits,
Price
Special thanks to:
Austin's 2011 CowParade: http://cowparadeaustin.com/
Barton Springs: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/bartonsprings.htm
Social Media Club of Austin: http://socialmediaclub.org/chapter/austin-tx
Stephanie Wonderlin: http://stephaniewonderlin.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment