Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD
Bumper stickers and T-shirts insist upon it, but are they succeeding? Check out
www.keepaustinweird.com
to find
out what's odd right now. In the meantime, here's a sampling of the things that set Austin apart:
»
Eccentric storefronts on S Congress Ave and North Loop Blvd.
»
Eeyore's Birthday Party (
Click here
), an annual festival where weirdness reigns supreme.
»
The
Cathedral of Junk
( 512-299-7413; 4422 Lareina Dr), a climbable backyard sculpture that turns dis-
carded items into art.
»
The homegrown
Museum of Natural & Artificial Ephemerata
MAP
(
www.mnae.org
; $4), open eight days a
year.
»
Master Pancake Theater or any other offbeat event at Alamo Drafthouse (
Click here
)
.
»
Chicken-shit bingo at Ginny's Little Longhorn (
Click here
)
.
»
December's crazy Christmas lights on 37th St east of Lamar.
»
A disproportionate but well-deserved local obsession with dive bars.
TOP OF CHAPTER
4
Greater Austin
Emma Long Metropolitan Park
( 512-346-1831; 1706 City Park Rd; tent/RV sites with hookup $10/20, plus entrance fee per car Mon-Thu/Fri-Sun
$5/10; gates open 7am-10pm daily; )
The only Austin city park with overnight camping,
1000-acre Emma Long Metropolitan Park (aka 'City Park') on Lake Austin, 16 miles
northwest of downtown, has good swimming, sunbathing, fishing and boating. Get here
early as it fills quickly and doesn't take reservations.
CAMPGROUND
$
Eating
Barbecue and Tex-Mex are the mainstays, but Austin also has many fine-dining restaurants
and a broadening array of world cuisines. For hot tips on new restaurants, pick up the free
alternative weekly
Austin Chronicle,
or
Xlent,
both published on Thursday. Downtown eat-
eries are a real mixed bag, serving tourists, business folks, politicians, artists and night-owl
clubbers. South Austin, Hyde Park and East Austin have lots of interesting choices. Around
the UT campus area, prices drop - but often so does food quality.
