Christmas in Austin

I've been listening to Christmas music during all available moments in the car and in the kitchen. Delilah keeps playing this song. It's a great way to teach you some things about the live music capital of the world, so I found it on youtube. Read my notes below to make sense off all the local references you hear.


Christmas in Austin

"finally cool enough to wear a sweater"- Winter in Austin only lasts from mid December to mid February, and even then temperatures are mostly in the 50s, 60s and sometimes 70s.

"horse drawn carriage"- The sound of sleigh bells fills the evening in downtown Austin, with horse drawn carriages taking folks to the next music venue. Isabel (my Mexican dog) didn't know what to think of the noisy monsters with clicky steps. She barked and hid from them.

"music all around us on every street"- There are over 200 live music venues in Austin. It seems like every bar has a stage and you can catch a show any night of the week. One night we stood outside neighboring bars, both with live performers near the door, and listened to conflicting styles, rhythm and voices from the sidewalk. It was artistic.

"standing under the Zilker Tree"- Zilker Park is a beautiful green space with dog friendly fields, Barton Warm Springs swimming hole, an outdoor amphitheater, a children's train and more. I take the dogs here for their morning run most days. The Zilker Tree is actually just large strings of lights in the shape of a tree. We never made it down to the park to see it lit up at night. We're hoping the lights are still up when we get back to town on December 29.

"so much music, so little time"- In our 23 days in Austin we saw a talented cover band, rag time group, singer/songwriter, Matt the Electrician, Texas country local, Robert Earl Keen and peeked in the window on many other music filled stages. We hope to do gospel music brunch at Stubb's when we get back to town.

"mexican food and margaritas"- If you don't like Tex Mex, Mexican food or BBQ, you may have a hard time finding a restaurant. So many places for tacos and ribs!

"in front of the capital they lit up the tree"- As with many things in Texas, the capital is big.  For the Christmas Tree lighting, they sung 30 carols with a live band, which Patrick didn't think he'd be able to endure. We went to a bar nearby, planning to swoop in at the end for the lighting, but the crowd must've grown as antsy as Patrick because when we returned the tree was lit.

Sort of feels more like the White House than a state capital.

The tree was way tinier than I imagined, but that could be just because it was next to the capital building.

"dancing at the Driskill"- The Driskill Hotel is an historic hotel, built in 1886- a "landmark of Texas hospitality." We've only walked by and peeked in the windows, but plan to get a warm drink in the restaurant in January. From the sounds of this song, it may be haunted.

"Armadillo bizarre"- We didn't make it here, but were told by Patrick's aunt and uncle (who live in Austin) we should check it out. Lots of local artists, Christmas crafts and festivities. Some friends in town went to the bizarre and instead of getting into the holiday spirit, said the expensive parking and cost for entry brought out the scrooge.

Our vacation rental home has a large green lamp. We put Christmas lights, cranberries and candy canes on it. The presents went underneath.

I'm in Oregon now, preparing to drive to the ranch for family fun and Patrick has headed to Indianapolis for a snowy 70th celebration for his mom and lots of Santa talk with nieces and nephews. Even though we didn't put up our own Christmas tree, the steady stream of holiday music, the steady stream of my homemade pies and cookies and the steady stream of gray, rain made Austin feel just like home.