9. take in a sunset at the oasis.

in spite of a torrential downpour trying to keep me from marking this off my list, the clouds parted and we were seated just in time to enjoy the view at the sunset capitol of texas.

if you are in austin for any extended period of time, dinner at sunset at the oasis is a must do. the food is nothing to write home about, but there is an energy at this restaurant that in my opinion is unmatched. everyone seems really excited to be there for the nightly show across the skies of lake travis. so do yourself a favor and take the thirty minute drive to the lake and enjoy the setting sun.


"'this is america,' she wrote. 'and if everyone gets a vote where their mitch is buried...here are a few where my mitch gets buried.' or scattered." --elizabethtown

verdict: this is something you've just got to do. enjoy!

to visit the oasis:
the oasis restaurant
6550 comanche trail
austin, tx 78732
http://www.oasis-austin.com/

8. go kayaking/canoeing on town lake.

little do you know, my back up plan if i didn't get into grad school was to be a canoe guide. it was pretty much the only job offer i got, and it didn't seem like a half bad plan. i love canoeing, i'm pretty good at it, and what kind of hilarious stories would i be able to tell my potential future children about my time spent off the grid and on the creek after college! it definitely has a little bit of an "into the wild" feel to it, don't you think?

i love canoeing. something about it is so fulfilling. it is simultaneously active and relaxing. you get a sense of accomplishment with every obstacle. and there is something so simple and connecting about it. i just love it.

obviously, i high priority for me upon coming to austin was to go canoeing on the very famous town lake (or as it is more recently known, lady bird lake.) i grabbed the wonderful frank and joscelyn one day over spring break, and we got to canoe in an urban setting. only in austin, right?while canoeing on town lake, you look ahead into nature.

and you look back on the greatest city in america. and in this case, a really great guy, too.

and as is often the case in austin, you almost always get more than you pay for. after ending our afternoon canoe adventure, i heard the sound of gypsy fiddles floating on the wind, and naturally went running. we found a free concert at auditorium shore--an amazing band called bajofondo, who could only describe their sound as "argentinian/paraguayan gypsy/dance/folk/hip-hop fusion". what's not to love?


verdict: if my city and i are in a love affair, today was the day i became convinced austin had my heart.

to canoe town lake:
zilker park boat rentals
2100 barton springs rd
austin, tx 78746
(512)478-3852
http://www.zilkerboats.com/

63. take a picture with barbara jordan's statue.

as i have probably mentioned in the past, i have a very funny job here in the capital city. i work for the state preservation board in the texas state capitol building as a tour guide. because of this, i have been absolutely inundated with texas history over the past few months. i am a texas history factoid machine. i read books on texas history in my spare time now. i think it is fun to try to memorize the presidents of the republic of texas and first few governers of the state of texas. it really is just downright ridiculous.

one of the notable texans we mention on the tour is barbara jordan, and i must say she is one of my favorites. she is remembered for her defense of the constitution and powerful speaking ability, and was the first african american female to serve in the texas state senate (and along with two other african americans elected that same year, her election to the texas state legislature ended a 66 year long streak without an african american serving in the legislature in texas due to the existence of jim crow laws and generalized prevalent racism). in my book, she's pretty fantastic. she's so legit that she is buried next to stephen f. austin in texas state cemetary.

all that being said, my very wonderful boyfriend had a much welcomed surprise for me on saturday night when he both informed me of the existence of a barbara jordan memorial on the ut campus and then took me to it. i just hope that i will be able to live up to her well-documented level of sassiness and raditude:

" i live a day at a time. each day I look for a kernel of excitement. in the morning, i say: 'what is my exciting thing for today?' then, i do the day. don't ask me about tomorrow." --barbara jordan.

verdict: here's to you, barbara jordan. thanks for being awesome.

to say hello to barbara jordan:
barbara jordan memorial statue
24th & whittis street
university of texas campus

50. fly a kite at the kite festival at zilker park.

an amazing thing happens once a year in the barton springs area of town. everyone pulls out their kites that have been hiding in storage since the last warm & windy day and heads out to zilker park for the annual kite festival. the sky becomes absolutely eclipsed with multi-colored flying objects and the eyes of little children collectively widen at the sight.

this has been on my austin to-do list for some time, and it almost didn't happen. i got off of work from the capitol a 4pm, and the festival ended at 5pm. so what could we do? hurry up and improvise. my bff jordan and i couldn't make it through traffic all the way to zilker in time, so we wound up at butler park (my new favorite park, in other news) and joined quite a few other austinites in our own kite festival.


jordan sailed a goldfish across the sky; i flew a ladybug.




all in all, it was an absolutely wonderful way to spend a sunny sunday afternoon, even though we might not have wound up at the kite festival proper. i am a huge proponent of kite flying--i think that everyone needs to do something in their lives that makes it impossible for them to take themselves too seriously. wear a fanny pack, watch a little nickelodeon every now and then, and definitely go fly a kite. and don't just wait until the official festival for kites comes around. go buy one at wal-mart and keep it in your car for a windy day.

verdict: life is waiting, go enjoy it.

to fly a kite in the kite festival:
it only happens once a year in the spring, so check out http://www.zilkerkitefestival.com/ for updates about next year's event.

14. play mini-golf at peter pan mini golf.

anyone who has been around me for more than a day has probably seen just how easy it is for me to tap into my inner seven year old. in adult terms, i value play highly.

with this in mind, i obviously had to make a stop at the local favorite play place, peter pan mini golf. it is one of those iconically austin places that seems to be absolutely stuck in time (the very groovy sixties--i think i maybe should have come of age in this decade).

i grabbed the lovely sarah and our friend cooper for a putt-putt battle royale. now, you may not know this, but i spent an inordinate amount of time in my early to mid-teens on a mini golf course. i try to keep this quiet so as to take my competitors by surprise with my skill on the greens, of course.

the first hole begins with the famous statue for whom the facility is named.


throughout the rest of the course, you will meet a t-rex (take a picture with him, obvi), a pirate with a nazi slant, a very long-necked dog, an ostentatious turtle, and all sorts of other characters creating obstacles along your way.

as for me, i used my adept skill to dominate sarah and cooper throughout the whole game. fate, though, had another plan for this epic battle. we reach the final green, and my hubris got the best of me. i ended up about five or six over par on this one impossible hole, choking and losing the whole game. which resulted in my good friend sarah taking this opportunity to gloat at my expense:


you got me this time, peter pan mini golf. next time you won't be so lucky.

verdict: release your inner seven year old and try not to lose the whole game on the last hole.

to visit:
peter pan mini golf
1207 barton springs road
austin, tx 78704
512-472-1033
it costs about $6 to play, and they don't take credit cards.