Sarah WallockIn 11 days, my boyfriend and I drove from New York to California, hoping to find the best food (much of which was arepas and tacos), most interesting places and manage to fit in some of the best hikes. We ended up having a really rewarding adventure.
After spending the afternoon and night in Atlanta, we headed down to New Orleans on the fourth day of the trip. Nick and I had a fun afternoon in New Orleans walking down Royal Street, but we started to feel the effects of driving 8 hours per day. And The humidity was definitely slowing us, and everyone else, down. We would walk outside our hostel and within steps, our hair would be wet with sweat. We walked around the French Quarter, went bar-hopping and people-watching, and sampled a variety of cuisines. We had incredibly memorable arepas and interesting drinks at a Colombian place near our hostel called Mais Arepas. Next, we walked through the French Quarter and went to the famous Cafe Du Monde for beignets.
We woke up super early (at 7 am) on our fifth day and headed out to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for breakfast. We had omelettes at Another Broken Egg Cafe and the waitresses’ sweet southern hospitality prevailed. After filling our stomachs, we headed onwards to Austin, Texas. I had been wanting to go to Austin for a year, so we set aside three days to explore the city. This wasn’t even enough as we fell in love with it and could’ve easily stayed longer (or forever?). Driving through Houston was especially memorable as it was so expansive. The freeway was 10 lanes at certain points and around every corner, there were more and more overlapping secondary freeways. Nick slept through most of Texas, while I blasted Beyonce. Finally, we arrived in Austin, our favorite city of the trip!
Our aim was to see as many of the different neighborhoods in Austin as possible, in order to get a glimpse of the sub-cultures in the city. We arrived in the afternoon to our hostel, located on the Colorado River and near Lady Bird Lake. To shake off the long hours in the car and to feel refreshed, we went for a run along the Boardwalk and over to Rainey Street. We immediately felt a sense of belonging and loved the dense volume of Mexican restaurants we were passing by. We made our way to Flowerchild and had to stop to eat because it was so enticing. Our meal was so good that we returned the next day! On our way back to the hostel, we stopped at the food trucks on Rainey and couldn’t pass up our second opportunity in two days to get another arepa.
Later that night we went out to Dirty 6th street (East 6th), a strip of bars with live music and country-flair. We particularly enjoyed people-watching at The Library. After playing some cornhole in the game area, Nick and I perched ourselves on the balcony of the second floor and peered down at the bar.
The next morning we were set on heading to Barton Springs for a swim. Barton Springs is a natural spring pool regulated by the city. It is just a 10-minute drive from central Austin. Before we headed out, we walked to Casa Morenos for some breakfast tacos. I would have gone back for sure. There was a salsa bar with nearly 10 options. We went over to Barton Springs and it was freezing. We had a nice morning swim and rested before heading to South Congress. I loved Congress because of how sprawled-out it was. Each business or apartment had a unique style and some artistic-flair. Later that night we were determined to watch the famous bats fly out from under the Congress Avenue Bridge. After waiting an hour, ice-cream sounded much more appealing than standing wedged between tourists on a dark bridge. Luckily, Amy’s Ice Creams was a short drive away. The next day we paddleboarded on the Colorado River. It was incredible. We paddled out to a little island in the middle and then paddled back to shore.
After our time in Austin, we headed to Lubbock, to stay with a friend from Couchsurfing, where our adventure continued. Although I love visiting different places and having a nomadic lifestyle, I could definitely see myself settling down in Austin.
The story continues with Part Three and Four, or here is Part One in case you missed it.
