Austin, Texas - A Feast

[Expat]

Austin, Texas is a feast for the eyes & the stomach. One of the best vacations I have ever had. Apologies for poor quality of cell phone pics.


Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood


Tasty food trailers & trucks everywhere!




Grounds of Laguna Gloria Art Museum


Austin Botanical Garden


Laguna Gloria


Laguna Gloria






View of Lake Austin from Laguna Gloria




Laguna Gloria


Laguna Gloria


Pet adoption trailer on South Congress Avenue


Window of Moonshine Restaurant - Excellent place for dinner


Botanical Garden with view of Austin skyline in distance


It is hard to resist a cupcake served from an Airstream trailer


I loved what I called trailer park dining. It combines the relaxed feel of boardwalk dining with some delicious grub.


Laguna Gloria


Laguna Gloria - If you can't tell, I loved this place


Gate at Botanical Garden


Laguna Gloria - I love the these big, gnarly trees they have in Texas


Jaw dropping view of Lake Travis from the Oasis Restaurant


Lake Travis


The Oasis Restaurant at Lake Travis


Lake Travis


Lake Travis


Entrance to Oasis Restaurant




Lake Travis

[SLO]

Looks like you had a good time. Im surprised I hadnt seen The Oasis on here before.....great job.

[sabotai]

This thread is making me miss Austin. I always wanted to visit the Oasis, but never got the chance. It certainly offers a great view!

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by Expat

Laguna Gloria - I love the these big, gnarly trees they have in Texas

They're Live Oaks. They're called Live Oaks because they keep their foliage in the wintertime and stay green while most other trees look dead. They only drop their leaves for a few weeks in the spring while they pollinate, then put on new leaves. The oldest known Live Oak in the area is Treaty Oak, a tree that was the sacred meeting place of the Comanche and Tonkawa Tribes. It's almost 600 years old. The tree was poisoned by a man in the early 90s. Half of it died. We have 5 Live Oaks in our yard. I love them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_Oak_(Austin,_Texas)

Originally Posted by Expat

Jaw dropping view of Lake Travis from the Oasis Restaurant

The Oasis is crazy. It's 450 feet above the lake. I read somewhere that it's the 6th largest restaurant in the country with seating for over 2,000 people. It was actually hit by lightning a few years ago, and a good bit of it burned, but they rebuilt it even bigger.

[photoLith]

Ive been to that restaurant, it was before it caught on fire, it looks so much larger now, I want to go back now.

[Expat]

The Oasis is worth the trip for the view alone. There seems to be a big development going up around it, but couldn't figure out exactly what is happening.

[Centropolis]

Interesting. I have been thinking of a Texas trip in the late winter - I always appreciate the stark ambient temperature changes you experience during this time heading south and southwest - certainly much more so than in summer. I had no idea that the range of the Live Oak spread so far west, and into topography like that.

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by Expat

The Oasis is worth the trip for the view alone. There seems to be a big development going up around it, but couldn't figure out exactly what is happening.

From what I understand, it's a 4-story parking garage, plus the restaurant expansion. I guess that's better than a parking lot for 2,000 patrons. Mopacs posted some pics in the Austin City Comp thread a while back of the expansion.
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?p=4877481

Originally Posted by Centropolis

I had no idea that the range of the Live Oak spread so far west, and into topography like that.

Austin's west side also has Madrones which are sometimes mistaken for Live Oaks, especially when you're viewing them on a neighboring hill/ridge. The type in Texas is different from the Pacific Madrones growing in southern California. The Live Oaks in Central Texas are no where near as large as the ones in East Texas around Houston and farther east into the Deep South. My dad took pictures of a few in New Orleans that were too big to put your arms around. In the movie Forrest Gump, the huge trees on their property were Live Oaks. We also have Red Oaks, Spanish and Post Oaks, but none are as large as Live Oaks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrone

[jowens]

The views at the Oasis are amazing. It's a great place to take out-of-towners. However, the culinary experience is very underwhelming, especially after the usual long wait.

[Expat]

jowens -- it is funny how restaurants with killer views rarely have excellent food. My dirty little secret is that we didn't dine at the Oasis. We were driving around and needed a bathroom break. Suddenly, the Oasis appeared. They have beautiful bathrooms. They must have just opened because there was no one in the restaurant and the staff was setting up. I boldly marched out to the balcony and snagged these photographs. We did find an endless supply of wonderful food & restaurants in Austin proper. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of downtown & close-in Austin because my camera just couldn't do it justice.

[jowens]

Originally Posted by Expat

We did find an endless supply of wonderful food & restaurants in Austin proper. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of downtown & close-in Austin because my camera just couldn't do it justice.

Wise move on your part. Other than the views, the overall experience at most of the trailers in Austin proper is way better than the Oasis. Well maybe some of the views could compete too!

[RobertWalpole]

Very, very beautiful!

[DruidCity]

I love the Oasis ! Here's a page about the construction:
http://www.oasistex.com/
I have never tried the Moonshine restaurant in your photos, though.
That looks pretty cool, too.

I had no idea that the range of the Live Oak spread so far west, and into topography like that.

The "Hill Country" landscape was a surprise to me when I first visited the area in 2007. My brother's place in San Marcos (30 miles from Austin) is dominated by live oak, and has a pretty good amount of Spanish moss.
I had always thought of those as quintessentially "Deep South" landscape features, yet there they are with prickly pear cactus growing all around.

[AusHou]

Originally Posted by DruidCity

I love the Oasis ! Here's a page about the construction:
http://www.oasistex.com/
I have never tried the Moonshine restaurant in your photos, though.
That looks pretty cool, too.



The "Hill Country" landscape was a surprise to me when I first visited the area in 2007. My brother's place in San Marcos (30 miles from Austin) is dominated by live oak, and has a pretty good amount of Spanish moss.
I had always thought of those as quintessentially "Deep South" landscape features, yet there they are with prickly pear cactus growing all around.

The Hill Country has an amazing variety of vegetation. It's a mix of the east and west. Quite a few varieties of oaks, sycamore, maple (especially in the westernmost Hill Country), pecan, ash, mountain juniper, cypress (along the rivers), and a bunch of different shrubs. And prickly pear mixed in. It's a fascinating region I never get tired of seeing or studying.