Suggestions for Austin
 

If the travel gods are with me, I'll be in Austin over the Thanksgiving holiday. Does anyone have suggestions for activities on Friday the day after? Often things are closed.

The Sansome Center at UT will be open on Wednesday so my plan is to check out the first photograph and the campus. Will visit the Capitol as well that day if time. I have reservations for my meal on Turkey Day so that's all set. Just wondering about Friday.

In DC, that day is a huge gallery visiting day for locals. Is that the case in Austin as well?
I'd appreciate any input.

First of all, you do realize that THE game is on Thursday evening (UT vs. A&M). So, on Friday there will either be a lot of celebrating or a lot of mourning in Austin.
Seriously, although it's been a few years since I was in Austin on T-day, I don't think that Friday will be the big musuem visiting day as it is here in D.C. I think more people will be out shopping or doing outdoor things if the weather is pleasant. If you have a car and the weather is nice, it would be a good day to do some sightseeing outside of town--perhaps climb Enchanted Rock, tour the LBJ Ranch and/or shop the neat stores or see the Rockbox holiday show in Fredericksburg. Also, the Christmas lights in Johnson City are turned on Nov. 26th and they are a real spectacle! The city itself is bathed in 100,000 lights and the Pedernales Electrical Coop there has a forest of over 1 million lights! http://www.johnsoncity-texas.com/
Finally, if you want a fun way to tour Austin, do a Segway tour. We did this last May with Segway Nation and had a blast!

We really liked the botanical gardens when we were there. At night, it's fun to go see the bats, but I think November is the end of their "season." Capital Cruises does some fun boat tours, but again that could be seasonal so you'd have to check. Visiting Gruene for a day is fun too - eat at the Grist Mill on the river, and enjoy all the little shops and Texas' oldest dance hall. We had fun wandering around the South Congress area; there are cool shops and lots of airstream trailers with good food. It's kind of a funky area.

Bat sighting peaks in the summer. There would be little to see in November. Its not clear if Friday is the only other day you have in Austin, but if it is, I suggest you explore Austin instead of traveling that day.

Gruene is nice, and the Gristmill is beautiful, but the food just okay. If you decide to drive there, there is free music at Gruene hall in the afternoon that day. There are cute stores but you can be done with them in about 2 - 3 hours.

I think you mean the Harry Ransom Center at UT. I think the gem of Austin is the Blanton Museum, just a few blocks away. They have a great exhibit From Turner to Monet thru the new year and their permanent collection is impressive. If you like museums, this is a must. http://www.blantonmuseum.org/ In addition, The Texas State Museum is across the street. So you could make a day of it. There is the Austin Museum of Art downtown and at Laguna Gloria (West of town). Also downtown is the Mexic-Arte Museum. There are nice restaurants and wine bars in the area as well, if you are so inclined.

Thanks to all! Yes, Austin, Ransom. It is not open on Friday. I will check out the other museums you mentioned to see if they are.

Blanton is open and I sent email to Mexic-Arte Museum to confirm. My hotel is in that area so I'm looking forward to exploring that area of Austin. Thanks again, Austin.

longhorn, I'll be sure to root for UT! The lighting thing sounds amazing.

volcanogirl, thanks also and I'll check about the cruises and botanic gardens.

I really only have Wed., Thur., Friday. As mentioned about, Sansom not open on Friday so i was concerned.

How is the Botanical Garden this time of year? I'll be in town this weekend and I am looking for something to do on Saturday.

Here's a link to some botanical garden info. They had some neat things like a prehistoric garden, Japanese garden, some water features, and even a scent garden where you could smell different herbs and things. It's nice to walk around and is pretty large.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/zilker-botanical-gardens-austin

Thanks volcanogirl. It looks great. I think that's where we will go. We might try to also go to the Umlauf sculpture garden. How long should each of these take?

Botanical Garden will probably be mostly brown that time of year. The reason is they plant heat tolerant plants that primarily thrive in the 6+ months of summer here. Winter is dormancy time. However, the weather should be pleasant to just walk around if you're not looking for anything special.

I'd second the Enchanted Rock suggestion. Should be a good time to go out and hike it. Have lunch/dinner in Fredericksburg and you've made a day of it.

traveler, maybe give them a call. We haven't had any kind of freeze so I would think things would still be green. It is a beautiful place.

Hi TDudette, please check out the Bob Bullock Texas State History Musuem. It's just a stone's throw from the Blanton and it is open the day after Thanksgiving.

http://www.thestoryoftexas.com/the_museum/about.html

If you want to see the craziest exhibit of Christmas lights ever, go to 37th street near Guadalupe. Don't drive thru, just park your car in the area and walk through the neighborhood. It's entirely free and it's SO Austin!! Nearby on Guadalupe you will find Amy's Ice Cream which is another Austin original. Aside from having the best ice cream in town, they will put on a show for you while they prepare your ice cream. They will flip it around and throw the ice cream in the air. It's sort of like Benihana's of ice cream. Be sure to get a crush-in when you order ice cream, it's fun to watch them do those.

http://texaslesstraveled.com/37thstreet.htm

I hope you will enjoy your time in our city.

P_M: Thanks so much. I will certainly try the places you mention. Nearby Baltimore Md. has an area called Hampden (it starts on 36th St.!) that has a block of amazing lights. I can't wait to see 37th in Austin.

Have to dye something burnt orange!

This year you can find burnt orange pretty cheap.... :-)

Oh, Austin, I had to laugh at your comment. Sad, but true.

What's the spread??