Percutian ke San Antonio & Austin

March 2016

It has been a while since I wrote something, well work caught up as well as other things. Minta maaf ban yak-banyak. Janji nak tulis pasal pengalaman di USA sampan habis.

One of the favourite type of vacation is a road trip (it was my favourite at least). I can tell that not all places are suitable for road trip , I mean people don't road trip across Europe do they? Or at least in congested city like Paris even somewhere close to Malaysia which is Singapore or Indonesia. You need resources (car rental can be hefty, fuels) and willing drivers. One of the country which is perfect for road trip is USA. My parents did the USA East-West Coast road trip back in their college years and trust me, it will be something you'll remember forever.

I too, dream of road trip while I'm in USA, but for a couple of months' trip, I can only do Texas. Texas is big y'all. It will take 3 hours or more just to cross Texas borders. I found my road trip buddy, RR which turns out to be a very close friend. (being on the road bring people together, need I say more?). We're gonna do 3 cities and agreed on our stops in this short road trip. Being on the same page as your trip buddy is important! Learn to share, respect and give and take to each others' needs. Don't be a selfish organiser. Road trip is all about partnership and fun of course. 

Our stops: Richmond, Austin, San Antonio and San Marcos (of course)

Today, I'm gonna talk about the capital city of Texas. Yes, many of you thought it's Houston, but NO. Come on, Houston is being popularised due to it's significant role as a NASA base. The capital of Texas, kids, is Austin.

Austin is located about 3 hours drive Noth-East side from Houston. Like many capital city in USA, Austin has it's own State Capitol Building. It is a replica of the State Capitol Building in Washington DC. Austin is special because unlike other Texas state, the metropolitan area is situated around series of lakes, which is huge! The lakes are part of a river called the Colorado River. Not to be confused the same river in Arizona.

To me, Austin is more laid back and it certainly has a metropolitan feel to it. Well, the entrance to Texas State Capitol is free but there is no parking nearby (same as Houston). We choose to park at a parking building 2 blocks away from the Capitol. When we reached Austin, it was already in the evening around 5pm.

They erected several memorials around the Capitol. Funny story is that, we didn't plan to go inside the Capitol building. We went in because RR need to use the bathroom. As usual for government building, there will be security screening at the entrance. It was a Saturday so there is no proceeding inside the Capitol and there are quite number of visitors inside. 

After the toilet break, we wander off and visited the top floor to the bottom. Inside, there's a dome and around this dome at each floor, the hang the paintings of US previous and current President. We spotted Abe Lincoln, Adams, Bush and Obama here. It's like their own hall of fame. You can go freely inside the Capitol except the proceeding room where they conduct the session.

The building is simply stunning inside and out. It was our first time entering any State Capitol in the US and we learn something about their politics. Thanks to RR of course. If she didn't have that bathroom break, we will missed out.

Our last location in Austin before heading to San Antonio is Lady Bird Lake. Well, I researched on photo spots and this came up. Since the Lake/river is huge, they had constructed a boardwalk on the river across Austin downtown. This is where you can actually the see the Austin skyline from across the lake. There was no proper parking but people park on the side road. We just followed and park our car there. Thankfully there is no police and we are quick.

The river bank hosts some private houses and jogging track. We also see some people canoeing in the river/lake. I can tell that I like Austin more than Houston. The environment is different and the city is beautiful. Next story is about Texas Ranch. On to the next post.