It's time again for a new TexasTripper contest! Thanks to gas prices, this contest will focus on Texas Vacations for Free with a whole package of prize materials for one lucky winner:
• a copy of the new Free Texas guidebook by Tab Lloyd. It's a great look at free attractions all through the state! • a bluebonnet festival t-shirt and a Taylor International Barbecue Cookoff t-shirt • a Schlitterbahn ball cap • a San Antonio photo album for your vacation photos • an autographed copy of both our Day Trips from Austin and Day Trips from San Antonio guidebooks, both covering places you can travel in just two hours (and one tank of gas!) from these two cities
To enter the contest, head over to our contest page and complete a five-question survey about how gas prices are impacting your travel plans this summer! We'll select one winner at random the end of June. Good luck!
This sign pointing to the Dime Box Museum just might be one of our favorite directional signs in Texas. The museum showcases the history of tiny Dime Box, located southeast of Austin. The town is named for the box where residents could once mail a letter, dropping a dime inside to cover postage.
Every year the Austin Chronicle conducts a poll to determine reader favorites (one year our book, Texas Getaways for Two, was selected Best Romantic Guidebook!) This year's poll named Kerbey Lane (with four locations in town) as home of the best American breakfast. In this TV clip, you'll see a Kerbey Lane chef preparing one of the restaurant's top breakfast dishes, migas, and learn how to make this simple dish. (OK, it's not an American breakfast dish but tacos and migas are tops in Austin!)
Gossip sites are all abuzz about the possibly new pairing of Kate Hudson and Lance Armstrong. On May 16th and 17th, People magazine online reports that the celebrated cyclist took the silver screen beauty on a gastronomic journey through the city he calls home, beginning with a visit to Eddie V's Edgewater Grille (which has recently become the place for Austin stargazing, as evidenced by the item below). The couple and a coterie of family and friends also walked past the surf board which greets patrons at the entrance of Hula Hut, which offers a view of Lake Austin along with a self-proclaimed "Mexonesian" (Mexican and Polynisian) menu.
Seafood lovers at Eddie V's Edgewater Grille were surprised to find themselves serenaded by two happily married music legends recently as Elvis Costello and Diana Krall sang four duets after dining at the award-winning establishment, the Austin American-Statesman reports. Foodies can eat to the beat of live music from a variety of local artists in the venue's V-Lounge seven nights a week.
Actress Heather Graham, who did the Frug with funnyman Mike Meyers in "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me," got the chance to check out the groovy goings-on in Austin, Texas this month. Filming on her latest flick, The Ex-Terminators, began on April 28, 2008, and on May 1st cameras were set up for a scene at Northwest Hills Pharmacy and Hardware Store on Far West Boulevard, KXAN news reports. Movie buffs may also have been lucky enough to spot Grahams' co-stars Chasing Amy star Joey Lauren Adams and country crooner Robert Earl Keen around town during the 25-day shoot.
Austin revelers were among the first to see the black diamond engagement ring that now graces Carmen Electra's left hand. The former "Baywatch" babe shimmied down Sixth Street during a parade to promote a search for an assistant to The Most Interesting Man in the World, aka the pitchman for Dos Equis beer. According to the Austin American Statesman, the femme fatale called the Four Seasons her home away from home during her stay, a hotel in which actor Sean Penn temporarily planted roots as cameras rolled on the much talked-about drama "Tree of Life".
POTD: "Welcome Home," Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
This sculpture, titled "Welcome Home," by L. Heather MCMahan is on display at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The boots are clay reproductions of desert issue combat boots. The artist says, "It is my way of saying 'Thank you'; "Welcome Home' and 'Godspeed' to our men and women in the armed forces..."
The Houston Museum of Natural Science is kicking off its fifth year of Mixers, Elixirs and IMAX®. Beginning June 6, the perfect Friday night party returns with some of Houston’s most popular bands, a new IMAX lineup, and the addition of a private VIP room, known as “The Lab.”
The Mixers: At 6 p.m., the excitement begins in the Grand Entry Hall with award-winning DJ Sun spinning the wheels – or partygoers can make the evening larger than life with an IMAX® film to start. Doors to the Hall of Paleontology open at 7 p.m. for live music, dancing under the dinosaurs, a cash bar and complimentary appetizers.
The Band Schedule: June 6 Mango Punch June 13 Little Brother Project June 20 Picture Book June 27 The Fab 5 July 11 Mambo Jazz Kings July 18 Grupo Batacha July 25 The Handsomes August 1 The Chromatics August 8 Siakara August 15 Grady Gaines & The Texas Upsetters August 22 Lady D and the Zydeco Tornadoes August 29 Grupo Ka-Che
VIP Room: “The Lab,” located in a the Cullen Hall of Gems and Minerals, fills with the sounds of DJ Sun, all accompanied by hors d’oeuvres, a top shelf cash bar, exceptional wait staff and comfortable seating. Admission is limited, special ticketing is required, and patrons must be 21 and up, with a valid ID.
IMAX: Every hour from 6 - 10 p.m., partiers can eake a break with an IMAX film including Galapagos 3D; Dinosaurs 3D: Giants of Patagonia and Grand Canyon Adventure: Rivers at Risk 3D.
Price: Tickets for Mixers, Elixirs and IMAX® are $13 for museum members, $15 for non-members and include a cash bar, complimentary appetizers and an IMAX® ticket. Tickets for the VIP room are $30 for members and non-members.
For more information: • visit www.hmns.org • call 713-639-4629
This fountain provides a quiet backdrop just across the street from Austin's new Long Performing Arts Center. Near the fountain, you'll see a plaque for the Bicentennial Time Capsule, housing the story of how Austin celebrated the 1976 Bicentennial. The marker calls for the reopening of the capsule on July 4, 2075.
Did you know that May is National Barbecue Month? Texas doesn't really need designated month since barbecue's definitely a year-around activity here but May does kick off the barbecue cookoff season. Look for competitions throughout the state as cooks compete for cash prizes in categories including brisket, ribs, chicken, sausage, beans and sometimes wild game. This shot was taken at the first Cedar Chopper Barbecue Cookoff in Cedar Park last weekend.
Saturday was a hot, windy day in Cedar Park but numerous attendees showed up to same the 'que from the first annual AT&T and Cedar Park Chamber of Commerce Cedar Chopper Barbecue Cookoff.
51208: Texas Transporation Museum Celebrates Model T Centennial
Hundreds of Model T enthusiasts will celebrate the 100th Birthday of Henry Ford’s “Tin Lizzie” May 17 and 18 at the Texas Transportation Museum in San Antonio.
This Centennial Celebration of the American iconic vehicle that resulted in an “automobile for the masses” will include the gathering of dozens of Model T’s.
This family-friendly and free event will feature a “then and now” presentation by one of Ford Motor Company’s top executives. For an extra charge, you can also hop a train ride; there will be scheduled rides every 45 minutes starting at noon. The museum's indoor HO model train layout and the outdoor garden model railroad will be in operation through the event.
Time: The event takes place from 10-5 both Saturday and Sunday. Two special presentations will be held on May 17 at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
This weekend marked the first AT&T and Cedar Park Chamber of Commerce Cedar Chopper Barbecue Cook-Off. The event was held near the new Cedar Park hospital just east of 183A. Although the temperatures approached 100 degrees (and that's without the extra heat from the smokers!), attendance was good. We'll run a series of photos from this first-time event in our Photo of the Day feature this week.
The newest museum in Texas has opened its doors; the Frisco Heritage Museum showcases the history of Frisco in a two-story, 18,000 square foot complex.
Dedicated to highlighting the City’s history, the two-phase $5.5 million project is the focal point of Frisco Junction. The interactive museum featuring hands-on exhibits will allow visitors to understand how the early citizens of Frisco lived, worked, and played.
A living village has been recreated with replicas of the Lebanon Baptist Church, a one-room school house, a log cabin, the Smith Muse house, and the Frisco Train Depot.
Frisco CVB Executive Director Marla Roe says, “The Heritage Museum enhances our other cultural offerings, such as the Texas Sculpture Garden, and is the first of several museums under development that will fill Frisco Junction.” Plans call for an expanded 12-acre Museum of the American Railroad to move to Frisco within the next year.
The all-new Ripley’s San Antonio Odditorium, the largest and most interactive Ripley’s to date, has opened its doors in San Antonio next just across from the Alamo.
The Grand Opening: The grand opening was celebrated with performers and human anomalies from all walks of life including the Sideshow Bennie the Human Pincushion, Jalisa the Eye Popper, Larry the Leopard, Katzen the Tiger Lady, more.
What You'll See: The all-new Odditorium houses all genuine objects that are definitely odd:
the mortician’s toe tag from Lee Harvey Oswald
the car that dropped off Lee Harvey Oswald that fateful morning
a two-trunked elephant
one of the world's largest examples of scrimshaw, a full buffalo skeleton with over 100,000 etchings
a 512-pound iron meteorite
locks of hair from Marilyn Monroe
a 23-foot-tall Eiffel Tower...made from toothpicks
the mummified head of American cannibal Alfred Packer
Photo: Leopard Larry, Jackie the Human Tripod, Lizardman, and Eye Popper Jalisa at San Antonio’s new Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum. Photo courtesy Ripley's Believe It Or Not!
This Saturday marks the "First Ever AT&T and Cedar Park Chamber of Commerce Cedar Chopper Barbecue Cook-Off." Held just north of RM 1431 just behind the 1890 Ranch Shopping Center.
We were just out there and there were many RVs and pickups getting into position with their cookers.
The cooks start smokin' this evening at 5pm and the judging takes place tomorrow. The event includes these competition categories, all vying for cash prizes:
Inspiration for this and one other statue near Hunt, Texas are located on one of the most isolated places on the planet: Easter Island. These stone icons known as moai total 887 and were created between 1400 and 1600 AD, constructed to represent the spirits of island ancestors.
At Stonehenge II outside of Hunt, however, you won't find 887 moai but just two. They're located on the opposite sides of the Stonehenge II creation.
Barbecue and the Hill Country go hand in hand and the LBJ Ranch was known to host many international barbecues during the President's years in office. On May 17, part of a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of the President's birthday, the Friends of the LBJ National Park hosts a 1960s Bar-B-Que on the banks of the Pedernales River at the LBJ Ranch, an event that celebrates the BBQ for the Organization of American State held here in 1967.
The events begin at 3PM with special tours followed by a welcoming by LBJ Library Actor Michael Stuart, who portrays President Johnson. Entertainment will be provided by the Fort Griffin Fandangle at 5:30PM. The barbecue starts at 6:30.
With a population of under 800, tiny Crawford is preparing for worldwide attention this weekend thanks to the wedding of President Bush's daughter, Jenna. The wedding will be a private one held on the Bush ranch but businesses in town are preparing for numerous visitors, fielding calls for availability in area B&Bs, and stocking store shelves with wedding memorabilia. This video covers the many efforts underway in town this week:
UK Michelin Star Chef Opening Restaurant in Lake Conroe
Foodies will be rejoicing: Lake Conroe's new La Torretta Del Lago Resort & Spa has reached an agreement with one of the world’s most acclaimed chefs and restaurateurs to create a signature, fine-dining restaurant on the grounds of the Lake Conroe retreat.
Chef Albert Roux (with his brother named the most influential chefs in the United Kingdom) will create Chez Roux as the premiere dining venue among the more than 10 restaurants and cafes that will operate at the Lake Conroe resort. Roux's London restaurant became the first ever in the United Kingdom to hold three stars by the Michelin Guide.
Chez Roux will be a free-standing facility located on the lake shore; construction will begin soon. The chef promises a contemporary French menu with heavy emphasis on local and fresh products to give it a hint of Texas flavor. The restaurant plans to open by year’s end.
This replica of England's Stonehenge, called Stonehenge II, is located on private land just out of Hunt on FM 1340. You'll find a sign with more information on the structure; two Easter Island moai are also found here and make great photos.
This Saturday, the attention of the world will turn to tiny Crawford, Texas as President Bush's daughter Jenna takes her vows at the Prairie Chapel Ranch just outside of town. See our Crawford section for information on the small town.
Video: Jenna tells the Today Show why she selected Crawford as her wedding location:
The Helium Time Columns Monument and Museum, located in Amarillo just outside the Don Harrington Discovery Center, definitely ranks as an unusual Texas sight. The four columns are filled with books and memorabilia about life in 1968. Why 1968? Why, that was the 100th anniversary of the year when helium was discovered.
To make things a little more unusual, the books are sealed in a helium-filled atmosphere, one that's not to be opened until the year 2550.
The historic Route 66, sometimes called the Mother Road, traveled right through Amarillo, Today the stretch of that famous former route is lined with antiques shops and an attraction in its own right.
The US Department of State has updated its travel alert for Mexico. (Remember: a travel alert is less, well, alarming than a travel advisory but nonetheless covers short-term dangers that "pose imminent risks to the security of U.S. citizens.")
The updated travel alert specifically mentions several Mexican cities near the Texas border: Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, and Matamoros.
According to the alert:
Recent Mexican army and police force conflicts with heavily-armed narcotics cartels have escalated to levels equivalent to military small-unit combat and have included use of machine guns and fragmentation grenades. Confrontations have taken place in numerous towns and cities in northern Mexico, including Tijuana in the Mexican state of Baja California, and Chihuahua City and Ciudad Juarez in the state of Chihuahua. The situation in northern Mexico remains very fluid; the location and timing of future armed engagements there cannot be predicted.
The alert goes on to warn:
Criminals have followed and harassed U.S. citizens traveling in their vehicles, particularly in border areas including Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, and Tijuana. There is no evidence, however, that U.S. citizens are targeted because of their nationality.
The Long Center for the Performing Arts is Austin's newest venue, located on the south shores of Lady Bird Lake across from Auditorium Shores. The center is home to a studio theater as well as the 2400-seat Michael & Susan Dell Hall, a grand concert hall.
Fredericksburg
