{"id":3975,"date":"2017-01-06T12:16:22","date_gmt":"2017-01-06T12:16:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theduanewells.com\/?p=3975"},"modified":"2018-07-29T04:53:57","modified_gmt":"2018-07-29T04:53:57","slug":"austin-trekking-across-texas-pt-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/austin-trekking-across-texas-pt-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin | Trekking Across Texas, Pt. 3"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"6th-Street-Entertainment-District\"
6th Street Entertainment District, Austin, Texas.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The final chapter of our Lone Star State trek finds us in Austin (aka Hipsterville).<\/p>\n

Austin<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the second to last day of our journey across Texas, we zipped into Austin and made a beeline to Lake Travis Zipline Adventures. O ye of little faith who thought this trip could possibly end without a spot of discomforting outdoorsy adventure for me (teepee motel aside, that is).<\/p>\n

It was Davey\u2019s idea that we should try ziplining in Austin, so he made all the arrangements. The little fact that he overlooked however was that the package he booked did not simply involve a one-off dash down a zipline. It was instead a 3 \u00bd hour excursion that required a van ride, a boat ride and hiking as well as whooshing down not one, not two but FIVE different ziplines from ever increasing heights. It was hot, it was dusty, it was exhausting but, shocker of all shockers, it was also fun (in retrospect, at least).<\/p>\n

\"lake-travis-austin-texas-156s8x\"
Ziplining around Lake Travis.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For years, I had heard about Lake Travis and I could not have asked for a more picturesque introduction to this Austin-based treasure than strapping in, holding on for dear life and whizzing down a series of ziplines each of which offered a bird\u2019s eye view of the Lake and the appeal for which it has become famous. I won\u2019t say that it was not hard work but I will say that the memories were worth the effort.<\/p>\n

After recouping a bit and washing off the dust from the Lake Travis excursion, it was off for a bite and some further exploration in the 6th<\/sup> Street entertainment district. Here in this always buzzing neighborhood, Austin\u2019s renown for standing apart from its popular sister cities in Texas came clearly into focus. The patrons of the establishments in this district sport longer hair, tattoos, piercings and eschew convention in dress as much as they do in other aspects of their appearance. It\u2019s more hipster, more new age, more artsy and more urban. In essence, it is clearly and unequivocally less beholden to traditional Texan narratives than the other more populous destinations in the Lone Star State.<\/p>\n

Now to be clear, there are various entertainment districts in Austin<\/a>, each imbued with a character and personality of its own. The 6th<\/sup> Street district, in particular, was my choice because it is chock full of bars and restaurants of every variety along with famous live music venues and historical landmarks like The Driskill hotel, which was built in 1886 and remains one of downtown Austin\u2019s crown jewels even today. With only one night to explore, I felt obligated to make what is widely considered a safe bet on 6th<\/sup> Street but be well advised other entertainment districts like the Warehouse District, Rainey Street and East Austin, tell their own stories and appeal to specific personalities so please don\u2019t allow me to sway your opinion. I say experience them all and decide for yourself.<\/p>\n

\"6street.com_robert_dean_photo\"
6th Street Entertainment District on busy night.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That said, amid the swirl of 6th<\/sup> Street nightlife there are a wide array of food trucks begging to be sampled, so there\u2019s no need to feel bound to making formal dinner reservations unless you absolutely want to. With so many choices, you can just as easily eat on the run in order to maximize the nightlife experience. Terribly convenient, no? We opted for the slightly off the beaten path Via 313 pizza truck, because why not have Detroit-Style pizza in Texas? (As a matter of fact, who even knew that there was such a thing as Detroit-style pizza?)<\/p>\n

For the final day of our trip, it was back to downtown Austin for a \u2018farewell to Texas\u2019 lunch at Wu Chow because there could perhaps be no better place to end this tour through Texas than at an ultra-modern Chinese food restaurant, listed as one of Zagat’s Most Anticipated Restaurants of 2015, right? Because Chinese food is absolutely what we all think of when we think of Texas no? I\u2019m being facetious of course, but not wholly.<\/p>\n

Serving elevated farm-fresh dishes representative of all eight styles of Chinese cuisine, Wu Chow shines. While menu items like Hot & Sour Soup and Shanghai Soup Dumplings sound familiar, the Wu Chow spin on them takes them to a new epicurean level. Ditto for less familiar offerings like Wok-Tossed Cumin Lamb and Mapo Dofu with Minced Pork.\u00a0 If as James Beard Award-winning chef, Jos\u00e9 Andr\u00e9s has said, \u201cModernity is a subtle change in a very traditional dish\u201d then there can be little doubt that Wu Chow is the sole of modernity indeed.<\/p>\n

And so, with a toss of our chopsticks and tip of our hats, our trek across Texas came to an end, leaving me with just one final thing to say to you dear reader: \u201cYa\u2019ll come on down to Texas!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Eat<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Wu Chow<\/strong>
\nIBC Bank Plaza
\n500 W 5th St #168
\nAustin, Texas 78701
\nwuchowaustin.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Elevated farm-fresh Chinese menu showcasing all eight styles of Chinese cuisine in one of Zagat’s Most Anticipated Restaurants of 2015.<\/p>\n

Via 313 Pizza<\/strong>
\n1111 E 6th St
\nAustin, TX 78702
\n+1 512.939.1927
\nwww.via313.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Food truck serving up Detroit-style pizza.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Stay<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Driskill<\/strong>
\n604 Brazos Street
\nAustin, Texas 78701
\n+1 512.439.1234
\nwww.driskillhotel.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Built in 1886 as a residence, this property still offers some of the most luxurious accommodations to be found in downtown Austin.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Play<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Lake Travis Zipline Adventures<\/strong>
\n14529 Pocohontas Trail
\nLeander, Texas 78641
\n+1 512.614.1996
\nwww.ziplaketravis.com<\/a>
\nZipline specialists in Lake Travis.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

6th<\/sup> Street Entertainment District<\/strong>
\n6street.com<\/a>=<\/p>\n

Popular destination for bars, restaurants and live music in Austin.<\/p>\n

\"texas_state_capitol_austin-sml\"
Texas State Capitol, Austin, Texas.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Find out more about planning your trip to Austin by visiting www.austintexas.org\/visit<\/a>. And don’t forget to check out our adventures in Dallas <\/a>and Houston<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To read this story on the Huffington Post, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To watch Davey’s take on our Texas road trip, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The final chapter of our Lone Star State trek finds us in Austin (aka Hipsterville). Austin On the second to last day of our journey across Texas, we zipped into Austin and made a beeline to Lake Travis Zipline Adventures. O ye of little faith who thought this trip could possibly end without a spot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88889,"featured_media":3976,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1555],"tags":[1134,1211,1215,1454,1460,1461],"class_list":["post-3975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","tag-travel","tag-road-trip","tag-adventure","tag-texas","tag-austin","tag-lake-travis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88889"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3975"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3995,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3975\/revisions\/3995"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}