Sunday, September 30, 2018

Austin Texas and TravelCon18!

Austin Texas- There is so much buzz about Austin these days!  Known as a music and arts destination, there are tons of articles about this dynamic and vibrant city.  To me, it is home to Jared Padelecki and Jensen Ackles- Sam and Dean of my VERY favorite show Supernatural!!!

My reasons for visiting Austin:
When I retired in 2012, I wanted to hone my travel skills.  A quick Google search brought me straight to NomadicMatt, a backpacker blogger who wrote about his travels around the world, budget traveling, and exotic locations!  He was magic😏!  Through the years, I have followed him, bought his tshirts books, and contributed to his non-profit FLYTE- Foundation for Learning and Youth Travel Education (https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/take-flyte/), an organization that raises money and sends high school students abroad.  About 9 months ago, he announced a travel bloggers convention, TravelCon18!  I was so in!  So many bloggers I follow were speaking, I knew I had to go.  With tons of break out sessions, I knew it would be awesome- and it was!  The focus of the convention was teaching bloggers how to build their brand, make contacts, and learn to generate income.  Of course, I had no interest in learning about buisness- I am retired😸- but even this information was awesome.




  
TravelCon18: One of the sessions I attended I thought would be a writing course- turns out it was teaching people about raising their blogs visibility in Google searches.  I have to say, I did not understand one thing he said🤣, but it was beautiful listening to him.   Watching all the  people around me nod in understanding, his detailed slides of "data mining", and attendees asking questions I did not understand, made this session even more interesting!  I had to google search the meaning of an acronym he kept using- SEO- Search Engine Optimization.  He reminded me of my Nieces husband Peter- he posts tech things that I have no clue, but love reading!  I still don't understand, but it is fascinating how the world has changed so much!  In a way, I envy young people, but would never give up my experience of growing up in truly simpler times.

Other sessions I attended included Cory Lee of curbfreewithcorylee.com, a traveler who happens to be in wheelchair!  He talked about his love of travel, but need to ensure there is access.  And Annette Richmond of fatgirlstraveling.com who talked about people with weight traveling and how they are invisible in advertising and barriers they face, such as weight limits, able to fit in seats, etc.  Both gave me perspectives I never actually consciously considered.  Their one message: asking bloggers to just make a simple statement in their blogs of accessibility for differently abled people.  Through both presentations, I thought about my beloved Cody and all the barriers he faces as a deaf person.

The convention had so many inspirational speakers- a woman who moved to Denmark because her husband got a job there, authors of great books, successful people who transitioned into travel-related professions, and fantastic traveling stories.  It was awesome meeting so many people and listening to their stories!!!

Now to Austin- capitol of Texas, it has a VERY beautiful capitol building, museums, and an awesome downtown!  I took some time to check the city out.  The first thing I noted- it was hot and muggy!  Being a Californian, and living in hot, dry Fresno, I know heat, but NOT humidity🤣.  My hotel was about 9 blocks from the convention, so I walked.  By the time I got there I was dripping wet- it was so embarrassing!!!  But being in a totally different place at an exciting activity, I just sucked it up and went with it😅😅.

Texas capitol building and grounds- as a wet place, it was very green!  Tons of beautiful trees and flowers!  I also made it to the LBJ presidential library, walked around the town,  and took a cool ghost tour!





View of the Capitol from Congress Street




The capitol cupola
 This is the seal of the state of Texas when it was a confederate state- whatever our views, this period of time is a part of our history and we must learn of it and from it.
Beneath the cupola, several seals including this seal of the confederate state of Texas


Seal of the State of Texas


 One of the many statuary on the capitol grounds- shows the history of Texas.

A description of each era in the history of Texas


of course, cowboys!

Memorial to volunteer fireman



tribute to school children

Memorial to Vietnam Veterans





The Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) Presidential Library (http://www.lbjlibrary.org/)  was very comprehensive on his life in politics, with a focus, of course, as president.  The library also held quite a number of historic items, such as Jesse Owens gold medals, and signed clothing and items from many sports figures from this period.



Presidential limosine


Lady Birds dress

Vietnam- we all remember this period as the Vietnamese War era

LBJ and Lady Birds passports


Period buttons




Known for the escalating the Vietnam was, this legacy over-shadowed his domestic policies to
 improve the life of Americans


cultural symbols of LBJ's presidential period






LBJ statue at the entrance
The City of Austin


I thought this was hilarious!  4th street in downtown is lined with re-purposed turn of the 20th century
buildings that are now bars, pubs, and restaurants.  Tons of students, locals, tourists walk and imbibe
along this street,making it a real destination for food, drinks AND people watching!
 Although 4th street is the center of Austin nightlife, this festival was held on 6th street:


a vibrant counter-culture thrives

A memorial plaque for Gov Ann Richards on the bridge over the Colorado River- not to be confused with
the Colorado River in Arizona

view of Austin on a bridge over the Colorado River- Austin is quite a beautiful city




Austin has preserved a lot of their period buildings.  We took a ghost tour through Austin Ghost Tours (https://austinghosttours.com/) that was just excellent!  Our guide, Maverick, describes himself as a historian, and his tour provided tons of historical information, as well as stories of ghost sightings in the city.




The famous Driskill Hotel (https://driskillhotel.com/).  Built in 1886, successive owners have maintained this hotel in its original state (upgrades to plumbing and electricity, of course😆).  Truly a beautiful hotel- perfect 19th century hotel.  I had lunch in the cafe one afternoon:  pork belly and brie sandwich- it was delicious!
The famous Driskull Hotel

Stained glass door!


carriage ride around town- 

The lobby as you enter the hotel


Stairway from the lobby to the bar and rooms- portrait of Mr. Driskill at the landing

The bar!

ceiling lighting