On Tuesday we had to drive up to Austin to pick up C lovebug who will be spending six weeks of her summer with us. Traffic on I-35 can be a bear and the rain was in the distance so we decided to leave early to allow us plenty of time to get up there to find the airport and relax before her flight came in.
The traffic was fairly light; we hit the bulk of traffic around the airport and on the I-35 S headed home. We arrived with plenty of time so I googled "things to do in Austin." On the first page were a lot of trails, the University of Texas-Austin (hook 'em horns!) and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. We opted for the LBJWC. I plugged the directions into Apple Maps and we were led in the most roundabout way to get there. It's no surprise that I have a love/hate relationship with my phone and its gpsing capabilities, or lack thereof. When we arrived, Lo was fast asleep and hadn't been asleep for very long. We thought that she'd be cranky but she was rather happy to be outside and walking around!
We went to the entrance to pay the admission fee and found out that it was free for us because Mr. Lovebug is active duty Air Force and LBJWC was participating in the Blue Star Museums program running from May 27 through September 2, offering free admission to military members and their families. Lo couldn't wait to get started on the "tour." It's a self-guided tour and there are lots of flowers and trees to see. There is also a building, The Children's Little House in which the little ones can play and learn. Lo found a pot with sand and a shovel in it; she immediately picked up the shovel to start digging. I think that was her favorite part. We had two hours to spare but to fully enjoy the LBJWC, I'd give it a full day. There is so much to see and do. Another favorite spot for Lo was the insectary; she loved seeing the caterpillars!
After double-checking the itinerary, we found that C's flight was coming in an hour earlier than we thought so we cut the visit to LBJWC short and trekked over to the airport. Parking was a mess and it was quite a walk to the terminal. Just as we entered the terminal, she called us to let us know that her plane had landed. Whew! Made it just in time! We picked up her bag and headed home with a stop to Sonic for happy hour.
It was a wonderful trip to Austin and we are excited to plan another visit!
