Places in Austin I Never Knew About Before

This week's post is dedicated to places in Austin that I have been discovering since I have not been working. As an aside, I am still giddy about all my free time, for anyone who is wondering. I have been finding endless amusement telling people at cocktail parties that I don't work. I don't think they see nearly the same novelty in this that I do, but that's OK.

It's April in Texas which means one thing: bluebonnets. It turns out that Camp Mabry, the National Guard base near my house, has a fantastic collection of bluebonnets! There's a great public recreational track at Camp Mabry, which I had previously only experienced in the pitch black dark when I would run at some crazy early hour before work. Now that I don't work (heh heh) I get to go in daylight - and who knew there were so many wildflowers! I got these photos about a week past their peak, but I think you'll get the idea.

For better or worse, I have also been playing golf with my mom, Carolyn. We played Riverside Golf Course in Austin which is a very nice public course, and an excellent value. I would not suggest playing Riverside the day after a big rain, because it's a lot more like a river than something beside a river. You can check it out at http://www.riverside-gc.com/golf/proto/riverside-gc/. Carolyn and I were desperately needing a lesson, and she gave me one for Easter. That meant we got to go to the Chuck Cook golf academy at Barton Creek! Riverside is OK but there's just no compare to this place, it is all class: http://www.bartoncreek.com/chuck_cook_golf_academy.asp.

It's not all fun and games not working. It turned out my 1994 Ford Explorer was in need of a tune-up after the trip to LaGrange. Someone recommended Dodd's Service Center at 43rd and Guadalupe, and it was a real find. They did not try and rip me off, and the car is running great. One of the most interesting things about Dodd's is that they have no website and no sign on the building. Also, they had a fire back in 1996. I figured I'd give them a plug here on the blog. You can reach them at 512-453-3535.

On the way home from Dodd's, I walked through Central Park, located between Guadalupe and Lamar north of 38th Street. I've only been to Central Market like 100 times, but had no idea this place was there! It is a really nice park complete with ducks and a pond, not to mention a running trail. If you are thinking about swimming in the pond, that's unfortunately forbidden. Bummer.

I've been thinking about ways to keep the brain working, and have decided to do some more serious writing. That may be the topic of a future post. This week, I went to the library to take out some books on recent business topics which I'm interested in for this particular project. I have never been to the main branch of the Austin library and it is a nice place. Best of all, I got to take out as many books as I wanted for FREE! I guess I had a library card when I first moved here 12 years ago, and I discovered I owed them $2.40 in late fees. It is a good thing they do not charge interest. In any case, it is worth a trip to the John Henry Faulk Library at 8th and Guadalupe.

The last place I've been spending some time is a place I had actually been to before, but it is so prime that I could not resist talking about it. Yes, it's the Lake Austin Spa Resort located (you guessed it) on lovely Lake Austin. The best thing about Lake Austin is they have a fantastic pool, and lots of comfy chairs where you can sit and read or nap all afternoon. The food is good too, and healthy. I would stay away from the kressnopita in favor of the golden gazpacho and lettuce wraps. Lake Austin really brings a whole new meaning to relaxation and I think I need to make it back once more before I take off for Asia. Fore more on the spa, visit http://www.lakehousespa.com/.

Yes, that's right - we are 16 days away and counting from the Big Trip. Look for a post on the latest itinerary soon.

Hiking the Smokies

Me & Dad

This week, rather than simply doing nothing, I have been visiting east Tennessee - home of my dad, Mike Miller, and his wife Pam. My dad is a serious hiker who about a year ago completed hiking all 900 miles of trails in the Smoky Mountains. We hiked almost 20 miles this week and I have the blisters to prove it. Despite the fact that the weather was not great over the weekend, it ended up being a beautiful couple of days. Here are some photos I took with my cool new camera! Check out the serious water crossing (I passed on this one).

The Smokies are a very special place to me and my family because my grandparents had a summer home there in a place called Elkmont - near where we were hiking. My dad and his brothers spent most of their summers there. Elkmont is a community that existed prior to the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1934. This park now attracts more than 9 million visitors per year and is the most visited of all the national parks. The families who lived in Elkmont when the park was created were granted a lease from the government which expired in 1992. You can read more about the history of Elkmont on this site: http://www.imagesbuilder.com/gsmnp/elkmont.html.

Anyway, the real shame is not that the houses had to be given back, because everyone knew that was going to happen - but that they are still there 15 years later. Believe it or not, the US Government has not been able to figure out what to do with all these houses. It got so bad that in 2005, the National Trust for Historic Preservation placed Elkmont on their list of the Eleven Most Endangered Places (http://www.nationaltrust.org/11Most/list.asp?i=156). We saw our old house this week, and very sadly it has continued to fall into a state of disrepair (it was a really cool house). There is some indication that certain homes are going to be restored - if they are in fact salvageable at this point. In the right hand picture, you can see where some new wood frame has been laid over a decaying roof. We are not sure what the deal is on this, but I'll post more when I hear. That's all for this week...

My Grandparents' House

New Roof?

The Gretchen 2.0 Kickoff Party

Well, it's been over a week since

the Gretchen 2.0 Kickoff party, and I guess most of us have recovered. It was a great day in LaGrange, TX and I could not be more grateful to everyone who came out. A very big thanks to Mike and Corey, our hosts, and Mike's aunt Bonnie Farmer for all they did to get ready. Thanks also to Sharon and Susan for all the hard work setting up, sending the invitations and getting food and drinks! There are many, many more people to thank for all the contributions and gifts, too many to list.

It turned out to be beautiful day in LaGrange, but before the party we were not sure the weather was going to cooperate. In fact, at 3AM that morning there was a storm unlike any I have ever experienced in Texas, at least in the past year. We were pretty sure that if the party went on, we might miss it because we we were going to be blown away by a tornado. In fact, LaGrange received almost 4 inches of rain that night vs. Austin and Bastrop which got less than 1-1/2 inches. We awoke in the morning relieved to see the tent standing, but unfortunately it was surrounded by some water activity resembling the Mekong Delta. I was pretty sure people would be mud wrestling by the end of the day - which was either going to be a hoot or a bad visual. But after 4 trips to LaGrange Tractor and Feed, and about 20 bags of wood chips, the sun hit the ground and it was all almost dry by afternoon.

The party also included the latest tour stop for the band, The Gretchen Miller Project, formerly known as Five Married Guys and a Single Guy. They are Andrew Bowins, Dean Kline, Vance Morton, Marco Pena, Lee Sellers and Mary Kay Hyde. Greg Kettler was the Roadie of the Day, and we could not have pulled it off without him. The band allowed rogue singers to join them onstage, which I do not think helped in getting future gigs, though Nina Pena and the young Pearsons are showing promise.

There are a lot more pictures of the party, and you can see them and post yours at gretchen2dot0.dell.shutterfly.com.

I'm starting to think about topics for future posts. I know from my Blog Mentoring Session with Richard Binhammer that I need to post regularly, at least once a week. Upcoming posts will include "Planning your Southeast Asia Trip Using Discount Websites" and "How to Be Very Busy Doing Nothing At All." Please post yours!