“People don’t live in Austin to work, they work to live there.”
 – Robert Rodriguez

When Robert Rodriguez said that about Austin Texas, he understood very well how much Austinites like to live in Austin. Once in Austin, nobody wants to leave!

So, what makes Austin such a popular and loved place?

It’s not a single thing… it’s the whole vibe. You really do need to spend some time in Austin to get it.

Here are 10 fun facts about Austin Texas that many people don’t know about…

1. Biggest Urban Bat Population

Have you heard of or seen the bats that live under the Congress Ave bridge?

That’s right… about 1.5 million bats live under the bridge from March to November. Every night they eat about 20,000 pounds of insects up and down Lady Bird Lake. During their “off season”, they migrate to Mexico.

This bat colony is the biggest urban bat colony in North America! Impressive!

2. Biggest State Capitol Building

The Texas State Capitol building in Austin is the biggest of all state capitols in terms of square footage. Only the US Capital in D.C. is bigger.

Many people say that the Texas State Capitol is also the highest. However, while it is higher than the US Capital, the capital building in Louisiana is the highest of all.

3. Live Music Capital Of The World

There are more than 100 live music venues all over town. If you visit 6th Street, you’ll find many of them there. Don’t think it is only country music either! You’ll find just about any type of music in Austin.

The live music business is so big in Austin that Austin hosts the annual Austin City Limits music festival.

This is an amazing time in Austin! More than 130 bands get together to play live in Zilker Park over 3 days!

4. Many Famous People Hang Out In Austin

Austin’s longest-living and most famous resident must be Willie Nelson! Willie is a legend around here and still often plays at bars and other music venues around town.

Ever heard of Sandra Bullock? She has a house and two businesses in Austin and loves to spend time here. So does Matthew McConaughey, who is also a UT Austin alumni. Others include Farrah Fawcett and René Zellweger.

5. Only Formula One Race Track In The US

Formula One car racing may not be as popular in the US as NASCAR, but it is very popular in the rest of the world.

After an absence of a few years, Formula One has returned to the US, and to none other than Austin Texas! The first Formula One event took place in November 2012 and is scheduled to return until at least 2022.

6. Biggest Football Stadium

The Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Football Stadium, home field of the University of Texas Longhorns football team, is among the top 10 largest non-motorsport stadiums in the world!

With a seating capacity of a little over 100,000 people, the UT stadium is the biggest stadium in Texas and the 6th biggest stadium in the US.

7. Silicon Hills

Just like the San José, CA area is known as Silicon Valley, the Austin area is also known as Silicon Hills.

The second part of the name is related to Austin being located at the start of the Texas Hill Country. The first part of the name is due to the large amount of high-tech companies that have settled in Austin over the past 20 or more years. These companies bring many jobs to the local economy.

8. No Topless Laws

Yes, you read it correctly! There are no city laws that stop women from going topless in public. The original topless laws were struck down in the 70s because the City Council wanted gender equality. Good for them!

This does not mean that you’re going to see any topless ladies walking the streets of Austin, but you might see a few topless sunbathers at Barton Springs.

9. The Colorado River Passes By Downtown Austin

The Colorado River originates near Lubbock in the Texas Panhandle, flows generally southeast, and empties into Matagorda Bay on the Gulf of Mexico.

Along the way, it feeds into Lake Travis, a few miles west of Austin. Further downstream, it is dammed up to form the constant-level Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake) on the south side of downtown Austin.

Lady Bird Lake is very popular!

You’ll often see people on various types of boats on Lady Bird Lake.

10. Ranked #4 For Most Secure Place To Live

According to Forbes.com, a survey was done in 2013 to compile a list of the “most secure places to live in the US”. The criteria includes things like economic stability, crime statistics, extreme weather, life expectancy, etc.

Austin is #4 on that list!

If you look at all these fun facts about Austin Texas, it’s no wonder that Austinites “live to work here” and never want to leave.

Do you know any other fun facts about Austin Texas? Tell us about them in the comments below…

You might not think there are many fun things to do in New Braunfels Texas since it is quite small.

However, my family and I were pleasantly surprised when we first visited New Braunfels.

New Braunfels has a rich German heritage, a famous water park, and tubing the Guadalupe river is great fun!

Our favorite things to do in New Braunfels are a visit to Schlitterbahn (water park) and tubing the Guadalupe river.

Things To Do In New Braunfels Texas

Schlitterbahn New Braunfels

Schlitterbahn water park in New Braunfels is the “mother of all water parks”… and I am not the only who says that!

I know that the Travel Channel agrees with me… They rated Schlitterbahn New Braunfels as the #1 water park in the US not too long ago!

Schlitterbahn New Braunfels is split into two water parks, Schlitterbahn West and Schlitterbahn East, with a free tram running between the two. In all, Schlitterbahn has 7 children’s water playgrounds, 17 water slides, 3 uphill water coasters, and for the surfer in the family, the world’s first surfing machine.

My kids LOVE water. If they have to choose among the things to do in New Braunfels Texas, a day at Schlitterbahn always wins. We go every summer!

Tubing in New Braunfels

The Guadalupe river runs from Canyon Lake and through New Braunfels. There are several locations along the way where you can do tubing, i.e. float down the river on a tube.

This is my favorite of the things to do in New Braunfels Texas!

Some people just lay back on the tube and enjoy the ride. Others try to have as much fun as possible. I’ve even seen a few try to stand up on the tubes! Most people take coolers that float along in its own tube.

I usually don’t mind doing a bit of driving to get to fun. A stretch of the river called “Horseshoe Loop” is a great place to go tubing. The river makes a big loop. This means that the point where you exit the river is only a few minutes’ walking away from where you enter the river. So you can go round ‘n round all day long!

If you’re not really in the mood to drive out of New Braunfels to go tubing, try Rockin R River Rides to tube on the section of the river that goes through New Braunfels. They also have a location out at Horseshoe Loop.

Landa Park

Landa Park is another of the fun things to do in New Braunfels Texas!

There is a lot to do there. You can rent paddle boats, play miniature golf, ride on a small train with the kids, and swim. There are also hiking trails and a playground for the kids. You can also go picnicking in Landa Park.

The Comal river is also right by Landa Park, so you can go tubing here as well.

This is really a great place to spend a day!

Snake Farm and Exotic Animal Park

About 4 miles south of New Braunfels, just off I-35, is the Snake Farm and Exotic Animal Park. It is a small, clean animal park that is a lot of fun for little kids.

It is a snake park, so you will see a lot of snakes, including some venomous ones and a big python.

The petting zoo is fun for the kids. They have some goats (and you can feed them), some pot-bellied pigs, and a mild-mannered llama.

I think the snake park is definitely worth a visit, and it’s quite affordable too.

As you can see, there are at least four major fun things to do in New Braunfels Texas. We live within about 90 minutes’ drive from New Braunfels and my family and I love going there for a weekend of fun.

Whatever you do in New Braunfels, I’m sure you’ll have a good time!

[…]

We recently made a trip to Crystal Beach near Galveston and discovered a wonderful restaurant…

When I was a kid my parents, sister, and I went to Galveston every year. We did all the normal tourist attractions, except for Schlitterbahn only because it wasn’t there then. We always had the best time and some of my best memories are from there.

So after growing up, getting married and having four children of my own, we always take a summer vacation of some type. Our first vacation, after we decided the kids were all old enough to travel the 12 hours from home and be gone a week, was of course Galveston.

The kids had never seen the ocean and were extremely excited. We did everything and they especially enjoyed Moody Gardens and the realistic steam riverboat ride that departs from there, which was a blast. We also went on a dolphin spotting adventure that leaves from the Seaport Museum area.

But the highlight of our trip, and every trip that we had when I was young, was the Texas D.O.T. ferry that leaves from Galveston and goes to Crystal Beach or Port Bolivar (I believe its called). While on the “drive aboard” ferry, bring a loaf of bread and walk to the rear and feed sea gulls and see an old ship wreck off in the distance.

When you dock, drive approx. 12 miles on the highway and there is a restaurant called the “Stingaree”. It has the best seafood and steaks I have ever ate. Although the restaurant is not in Galveston, incorporate it with the ferry ride and the huge light house on Crystal Beach that has a neat history, and you have a very romantic evening with your spouse and a great family fun experience.

We always save this little trip to Crystal Beach and the Stingaree for our last night before returning home and can’t wait to go back.

Landa Park, in New Braunfels, is a beautiful park.

It has huge trees, and the Comal River runs right through it. There are ducks to feed (so we take a cheap bag of bread), and water to wade in.

There is also an Olympic-sized pool($) and a spring fed pool($) (with slides, zip lines, swings, islands, and an area for smaller kids).

The water is cold, but it is lots of fun for the family. I take my children a life jacket, because the spring fed pool is quite deep. There is also a treated water area for the little tykes.

You can take a cooler in and picnic. I have seen people actually order pizza delivered! Twice a year, Landa Park has “doggie day” where you can bring your dogs to the spring fed pool to swim with you.

In the summer, Landa Park has free concerts, too. There is also a mini train ($) that goes through the park. When we went the first time, the conductor threw nuts to the squirrels. The squirrels knew to expect them, because when they saw the train coming, they came running!

If you go just before dusk, there are deer roaming the park. There is also a hiking trail and paddle boats.

We love Landa Park!