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Home » Travel » So Yeah I’m Definitely Moving to Texas

So Yeah I’m Definitely Moving to Texas

By: Liz  /  Published: May 22, 2017  /  Updated: December 24, 2020  /   Leave a comment

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If you’re wondering where to stay in Austin and don’t want to deal with pricey and crowded downtown hotels, I know just the place…

I was recently invited on a whirlwind trip to Austin to celebrate the 300th TownePlace Suites location in North Austin (Tech Ridge). While my mom had both visited Austin and stayed at a TownePlace Suites before, I’d done neither and jumped at the chance. Thanks for hosting me, TownePlace Suites Austin!

Where to stay in Austin: TownePlace Suites Austin North Tech Ridge
TownePlace Suites is perfect especially for longer trips because each one is a fully-loaded extended stay hotel — it has everything you need to feel at home when you’re traveling, like an in-suite kitchen, spacious elfa closet from The Container Store, awesome gym, and Weber grills outside that you can use whenever you like. Plus, it’s brand new and beautifully modern.

elfa closet TownePlace Suites

elfa closet in my hotel room (featuring my sneaks)

Weber grill

Beautiful Weber grill

TownePlace Suites outdoor patio

Gorgeous outdoor patio space with firepit

As I said, the main reason I was in town was to attend the celebration event and enjoy the brand new hotel, but since I flew in a day early I had time to explore the city a little bit. Since the Tech Ridge TownePlace Suites is north of the city, I hitched a ride downtown via an similar-to-Uber-but-not-actually-Uber service called Ride Austin. (Uber isn’t available in Austin anymore due to some kind of political thing, so keep that in mind if you’re visiting!)

In doing some sightseeing research before the trip there was one suggestion that popped up in every Google search: the Congress Avenue bats. Sounds weird. Let’s do it.

But first, food.

I asked friends on Facebook what to eat and they unanimously said TACOS. I decided to visit Maudie’s and have a true Tex-Mex experience. Was not disappointed, and because there are several Maudie’s locations in Austin, you’ll probably be able to find one nearby no matter where you decide to stay.

Maudie's Tacos

Crunchy beef tacos with queso amarillo (yellow cheese)

After stuffing my face/before seeing the bats, I’d intended to hit up an antique/vintage store called Uncommon Goods that a couple of my favorite Texan YouTubers talk about all the time, but by the time I made it downtown through the thick Austin traffic, they were closed. Sad times.

Instead I walked around in SoCo — the nickname for the neighborhood along South Congress Ave. It was a hipster paradise, with tons of patios, beers, and interesting shops. Unfortunately weather was overcast throughout the time I was in town so my pictures didn’t turn out as well as I’d hoped, but here’s one I ended up liking:

School for the Deaf SoCo Austin

As sunset approached, it was time to head to the river for the piéce de resistance — the Congress Avenue bridge bats. Every night at dusk, up to 1.5 million bats fly out into the night sky in search of food. It’s hard to grasp just how many bats that is until you see it happen.

sky

Thousands and thousands of bats

If you’re wondering how I got a video from that angle it’s because I decided to book a $10 river cruise to see the bats so I could hear a bit more background information from the cruise tour guide, but seeing the bats is a free event if you opt to stand on top of the Congress Ave. bridge instead of taking the cruise underneath.

Austin Colorado River

Some graffiti I saw from the cruise

The cruise is great because you get to hear some interesting facts about the city skyline and the culture of Austin — how it’s an incredibly active city with exercise paths and parks everywhere. Sounds like my kind of place!

After the sunset cruise I was pretty whipped, so I headed back to my hotel room/home away from home, took a bath in the spacious tub, finished this graphic novel my brother got me for my recent birthday, and hit the hay.

The next evening, it was time to celebrate! At the 300th TownePlace Suites party, there was tons of local flavor to take in.

There was live music. There were custom TownePlace cocktails like this smoked peach old fashioned.

Smoked peach old fashioned

There was a make your own spice blend station.

spice blend

There was an awesome local food artist — Jessie Bearden — replicating an iconic Austin postcard design in only different flavors of barbecue sauce!

Austin food artist Jessie Bearden

And there was a grill-off between two great Austin chefs who were challenged to create a dish incorporating something from the TownePlace “In a Pinch” market at the front desk — luckily they had plenty to choose from like bagged snacks, frozen dinners, fresh fruit, and a variety of beverages.

TownePlace Suites event

Here are the judges seriously deliberating

Between the appeal of the phrase “keep Austin weird”, the killer Tex Mex food, and knowing exactly where to stay in Austin when I’m in town, I’ll definitely be back sometime very soon! Find a TownePlace Suites near your destination at their website.

Related topics
Texas TravelAustin Congress Avenue bats extended stay hotels SoCo Texas TownePlace Suites Travel

About Liz

Liz is a midwestern mom gone southern (accent in transition). She lives in North Carolina and loves cooking, baking, traveling, movies, crafts, hot and cold tea, wine, pizza and the occasional nap. She also revels in the fact she's a crazy cat lady.

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Meet Liz

Hey there, i’m Liz!

I’m the founder of Eat Move Make and a North Carolina mom of two humans and six cats. I love to cook, bake, craft and travel. I’m also addicted to tea (but not sweet tea).

When I’m not creating something in my kitchen, and since my kids are now adults, I’m all about my bucket list of travel destinations and adventures.

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