I am off to Aspen on Saturday, hopefully to see gold Aspen trees! I will photograph the trip and share it with you all! In the meantime, as it is 100+ degrees in sunny Texas, I will post photos of beautiful Fall…
and dream about 70 degree weather!
Stay tuned for reviews on Aspen, Colorado!
Empty Nesters, there is a lot to do in Texas! How about Austin? What do we really want to know about the Hyatt Regency Austin? The important stuff, right? Like the incredible location and views! Our recent stay was fabulous, and we enjoyed the view so much we didn’t even close the drapes at night…Austin looks mighty pretty as it twinkles in the dark!
One of the best perks was the online check-in. Check-in, and they email you when your room is ready. Don’t want to wait at the front desk? You don’t have to. Just pick up your keys at the kiosk. Love it!
The hotel feels big and airy as it has an atrium in the lobby of the hotel which goes all the way up. Very pretty!
The service is top notch. Any time I had a question or a request, boom! There it is. The staff is super friendly and helpful. A delight after staying in hotels where you are just a number.
Activities for Lady Bird Lake are right on the Hyatt’s doorstep. If you want to rent a paddleboard or kayak, there’s no better place to be.
The Hyatt hosts weddings and other events all the time…it is a fantastic venue for any occasion. Who wouldn’t want this backdrop for a special event!?
They serve a wonderful brunch at the Southwest Bistro, and their Pure Luck salad is delicious! The Bistro has views of the water and the cityscape. Soooo relaxing!
What makes a hotel stay great? An inviting lobby area, friendly reception, and comfortable room are givens. These you expect, and the Hyatt Austin delivers these elements perfectly. In addition, they provide a great location, for in Austin, staying on Lady Bird Lake is the ultimate experience. Add an incredible view, friendly staff, good food, and Texas hospitality, and you have the Hyatt Austin. On your next trip to Austin, be sure to stay at the Hyatt, I guarantee you will be glad you did! And tell them Travels with Tam sent you!
*The opinions expressed in this post are my own.
Austin, Texas is one of those places known as “cool”. Austin has always been a cool place to be, whether you are a college student or a Texas politician *(it is the capitol of Texas). It is also a vibrantly active city. The river runs right through downtown (*but it is known as Town Lake, or Lady Bird Lake) and nature exists right in the heart of the city. People are jogging, paddle boarding, kayaking, walking…and there are dogs with their owners. Like I said, a very cool town.
My husband and I drove down to Austin yesterday to visit with our son while our daughter and her friends are having her “bachelorette” weekend at Lake Travis, only an hour away. Coincidentally, our daughter’s car full of young women left Dallas about the same time we did. Lucky for them!
I received a call about 20 miles north of Temple, Texas from my niece who was in the car. “Tam, the air conditioning just suddenly went out. It’s not cold air.” Uh oh. That may not sound like a tragedy to people living in more temperate climes, but in Texas it is a calamity! They were driving an older Escalade, so I called the Cadillac dealership in Temple and arranged to meet the girls there.
They needed a new compressor. Did they have the part? No. Could they get the part? Yes. They really went out of their way at Garlyn Shelton Cadillac to help us! We spent 2 and a half hours with the young women (it is hard not to call them girls even though they are in their late twenties…a sure sign of advancing age) and we just laughed and said it’s another Minton adventure. Life is full of the unexpected, and since the unexpected seems to be the norm in my world, we just flow with it.
We ended up late to meet my son for dinner, and we were even later to our hotel, the Hyatt Regency Austin (the view is AMAZING!). We met our son at a delicious sandwich place called the Noble Sandwich Co. which has been featured on Food Network. Delicious? Oh yes, and we were very hungry!
So off to the Hyatt where our room awaited, and the view sparkled from our window. I know I am going to enjoy this stay!
The Mesoamerican Reef in Mexico is curiously short of Parrot Fish…necessary for eating algae so corals aren’t smothered! Algae is a true enemy of coral reefs, and the Parrot Fish is essential to keep it in check. Besides, they are quite colorful and engaging fish!
It is quite fun to watch the larger Parrot Fish smashing the coral…you can hear it underwater!
Now, I don’t mean they freak me out in general. They freak me out for very specific reasons.
Those reasons have to do with my husband, who had a Double Lung Transplant almost two years ago. (Lung Transplant, An Unexpected Journey!) The journey has been long, and we thought after year one things would get much better…that was, sadly, not necessarily true. Randy, who is on anti-rejection drugs which lower his immune system, has caught several viruses this year, and has been hospitalized four times. Each time is frightening. Lung Transplants have the shortest survival rate of all transplants. Why? Because the lungs are constantly exposed to the air.
What does that have to do with children? Children carry germs. A lot of germs. A single sneeze can land bacteria and germs on doorknobs and countertops long enough to infect others. Covering of the mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing can help tremendously, and so can washing your hands. Children, as we know, don’t cover their noses and mouths (especially when they are little) and don’t wash their hands unless they are told. According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, children have an average of twelve colds per year. Twelve on average! Yikes!
I had a doctor’s appointment yesterday and I wore a mask, knowing that the OB-GYN office would be filled with babies and tots. Everyone asked me what was wrong, and I simply told them the truth. I cannot risk taking illnesses home to Randy. Of course, risk is inherent in every situation, but with Randy, precautions are the name of the game.
Germs are at their very worst in the kitchen. Did you know that washing a dish towel is not enough? Or washing a sponge? It has to go into the microwave for two minutes in order to be germ free.
We just have to be very, very careful. At this point in our lives, our children are getting married. Grandchildren will bring more risk…hopefully we have a few years until that time. When the babies come, we will just have to be ultra careful about washing items with antibacterial soap, microwaving sponges and towels, and using face masks. It worries me though. Of course we will want to be around our grandchildren as much as possible. We’ll have to take precautions.
Careful is our new byword.
**photo from Creative Commons.
Do you travel?
Yesterday I wanted to meet a friend for lunch, but my car was in the shop. I called Uber and was quickly picked up by a friendly and delightful driver from Guinea, Africa. We began to talk about Guinea’s location, and he was overjoyed when he discovered that I had actually traveled to Africa and visited several countries there. A story emerged which highlighted, perfectly, why we should all travel. The driver worked on the morning of his daughter’s wedding, and he drove that day in the suit he was going to wear at the event. One of his clients asked him who it was that taught him how to put on a suit. You have to admit, that is a rather odd question. (The inference being, of course, that someone “civilized” had to have explained to him how to wear a suit). The driver, who speaks clear English and has been in the USA for almost 30 years, admitted he was very angry about it. People in America, he said, do not travel often enough, and have no idea about the cultures of other places. I agreed.
“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” Terry Pratchett
Since my discussion with him, I have done a little research, and yes, it is true that the vast majority of Americans have never traveled out of the country. I have had people tell me they are not interested in going to other places because America is the “best”. I’m not going to argue about patriotism, but my question is, how do you know? If you have never been to another country, how can you know what is “best”? And does everything have to be rated as good, better and best? Can’t it just be different? I realize that not everyone wants to travel, but there is no question that it provides invaluable experience and insight to the traveler and to the people the traveler knows or meets. “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” I agree, St Augustine, I agree.
Here are 5 excellent reasons to see other parts of the world.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” Mark Twain
I have some favorite volunteer travel agents and agencies such as All Out Africa, Kaya Responsible Travel, the Giving Lens (a great volunteer program for photographers), Marine Megafauna Ray of Hope Expeditions, Mission Blue….there are just so many opportunities! Get on Google and Google to get away! Seeing the world will make a difference not only in your life…but in the lives of others. And no excuses about being “too old”. I took my first Citizen Science trip when I was 53! Just make up your mind and do it!
