There are multiple great hiking and running trails around Austin. Two of our favorites are:

1) Barton Creek Greenbelt;

2) Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail;

- This trail is in downtown Austin and goes along Lady Bird Lake.

As many of you know, Krista has a strong love for great produce. In fact, whenever we are in a new city, one of her favorite things to do is visit a farmers market. She gets excited to see the different prepared foods, fruits, vegetables and local crafts each city has to offer. Naturally, Matt comes along so he can be the sensible one and keep her from going wild, and buying a bunch of beets or peppers they don't need during their weekend trips. Austin has great farmers markets, and each one is so different from the next. Here are just a few of the farmers markets in Austin:

1) SFC Farmers Market Downtown

- Address: 422 Guadalupe Street. Located in Republic Square.

- Open on Saturdays from 9am - 1pm.

- Tacodeli serves some delicious breakfast tacos here. There are also stands for tamales, indian food, and other prepared foods.

- This farmers market is a quick walk from the Ann and Roy Butler Trail downtown, so you can keep getting those steps in.

2) Barton Creek Farmers Market

- Address: 2901 South Capital Texas Highway.

- Open on Saturdays from 9am - 1pm.

3) HOPE Farmers Market

- Address: 412 Comal Street.

- Open on Sundays from 11am - 3pm.

- Has live local musical acts or performance artists every Sunday.

4) SOCO Select Farmers and Makers Market

- Address: 1511 South Congress Avenue.

- Open on Saturdays from 11am - 6pm.

- There is a mixture of produce, fruits, prepared foods (i.e. breakfast tacos), and local craft artisans.

Each night at dusk, bats take their nightly flight from under the bridge to find food. It's a beautiful and amazing sight to see. When the bat population peaks, there may be as many as 1.6 million bats taking flight and it can take up to forty-five minutes for them to all leave the bridge.

For information on the current emergence times, go to: http://www.batcon.org/our-work...

Texas is known for it's BBQ and Austin has many delicious places to try. At both of the places listed below, you might have to wait a while, but it's well worth it.

1) Franklin's BBQ

- Will sell until they run out.

2) Salt Lick BBQ

- You can BYOB and drink on their outdoor patio while you wait to be seated.

Two areas in downtown Austin that are great for going out are:

1) 6th Street; and

2) Rainey Street.

Both streets are lined with great bars of all types.

There are so many microbreweries around Austin, so this is just a short list of some we have found.

1) The Brewtorium (http://thebrewtorium.com/)

- Address: 6015 Dillard Circle, Suite A.

- Outdoor space: yes - beer garden.

- Food: German-style pizza, burgers, salads, pretzels, bratstickers.

2) Austin Beer Garden Brewing Company (https://theabgb.com/)

- Address: 1305 West Oltorf Street.

- Outdoor space: yes - patio.

- Often has live music.

- Food: Pizza (has gluten-free pizza too), sandwiches, salads.

3) Zilker Brewing Company (http://www.zilkerbeer.com/)

- Address: 1701 East 6th Street.

- Outdoor space: yes - patio.

- Food: none, but food trucks park outside.

- Within walking distance of Lazarus Brewing Company, Friends and Allies Brewing, and Blue Owl.

4) Friends and Allies Brewing (https://www.friendsandallies.b...)

- Address: 979 Springdale Road.

- Outdoor space: yes.

- Food: none.

- Within walking distance of Lazarus Brewing Company, Zilker Brewing, and Blue Owl.

5) Blue Owl Brewing (http://blueowlbrewing.com/abou...)

- Address: 2400 E Cesar Chavez St #300.

- Outdoor space: yes.

- Food: none.

- Within walking distance of Lazarus Brewing Company, Zilker Brewing, and Friends and Allies Brewing.

- Focuses on sour beers.