A few of my favorite things … in Austin

About Tara Haelle

Tara Haelle (@TaraHaelle) is AHCJ’s health care scientific tests core topic leader, guiding journalists through the jargon-crammed shorthand of science and analysis and enabling them to translate the evidence into exact information and facts.

The South Congress Bridge in Austin.

Conference week is lastly in this article! I can’t convey to you how enthusiastic I am not only to attend my to start with in-human being convention since 2019, but also to do so in my favourite U.S. metropolis.

I’m an alumna of the College of Texas at Austin for both of those my undergraduate and graduate degrees, so I put in a very good chunk of both my younger formative several years and my just-married-and-started out-a-loved ones years in the Texas money city. Quite a few men and women currently know that Austin is various from the relaxation of Texas, and yet also not so in the greatest possible means.

I’m thrilled to share the metropolis with so many colleagues, so I achieved out to my fellow Austinites past and existing to crowdsource a list of proposed restaurants, bars, espresso stores and other venues shut to the Hilton.

See this Google spreadsheet for suggestions that include every single establishment’s length from the Hilton and no matter whether or not they have outside seating. (If you have recommendations for the spreadsheet, email me at tara@wellness journalism.org to enable me know and I’ll incorporate it.)

I also want to attract focus to a few of my particularly-beloved places and some of Austin’s particularly distinctive actions.

See the bats! A single of Austin’s most important statements to fame — other than becoming bizarre — is acquiring the greatest city bat populace in the entire world. (I wrote about the tragic fatalities of thousands of bats during the 2021 Texas storm that shut down the point out for a 7 days and sent Sen. Ted Cruz packing for Cancun.)

Each individual spring, thousands and thousands of Mexican free of charge-tailed bats migrate to Central Texas and keep on being until finally autumn. About 1.5 million of these bats reside less than the Congress Avenue Bridge in downtown Austin, just a 10- to 15-moment wander from the Hilton. Each and every night, crowds gather to look at them take off to feed on bugs shortly just after sunset. If you’d like to check out them, Austin Bat Refuge’s web site is up to date everyday with a projected flight time and specifics of the prior night’s flight. Other useful sites consist of the South Congress Bridge Bats web-site, advice from Austin’s famous bat skilled Merlin Tuttle, Check out Austin’s Bat Looking at 101, and the Austin Town Tutorial website page.

Other Austin highlights

• However it’s at this time shut for renovation, the residence of O. Henry, renowned for his short stories with an ironic twist at the stop, is not much from the Hilton on 5th St.
• Zilker Park is the crown jewel of Austin parks and residence to Barton Springs, which feed a well-liked swimming hole that averages 68-70 degrees yr-round.
• If you’re an artwork or heritage buff, cinephile or religion scholar, head to the Harry Ransom Middle on College of Texas at Austin’s campus to see a single of the only 5 Gutenberg Bibles in the nation, the earliest surviving photograph in the environment, a Frida Kahlo self-portrait, or any of their other exhibitions. The overall set of Gone With the Wind and all of playwright Tennessee William’s archives are listed here, along with a prosperous trove of other miracles.
• For a genuinely Austin practical experience, Cosmic (calls for a travel or trip share) has an expansive outside spot with a bar, espresso store and a number of food vehicles.
• Austin is well known for its food trucks and has a selection of food stuff truck parks like the South Austin Trailer Park. One of the most effective places to come across a assortment of food vans not significantly from the Hilton is South Congress.
• Those people wanting to go for a run (or a boat ride or a kayak) can effortlessly get to Girl Chook Park from the Hilton. It is a linear park with exceptional jogging/walking trails along the river. If you’re in a position to travel even further out from downtown, Mount Bonnell, Austin’s optimum place, presents a short climb to a gorgeous neglect of the lake, and McKinney Falls Point out Park with hundreds of hiking is just a 15-minute travel from the Hilton.
• I hardly ever understood why persons would stand for 3 to 4 hrs to get into Franklin’s BBQ, commonly regarded as the most effective barbecue not only in Austin but in the state of Texas, prior to they ran out for the working day — until I tried it myself. Then I comprehended. You are unlikely to have the time to wait that prolonged in line in the course of the conference, but you can contact in a group purchase to pick up.
• My own own most loved cafe in Austin is Curra’s Grill, a couple of exits south of downtown. You will will need a automobile or ride share to get there, but their Oaxacan espresso, hen mole enchiladas, and avocado margaritas are well worth it. I under no circumstances come to Austin devoid of dropping by Curra’s, typically to purchase huevos motuleños with my queso and chips and a espresso.

These highlights are a very small sampling of what Austin has to offer you, and I know it is far way too substantially for you to squeeze in through the conference. With any luck ,, you’ll have a prospect to visit at least one particular of these places even though others will entice you to go to Austin once again someday.

Tara Haelle (@TaraHaelle) is AHCJ’s medical experiments main subject matter leader, guiding journalists by the jargon-crammed shorthand of science and research and enabling them to translate the proof into exact information and facts.