Whenever I'm on a road trip and I see one of those "largest _____ in the world" sculptures, I have…read moreto stop and snap a silly photo. You only live once, folks! Well, the last time I was driving through Burnet on Highway 29 out to the Highland Lakes in no particular hurry, I finally did just that with the whimsical gigantic metal bluebonnet stationed at the Chamber of Commerce Visitor's Center. Only then did I learn that Burnet is known as the "Bluebonnet Capital of Texas". This was early in the morning on a Saturday, before the place opens at 10am, but they had kindly placed a pair of rocking chairs on the front porch and a packet of brochures of area attractions with a map http://www.burnetchamber.org/BurnetBrochure.pdf for those tourists who might need directions in off hours. AT&T data coverage was spotty for me in this area, so I'd imagine that hard copy map might come in handy for some even in this modern information age. Visitor's Center Hours: Monday - Friday, 9 am - 5 pm Saturday, 10 am - 2 pm Burnet is just an hour outside of Austin and a great place to experience "small town Texas" without traveling too far from home. They have the Bluebonnet Festival http://bluebonnetfestival.org/ in April each year, the Rodeo & County Fair in June, the Burnet Tri-Fest in October (with arts, music, and Fort Croghan pioneer-living demonstrations), and of course, all of the nearby lake park activities year round. A day trip drive is no problem, but you can also sometimes take the Hill Country Flyer of the Austin Steam Train Association http://www.austinsteamtrain.org/the-train/locomotives/ from Cedar Park (when seasonal schedules allow).

I do have to say it does have some amazing views. I could prob stay up there all day. I don't know…read moreif we lucked out in the day or what but we were the only ones there. There are 2, if not more routes to get to the view point but the trail to the right is definitely the easiest. If you're in the area it is definitely worth stopping for a photo op. There was signage down by the road about parking but wasn't really sure where it was talking about no parking since there wasn't anywhere else, unless it just meant don't block the path. It is nice that they have food and drinks at the base when get back, so if it's hot and you're thirsty it's perfect..

The Pennybacker Bridge, also known as 360 Bridge, is one of Austin's most notable landmarks and a…read morerequired stop for anyone visiting or living in Austin, TX. The bridge is located at Lake Austin along Loop 360 (the Capital of Texas Highway), the bridge combines a unique structure with sweeping Hill Country views. It is simple in structure yet spectacular when combined with the Lake Austin water views, which never gets old. Today we simply wanted to be one with nature. What a fanatstic starting point! No matter what you call the bridge, one thing that is certain is that you will likely admire the architecture of the rust-colored steel arch design. That weathered looks allows the bridge to easily blend in with the rolling hills and Lake Austin. It is an equally visually appealing structure whether you are driving across it or admiring it from afar. Parking is very limited along Capitol of Texas highway. What spectacular way to start your morning or end your evening!

The tour was very nice and our tour guide Tanner was very epic and cool and made the experience so…read moremuch cooler-er. I enjoyed the puns especially the rock puns and will miss them and rocky and the chicken nugget we saw on the path. Highly recommend !!!!! :-) p.s. sneak peak of rocky

This isn't the best caverns I've visited within a Texas State Park, but it is pretty darn cool. The…read morebest caverns tour is at Kickapoo Caverns. I did a wild cave tour without the extra charges that Longhorn collects. At Longhorn, our guide, Johnson did an amazing job with our small group of six people for the 10:45 AM tour. My brother and I initially registered for the 11:00 AM tour and am glad that we were suggested another time. We passed by the 11:00 AM tour and they had 40+ people in their group. Johnson showed us cool geological formations. We saw dolomite, calcium bicarbonate, chert, limestone, geodes, stalagmites, stalactites, and quartz crystals. Johnson is somewhat funny; he had a bit of quirky and dry humor. I enjoyed the history of the caverns, but some of it I thought was interesting. It was really delightful to learn that in the 1800's, before the CCC got involved, the locals would dance and play music turning the cave into an auditorium of entertainment. Johnson said that if certain geological formations glows, it is growing. Very catchy phase for memory. I got to see a few bats hanging out. They were tricolor bats which are smallest bats. The cave is cool, but thankfully not slippery. I was wearing no grip support shoes, but I didn't fall or have the urge to fall. There are mats on the floor of the cave to prevent falls. Johnson gave us more time to look around and admire the geology. My brother and I weren't required to bring our own flashlights. Johnson had a flashlight, but forgot to grab the blacklights. What I find is strange is that this is a state park that you cannot renew your state park pass at. This park headquarters is very different than the rest considering that there's a third party company handing the cave tours, they sell ice-cees, popcorn, and the gift shop is very big and vast. The others don't have this. It is questionable to me. I was told that I needed to go to Inks Lake to renew my pass. The cave tours are very pricey. Kickapoo Caverns tour was very affordable at $10. You can use the park pass. You can't get your state park passport stamped at Longhorn Caverns either. It seems like Longhorn Caverns is more for profit and the history about the cavern could be overly exaggerated to attract customers. My opinion. It was hard to believe half of the things what Johnson was telling us. There's one portion of geological formation in the cave that is "dead" because in year 1919, the locals went exploring by touching the formation it "killed" it. I preferred Kickapoo Caverns and the Caverns of Sonora a lot more. Even Inner Space Caverns and Natural Bridge were very exciting to see. Longhorn is cool, but didn't give me that WOW-factor, but I still had a ton of fun on a Sunday morning.

Being a train enthusiast I was a bit excited to go on the "Noth Pole Flyer" out of Bertrum TX on…read moreDecember 13, 2025 with my two grandkids and thier parents, six people in total. So this is a grandparents perspective. Upon arrival to the depot area, there is no indication of event parking as the lighting was very poor at 6:15 at night. The web site mentioned free parking but had no maps of the area. What I saw coming from the east, was a long row of cars parked in a Hodge podge fashion along the tracks. We ended up parking by the library across the highway. (Short walk with a light to cross with). I'll mention this again later. I came across a small sign in the middle of a crowd that says "no alcohol, no weapons licensed or otherwise." Would be nice to know before this Texan shows up armed. So had to run back to the car to secure my weapon. Ehh, minor inconvenience. BTW, the rules are on the web site. We pick up our tickets at will call and wait. The train comes up and parks. The engine was a short haul/swicher unit, no steam, with very beautiful vintage passenger cars. My family's car just happened to stop right in front of us, #41. We boarded and it was like going back in time. We found our seats easy enough. However, keeping in mind, either people were a lot taller and thinnier back then, or they have tall tables and do like airlines and add extra tables. It was tight. Little wiggle room for an adult. If you are in the window seat, you get to look forward and to the side. You cannot turn around to see what is behind you. If you adjust your seat, you are bumping the person behind you. And trust me, every car is packed. Being a night trip, there is nothing to see outside. So bring stuff for the kiddos to do and snacks and drinks. The two hour trip is loud. Kids are loud, and you have adults talking over the kids. My train enthusiast self went on an exploring expedition through a lot of the other cars. Some like mine had 4 person tables, others 4 person commuter recling seats with no tables. Some had one bathroom available others had two. I stood between two cars and just watched the scenery go by. It was a refreshing change to the snot-monsters noise in my car. The endless coco was good. Very hot. Eventually a minstrel came out and started some interactive Christmas carols. Pretty good. Simultaneously, a balloon guy came out making hats and the sorts for the kids. Then out came the forgetable part, a story teller. Hard to hear, not well versed in the story and choppy in her reading. Alas, Mrs Clause with some very different tasting, highly addictive cookie for everyone, saved the day. The highlight of the adventure was Santa. The staff had his appearance very organized and orderly. Each table had a chance to take photos with the big guy. The most unimaginable gift was given. A wooden train whistle to about 15-20 kids, my own grandkids included. Imagine if you will, about 30 minutes left in the trip with the incessant "tweet-tweet-tweet" penetrating that one nerve that goes from your ears to your feet and makes your spine want jump out of the window. Now, after a engine switch from one end to the other delay, we headed into the depot. We didn't exit the way we got on. We got on the depot side (city side), and exited on the parking lot side. Well that's fine and great. But if you park on the city side, you are blocked by the train with only two ways to get to your vehicle. Oh yes, I said a bunch of nasty, nasty cuss words. You either wait for a full train to disembark and hope they let you walk through, or, you walk around the shortest part of the train and back to the crossing light I mentioned earlier. So that's the trip review. But now to the staff. Man those cats get 5-stars. Friendly, informative and in character. I can't imagin doing that trip 5-6 times a day. They made an otherwise blah trip much, much nicer. This is a one time experience with kids. Maybe, someday, my wife and I will try a romantic trip through hill country or something like that.

The staff is incredibly friendly, and the check-in process couldn't be easier. The train cars are…read moreimpressively clean and well-kept, and we really enjoyed learning about the history behind the ride. It's a unique and nostalgic experience that takes you back in time. While I do wish the views along the route were a bit more scenic, the overall experience was still absolutely worth it and I would gladly do it again. If you're looking for something different to do around Austin, please support this train. It's a special kind of adventure you don't find every day.

We took in a Saturday Matinee at Cinemark in Cedar Park and it was a really good and refreshing…read moreexperience that included great recliners and optimal view of the screen with a marvelous sound experience! I love this theater because it's clean and we'll maintained plus the concession stand is just what we prefer without full restaurant and beverage service. Standing in the fast moving line to get popcorn, candy, and beverage is part of the experience for us, but you can order online and pickup right outside the Lobby. We haven't gone to movie theaters as much lately but that's changing with the quick and easy way of buying tickets and picking seats online for a really fair price and walking in right to your seats. You can even order your concession items online with your tickets and pickup your concessions right inside the Lobby while you're walking to your seats. Wonderful experience!

Been going to this location for YEARS without problem - love the upgrade to the seats and the…read moreonline ordering; having popcorn and drinks delivered is pretty cool (though other theaters do it better). Today was going great until I sat down. Ants. I didn't get stung - and honestly there were less than I could count on two hands. It was, however, enough to spoil my experience. I later found the reason why there were ants on me - between the cushions and armrest, the chair was filthy with old popcorn, dried soda syrup and/or melted candy. Not from previous viewing that day, mind you. This was maybe a week's accumulation of nasty. Fortunately the seat next to me was unoccupied. I did not feel the need to interrupt my viewing experience to go full "Karen" and get the management team out to see my seat. I should have... immediately after the film, I contacted Cinemark through the app and emailed asking for a refund and was told this: "Unfortunately, we are unable to process a refund at this time because the showtime has passed and we show that these tickets have been picked up. Situations like this need to be brought to the attention of our staff immediately during your visit so we can take corrective action--such as moving your seats or addressing the problem on the spot." Refunding a ticket to a LOYAL CUSTOMER for a single Sunday matinee ticket was a simple solution. Instead, when I reported the issue with but a tepid, canned response, I told the rep that I intended to post about my negative experience on social media... her response was "Carpe Diem"... That's some BS. I think I'll be spending my money elsewhere.

It was my family's first time here and we will definitely be returning! It was both fun and…read moreeducational, seeing actual pieces of history make it even more interesting. Everyone was so nice, food and snacks are available and the course looked so clean. There was even a playground for toddler. Definitely something for everyone in the family.

My family and I decided to go play mini golf at the Memorial minigolf and museum. We went on a…read moreMonday at around 2:00 pm. Luckily the weather was in the 70s which was really nice for a January day. We drove up and parked easily. We then went to pay the rate for 4 adults, got our clubs, chose our golf balls, and we were off. There were a few people there with families on the course but we basically had the course to ourselves. It was a course with a practice spot and then 18 holes to play. It was very informative and fun. There were stands at each hole with a set of photos and historical information. Plus the actual course had slight slopes, and a few fun obstacles. After golfing we went inside the small museum. There were several artifacts and some historical information to look at and read about. On a side note they have two bathrooms with soap and running water which is a positive. Overall it was a fun afternoon on a nice day. The mini golf course is fun and informative. The museum is small and interesting. If you like history and mini golf this would be a good place to visit and play on a nice day.

This theater is next to Special Noodle. It happens to be one of the theaters showing Guillermo del…read moreToro's Frankenstein. They have an online booking system, and also a box office. Online booking is very simplistic. You can select seats. As far as I can tell, if you purchased online, you can go in and scan the barcode that's located in the confirmation email with one of the people at the concession stand. For theater setup, it's not stadium seating. But there is a subtle slope downwards. Lighting is a bit dark. Identifying your seat requires you to look at the small unilluminated letter on the side of the seat next to the aisle, and then to look for the number printed part way down the arm rest. The screen is slightly elevated, views seem to be fine no matter where you sit. The seats recline. I was a bit confused at first about the controls, but the controls for your seat are on your right, two sets of "open" and "close". Sound and visuals were totally fine, and tickets are affordable. They also seem to host film festival events here.

The movie we saw here was amazing! The theatre itself though is falling apart. One of the bathroom…read moresinks was clogged and filled with a puddle. The recliner seats in the theatre barely had any fabric left on them from years of use. There was definitely an ick factor about sitting in those seats and the whole establishment had an air of being rundown. On the bright side they serve beer and wine at the snack counter! I would not choose to come back here unless the movie I wanted to see was sold out at nicer places.

Took an e-bike tour today with Toby! What a Great time…read more Terrific route and Austin facts. Great guy! Even his recommendation for Matt's El Rancho for dinner was the bomb! Five Stars for sure!

Great place to rent bikes! The guy behind the counter gave…read moreus all the info we needed & helped us get in & out quickly. It had a small town & mom & pop feel! They rent a wide variety of bikes including beach cruisers, hybrid bikes, mountain bikes, road bikes, tandem bikes, and electric bikes. They also offer tag along bikes, kids' bikes, and accessories like trailers and kids' seats. Prices seemed great, too!

This is such a fun fun place for kids and adults alike! The setting inside is completely dark with…read morevibrant neon lights and signs. There's an arcade, spook-tacular mini golf with a neon colored ball and laser tag. It's also a great spot for hosting kids birthday parties.

Love it good for the kiddos Good pricing…read more Love a local spot,.. If u have light sensitivity this isn't the place Had a few in our group get lightheaded and dizzy Because of the constant strobes They have everything here from games , golf Arcade and more If ur visiting or a local with wanting to do something during the week/weekend would be a fun activity Especially fun during the spooky season