Kayak on Lady Bird Lake to get the best downtown view

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Canoeing on Lake AustinThe water level in Lake Travis is so low right now that it is hard to go sailing or boating. Town Lake….I mean Lady Bird Lake, on the other hand, is a constant level lake with delightfully cool water.   I’ve been curious about the kayaks and canoes on the lake so I decided to head down to the Rowing Dock to rent a kayak and get out on the lake on Labor Day.

It was so busy that we had to circle twice to get parking.  However, the folks at the dock were efficient.  Soon as we turned over our license and $15 (cash or check please) at the dock they got us in a kayak built for two.  We headed to the “ritzy” part of town paralleling Stratford and gawked at the mansion.   I’ve been to a party or two at those mansions but the view from the water side is amazing.   Turning the kayak around at Red Bud Isle (lots of dogs playing in the water) we decided to cross under the Mopac bridge…it is LOUD under there.  A short way down you get a spectacular view of downtown.  I definitely need to bring my camera next time.   We did manage to see turtles basking in the sun and a couple of herons catching there dinner.

All in all a nice way to spend the afternoon.  Kayak rentals on Lady Bird Lake are offered by

Rowing Dock
2418 Stratford Dr
Austin, TX 78746
(512) 459-0999

Texas Rowing Center
1541 West Cesar Chavez
Austin, TX 78703
(512) 467-7799

Zilker Park Boat Rentals
2100 Barton Springs Rd
Austin, TX 78746
(512) 478-3852

Krause Springs–a beautiful Texas swimming hole

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Krause Springs, in Spicewood Texas, is one of Texas’ most beautiful swimming holes.  It is located about 30 miles west of Austin.  Krause Springs has many natural sites to explore. There are 32 springs
on the property, and several feed the manmade pool and the natural pool
which flows into Lake Travis.

www.krausesprings.net, 404 Krause Springs Rd Spicewood, TX 78669 – (830) 693-4181

E-Learning Symposium 2009 – Doing More with Less

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I spend my days trying to figure out how to improve the productivity of the most valuable part of any organization–it’s people.  I’m excited that we’re having a conference for like minded folks in Austin–usually I get to get on a plane and travel to these conferences.  The elearning Symposium 2009 is on June 4, 2009 at the Holiday Inn, Northwest in Austin.  Speakers include Jim Moshinskie from Baylor, Dr. McDonald from Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Tonia Dousay from Texas A&M, Hiram Kuykendall, Debby Kalk, and John Gillis.  Dr. McDonald’s Pulse!! program is one of the most sophisticated e-learning programs in the world–a must see.

The symposium will focus on helping you create cost-effective e-learning programs that help make your folks more productive.  So if you’re an instructional designer, trainer, or just someone your boss is bugging about implementing learning programs.  Register early because there’s a significant early bird discount–and quite honestly this conference is likely to sell out.

More information about the conference is available at www.elearningcouncil.com

Austin’s Deep Nasta, President of the Audience Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

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Local Realtor, AroundAustin.com contributor, and philanthropist was elected President of the Audience on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon by a unanimous vote.   Some, in the Twitterverse call him the best audience participant ever on the show.   Leave it to Deep to be in New York for a month and end up on a national TV show.  Don’t y’all think Mr. President should talk to Jimmy about bringing the show to Austin?  Sounds like a issue that Mr. Leffingwell and Mr. McCracken can get behind.

Trish Morrison has started a Facebook group to extend the silliness ummm I mean the reign…sheesh.

P.S. Deep didn’t get to keep the dog.

Daryl Colburn Copper Sculpture Workshop

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Daryl Coburn Copper Artist

One of the must stops for me at the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar is Daryl Coburn’s booth. I absolutely love the art and the craft involved in his copper art and sculpture.   This year I found out that Daryl offers a two day workshop called Embrace your Essence.  In this workshop you learn to work with copper, a hammer, an acetylene torch and small hand tools to create a gorgeous copper sculpture that you take home with you.  Just as importantly you spend a lot of time with a journal writing your thoughts and feelings about the blocks you have towards achieving what you’d like to achieve.
Day 1 begins with cutting out a 2′x3′ sheet of copper from a larger sheet (oh boy! get to play with a hot torch).   Then you anneal the copper and crumple it into a ball–flames and a hammer.    You spend a large portion of the day hammering the copper, and annealing it.  Annealing realigns the molecules in the copper, and softens it making it easier to hammer and shape–Daryl uses this as a life metaphor.   You have plenty of time waiting for the copper to cool–you can use the time productively by journaling.
Day 2 you get to unfold your sculpture (another metaphor).  You unfold it by using your hands and pry bars.  I tried to use my hands as much as possible..it was interesting the marks my hands would leave on the soft surface.  When the copper gets stiff you use the torch to anneal it and start prying it apart again.  It was interesting to me that everyone got to a point where they sensed that they’d created a piece of sculpture (instead of a bit of crumpled metal) and stopped.   Of course Daryl helped by urging us to look at the metal at every step instead of just banging away at it.
After the sculpture is complete you add a patina using common household chemicals.  It is astonishing how you can get such a deep patina by using heat, hammering and a couple of common chemicals.   After two days of hard work and introspection (under the eye of a master) you’ve created a piece of art.  A deeply satisfying experience.  If you’re interested in creating art, like working with your hands or just want a memorable experience I highly recommend this workshop.

Deep Nasta’s trip with Miracle Foundation to India

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Deep Nasta, Austin Realtor, Miracle Foundation Trip to India

Our favorite realtor, Deep Nasta traveled to India with the Miracle Foundation for the grand opening of an orphanage funded by the Sooch Foundation.   The Austin American Statesman has a story of his travels.  If you remember we interviewed the remarkable founder of The Miracle Foundation, Carolyn Boudreax on AroundAustin.

Travel Texas – State of Texas Travel Guide

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 Tired of hanging around the house?  Need to explore our great state?  The State of Texas provides a free 272 page full color guide to help you plan your vacation.  The guide offers information on 400 texas cities and attractions.  It also has a special section on lakes and state parks.  You can get the guide at http://www.traveltex.com/travelguide/

TravelTex also offers:

If you are considering traveling to Texas or are a Texas native who wants to see more of your home state go to www.traveltex.com  

Fiesta Bowl 2009 – Texas Longhorns vs. Ohio State

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Thanks to a good friend getting me great tickets I got to go to the Fiesta Bowl.  It was a truly awesome game.

The first half was a defensive struggle from both teams, and the second half was when the game became really exciting. The 3rd quarter belonged to the Longhorns as they took the lead and seamed to be taking over the game completely.

The stadium erupted when Colt McCoy threw the winning touchdown pass to Cosby with 16 seconds left; the applause was thunderous when Ohio State’s quarterback was sacked.

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How Do You Roll — Roll your own Sushi

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How Do You Roll (HDRY), is a new concept for Sushi in Austin started by the Yung brothers–Yuen and Peter.  Peter was the Sushi chef at Azuma in Houston before starting this restaraunt.  HDYR works to make sushi more accessible, creative and a bit less pretentious.  I have heard it described as the Chipotle of Sushi.

How Do You Roll

HDRY is a design your own Sushi place.  You have your choice of “traditional” (seaweed) or “modern” (soy) wraps, and several meats and “veggies” (veggies, fruit, and cream cheese) and the sauce.  For me, part of the fun at Maki is being creative and non-traditional–I like my Sushi to be spicy hot so I added jalapeno’s to the soft shell crab;  adding mangos to my tuna roll added a unique kick.   The average tab for me at DRY is about $12–that’s a roll, an order of edamame beans and tea (I’m addicted to the lemongrass tea). Miso soup and seaweed salad is also available as is green tea ice cream.  Since I’m a geeky engineering type, I was intrigued by the machines that helped prep…one to roll the rice on the wrap, another to cut the roll once it was made.

I also like that HDYR includes ingredients that make sushi more accessible to folks who won’t touch raw ingredients (or even fish)–there is cooked chicken and beef.   The ordering process can be a bit confusing the first time through but after that you do get the hang of it.  You can tell Maki newbies because they hang out at the beginning of the line trying to figure it all out.

HDYR is in a brand new space in the Arbor Walk Shopping center–you do have to look for it…it’s easy to just drive by.  The atmosphere is contemporary casual, very clean, and has several tables outside to soak in some good weather.   Service is warm, friendly and professional.  I really liked the fact that they allow you to be a bit green and separate your trash–paper, plastic, glass and just trash.

10515 N. Mopac Expy, Ste A165, Austin, TX 78759, (512) 243-8298, www.maki.us.com