I took my mother to Austin for the weekend, where we got to visit family and have some fun. For something different, we stayed at a B&B. B&Bs can be pretty hit or miss, if you ask me. I love the feel of an old house, with a wide porch, and comfortable, home-y furniture, and I like being able to explore the unrented rooms when everyone else is asleep.
We stayed at the Star of Texas Inn. The location was fantastic, and the staff was wonderful. As B&Bs go, for the price it was very good. Breakfasts were very good. The room itself was all right. The bathtub was like heaven.
I loved the balcony and the porch, and the dining and sitting areas were quite nice. I did not love that in the middle of the night, both nights, another guest of the place got up and turned on the heater. The heater. In the middle of June, in Austin, Texas, someone was turning the heat on, and cranking it into the high 80s.
We were pretty miserable Friday night, but I figured out the problem on Saturday, and I waged temperature wars with the Heat Miser that night and won. Just call me Ms. Freeze.
We hit our usual hotspots of the Austin Childrens Museum (which Thor has nearly outgrown, sadly), and the Barton Springs mall, where we saw Monsters University. And we tried some new-to-us local eateries. I can recommend the Kerbey Lane Cafe for good food (with grudging service), and can tell you to avoid Mandola’s Italian Market, unless you just like to have your caprese salad served to you on the wrong side of lukewarm, sliding around in oil. That was pretty gross.
I love Austin. I think it is one of the best cities in the US, and is certainly the best city in Texas.
The Outside Lane 
My favorite day in Austin was the Sunday I attended a gospel performance and sipped on too many Bloody Marys.