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Barton Springs Pool is one of many places to spend your day at this spring for under $10 a person.
Austin is one of those cities filled with fun activities for anyone and everyone—even if you're on a budget. Whether you're looking for some fun drinking or you want to spend a day in nature, Austin has you covered with some bizarre and other tranquil entertainment options for the best day ever.
Here are 9 activities under $10 you should try in Austin.
Chicken Shit Bingo at The Little Longhorn Saloon
Address: 5434 Burnet Road
For the past 40 years, The Little Longhorn Saloon has provided Austinites with amazing live music of all genres, a good time and one of the weirdest and most creative activities: chicken shit bingo.
If you had to do a double take on that name, you aren't alone. The popular weekly activity is a fan favorite at The LIttle Longhorn Saloon. From 4-8 p.m. on Sundays, you can make a $2 donation to buy your ticket and gather with your friends for the unique bingo experience. Once the chickens are fed and the anticipation for what is followed begins, the rounds of bingo start. Your ticket will have a number that will correspond with one on the table and if a chicken happens to do its business on your lucky number, you win a cash prize.
Cathedral of Junk
Address: 4422 Lareina Dr.
Hidden behind a south Austin home is none other than the Cathedral of Junk, a beloved Austin treasure. What started as a fun project for owner Vince Hannemann has become the talk of the town and a location for tours, weddings, parties and much more.
Hannemann started building his towering artwork in 1988 when he was in his 20s and has since collected some 60 tons of unwanted items, adding to the Cathedral of Junk. Adults can make a $10 donation to tour the Austin gem and kids 18 and younger get in for free. You can make a reservation to tour the Cathedral of Junk by calling Vince at 512-299-7413.
Zilker Botanical Garden
Address: 2220 Barton Springs Road
In the heart of downtown is a land where the grass is green and gardens don't fall short on the horizon. At the Zilker Botanical Garden, guests can tour around the different themed gardens while enjoying some sunlight and all that nature has to offer. The botanical garden has three garden themes: Taniguchi Japanese Garden, Hartman Prehistoric Garden and the Rose Garden, all offering different sights and peaceful walking tours. General admission tickets range from $6 to $8 depending on the time of day and a reservation can be made online here.
There are also free days offered for 2021: May 2, July 17, Sept. 12, Nov. 11 and Dec. 27.
Barton Springs Pool
Address: 2131 William Barton Dr.
It's no secret that Austinites cherish one of the most well-known treasures of the city: Barton Springs Pool. The 3 acre pool is made possible from underground springs with warm water temperatures of 68-70 degrees, making it a perfect place to visit year-round. The pool has been visited by locals, tourists, celebrities and all people wanting to enjoy a beautiful natural treasure within downtown city limits. Austin residents can enter the Barton Springs Pool for $5; entry for children between the ages of 1 and 11 is $2, ages 12 to 17 is $3 and seniors 62 or older is $2.
Mayfield Park
Address: 3505 W 35th St.
Since before humans toured the grounds of Mayfield Park, bright and colorful peacocks claimed it as theirs and haven't left since. Mayfield Park, home to over 20 acres of palm trees, brilliant gardens, koi ponds and as stated before, brilliantly eccentric peacocks. From 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., guests can roam around the park while exploring the historic buildings, running into peacocks and enjoying the outdoors.
Watch the sunset at Oasis Texas Brewing Company
Address: 6650 Comanche Trail Suite #301
Lake Travis has some of the most breathtaking views in Austin, and now, you can enjoy a cold beer and some sunset views at the Oasis Texas Brewing Company. From 4-6 p.m. on Thursday and 2-6 p.m. on Fridays, the brewery hosts a killer happy hour with a great view. Guests can order $12 sliders and beer tasting featuring a fried chicken slider, wagyu beef slider and triple threat pork slider plus a flight of 3 beers. If the extra $2 is a dealbreaker, you can try any slider and a beer for $5 during happy hour. Checking out Lake Travis during golden hour might be an activity worth doing every weekend.
The Congress Avenue Bridge bats
Address: Congress Ave.
Locals know that starting in late March until early fall, spotting bats during sunset isn't a surprise. Whether it's your first time seeing the Mexican free-tailed bats wake and start their night flight or you've seen it one too many times, it's a mindblowing and beautiful activity worth witnessing, sometimes more than one. The small winged nocturnal animals come out to play right around sunset. If you find yourself on the Congress Avenue Bridge, along with hundreds of other people wanting to see the magical experience, you won't be disappointed.
Carousel Lounge
Address: 1110 E. 52nd
Halloween is far away but Carousel Lounge, a beloved Austin circus-themed bar will be reopening it's doors just in time for a fun summer. The oh-so-Austin and unique dive bar has been providing Austinites with quite a weird scene of circus-themed everything since the 1960s. Now, with the pandemic's end in sight, the bar will be opening its doors May 1 for a night of creepy fun, drinks and tons of live music. If you're not sold on the idea or being surrounded by clowns, you'll be happy to know its BYO-liquor, according to do512. Go for the experience, save on the alcohol.
Yard Bar
Address: 6700 Burnet Road
At Yard Bar, you'll find yourself enjoying a cold beer while spending time with exclusively dog lovers, all while giving your own pup a space to have fun. For a $9 per dog entry pass, 21 and older guests can enjoy the afternoon at the outdoor restaurant while drinking $5 draft beers and soaking up some sun. Along with pup-inspired meals for your own four-legged friends, Yard Bar also offers human food such as burgers and sandwiches. So if you're looking for good beer, good food and even better—dogs, Yard Bar has you covered.
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Popular
(Sam Goldsmith)
A fallen conduit at The Northshore apartment complex, 110 San Antonio St., has displaced residents in 439 apartments for the past two weeks.
According to residents who spoke with Austonia, the power lines fell around 6 p.m. on April 28, cutting off power to most units in the building. However, many residents have still been living in their powerless units.
The complex told residents repairs would be finished on Wednesday, after postponing a few times leading up to that, but announced Tuesday that it can’t guarantee that power will be restored by the end of the week.
(P.J. Rabice)
P.J. Rabice, who was dining at ATX Cocina with his wife during the incident, was one of the first to find out about the damage. Rabice said they gave his 2016 Ford Explorer to the valet and had just sat down when a loud noise followed by a sudden dust storm rushed through.
A few minutes later, a manager came to tell Rabice the conduit had blocked the garage and shortly found out it fell on his vehicle.
The complex was unable to get his vehicle out of the fallen rubble until Wednesday, May 4. Though he hasn’t heard back from insurance companies yet, Rabice expects the car to be a total loss.
Rabice said the situation “kind of sucks but you move on.” For eighth floor resident Chris, who declined to use his last name to protect his privacy, the two-week debacle is starting to wear on his “high spirits.”
“The lack of expectation management, the just long duration of this ordeal—it's starting to become tiresome,” Chris said. At this point… other accommodations are kind of something I'm thinking about more seriously now.”
Many of the 38 floors have extension cords running from common areas into their apartments, including Chris. (Laura Figi/Austonia)
Chris has continued to live in his apartment, for the most part, with an extension cord running from the hallway and into his unit that gives him a morsel of electricity. The complex is compensating residents with $375 per day for accommodations but Chris said many people are following his lead by staying home and gathering in common areas at night, where there is AC.
At this point, Chris isn’t sure when his home will have power. Chris said when the complex emailed saying they didn’t have a timeline anymore, he found that more comforting than empty promises.
“Don't sugarcoat it, like this was a major collapse and if you don't have an ETA at this time, please say that,” Chris said. “It seems like we'll be compensated, which is at this point, all I can reasonably expect. I can't really fix the power myself so I’m just keeping on keeping on and hoping that they continue to send us updates.”
The complex is emailing residents daily on the state of repairs, telling residents they would extend reimbursement until 48 hours after the repairs have been finished.
“It is not enough simply to say we’re so very sorry for this disruption to your life. Please understand we sincerely want the power back on as much as you do,” the complex said in an email on Tuesday.
The complex did not immediately provide comment to Austonia.
@trevorwallace all the cool kids are movin’ to Austin
♬ original sound - trevor wallace
"Where else would you want to live where it's 93 degrees out, gloomy and smells like queso?" Trevor Wallace said.
TheCalifornian comedian poked fun at new Austin move-ins with $2,000/month dumpsters, plenty of Austiny quirks and an ode to Texas weather in a viral TikTok last week.
Over 1.8 million viewers have seen the video since it was posted on May 5. The post, which channels the woes of some Austinites—and the onslaught of "cool kids" that move in from his home state every day—has more than 275,000 likes as of Tuesday.
Austin's skyrocketing rents were on full display in the video as Wallace approached a dumpster that he claims goes for just $2,000 a month on Zillow ("and it's got a sunroof").
The comedian, who has gained 7.6 million TikTok followers for his often-douchey, clueless characters, also took aim at Austin's culture with these quick-witted quips:
- "When we move here, what color do you think you're going to dye your hair?"
- "Did you know if you say brisket three times fast, you'll actually shit your pants!"
- "I'm actually growing out my mullet right now."
- "What's my love language? Girls in a pink cowboy hat."
Austin landmarks, including the Texas Capitol and Sixth Street, were on full display as Wallace satirized both Austin's queso-obsessed food scene and recent move-ins in one clever stroke.
"You don't know what queso is? (Laughs in clogged arteries) must be from Fort Worth," Wallace said. "That's in Texas, right?"
Wallace also took a jab at Austin's live-in comedian Joe Rogan, its public transportation and the tendency to see a few too many guns for a Californian's comfort in downtown Austin.
"New York has subways, LA's got Ubers, Austin's got scooters... and shooters," Wallace said. "Welcome to Sixth Street!"
In true Austinite fashion, many residents joined in on the lighthearted jokes against their city in the comments, while others took on the age-old duty of asking no more move-ins to make their way to Austin.
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