Late in the afternoon on our first day we decided to head back toward the Colorado River to explore, and along the way we stopped at an abandoned construction site (W 11th St & Baylor S) that is well known for street art.

Plus a great view of downtown from the top… (click to enlarge)

This site had to be the most active street art location I’ve visited, with at least six different groups working on new pieces, lending a strong smell of spray paint to the air. Definitely the best part of the day for me!

From here we drove to the south side of the river and then walked along the river trail.

Ultimately we ended up at the Congress Ave. Bridge, famous for the nightly bat emergence. We learned that bats are rather smelly, so given the cool temperatures and smaller population (many had already migrated) we didn’t wait to see them. Instead we went for dinner, then a spot of wine and s’mores to end the day.

On Monday morning we slept in, then packed up the car and headed to the S. Congress area of town to check out some of the shops. Uncommon Objects is listed as a must-see, and wow, it’s an impressive collection of stuff.

We tried to see the famous Austin postcard mural, but it had been painted over (!) so we settled for a few others in the area.

After lunch our weekend in Austin came to a close and we headed back to the airport.