Austin 360. ACL. Iron Leg Pedicab. Ze BATZ. Town Lake. Where the city straddles the Colorado River, 2 dams mark the upstream and downstream ends of Lady Bird Lake, the focus of outdoor activity in downtown Austin. If you are planning on spending some time in Austin, make sure you visit Lady Bird Lake for hiking, walking, biking, canoeing or kayaking. In fact there are over ten miles of flat trails that run on both sides of the lake that are excellent, walking, or biking. Here is a link to an interactive Lady Bird Lake trail map and here is a link to some things to do near the Trail. The trail around the lake is mostly flat, fairly wide, and very popular.
It offers great views of the lake and the Austin skyline. The Lady Bird Lake trail has branches off to some of the other great Austin biking and hiking trails - here is a comprehensive list of Austin Trails. Nearby the trails are plenty of fun restaurants with excellent food, fantastic outdoor patios, and live music. Peacock Garden. Zilker Park. Blanton Museum. Daily Juice. Barton Springs.
Kerbey Lane Cafe. Spider House. Cathedral of Junk. Climbing spires of trash and greenery. Austin, Texas The Cathedral of Junk stands quietly in the backyard of a small house on a suburban street on the south side of Austin. Unlike other busybody constructions that we've visited -- the Forevertron, the Garden of Eden, the Orange Show -- this one blends with its neighborhood. From the street, it's invisible.
The man who built it, Vince Hannemann, is similarly unassuming. Vince Hanneman, on his throne. Vince began building the Cathedral in 1988, when he was in his mid-twenties. Wrapped in years of subtropical Texas vegetation, the Cathedral is a hollow framework of improvised trusses, around and within which Vince has wired and packed all manner of mass-production cast-offs: lawnmower wheels, car bumpers, kitchen utensils, ladders, cables, bottles, circuit boards, bicycle parts, brick-a-brack, and a lot of stuff that is frankly unidentifiable. Vince tells us of a "moment of decision" that he faced in 2000.
"I tried," Vince continues.