Texas Cuisine

When it comes to cuisine, Texas has a wonderful mix of cultures from which to draw its special creations. Also, besides variety, think big portions, since Texans through the years have had busy lifestyles on the frontier. There are an astounding number of festivals, cook-offs, and fry-offs focused on food in Texas. Barbecue was actually invented in this state, and chili is the state dish, no matter how mild or spicy (though some would argue that it’s actually chicken-fried steak). Tex-Mex uses Mexican ingredients in ways that wouldn’t be recognized in Mexico. Don’t forget about the legendary steakhouses, sometimes with steaks of unbelievable sizes. Texas vacation rentals are a great idea for vacationers with a big appetite! But thanks to the many amenities a Texas family vacation home offers, you’re not forced to break your piggy bank dining out every night. Cook at home and save money!

Vacation Spots in Texas

Big Bend Country is colorful in its desert views of cacti and peaks of mountains. The two major parks to visit are the Guadalup Mountains and the Big Bend National Park Area, where the outdoor enthusiast will thrill in the hiking and camping opportunities. El Paso celebrates cultural diversity through festivals and the celebration of Thanksgiving in the springtime, as well as the history of the cultures in the missions. Enjoy spicy cuisine in El Paso too, or visit “World’s First Rodeo” Pecos and do some area hunting.

The Panhandle Plains region is also well known for its beauty, here in the vast openness and broad sunsets. Recreation abounds at the lakes in this region; for example, Possum Kingdom features camping, swimming, skin diving, fishing, and boating. The American Quarter Horse Heritage Center and Museum in Amarillo is an interactive museum dedicated to this breed of horse. Buddy Holly and other Texas musicians are honored in Lubbock at the Buddy Holly Center. The music of your choice is at Graham Central Station in Wichita Falls, with five clubs housed together.

Hill Country features the capital city of Austin, a trendy place with plenty of live music, culture, nature trails, and Town Lake cutting into downtown. Visit the largest domed statehouse at the Texas State Capitol, and the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum tells all with multimedia shows, interactive exhibits, and an IMAX theater. Wind down with some beer and authentic Texas barbeque at the historic Scholz Garten. Go to the hills in this region for craft shops, or take a wine tour. Texas hill country vacation homes transport you to a very unusual part of the Lonestar State; you may not feel as though you are visiting Texas at all!

It’s pretty hot and spicy in the South Texas Plains region, since this area is true TexMex, exhibiting much of it in the culture, music, history, and dining atmosphere. In San Antonio, you can remember the Alamo by visiting that mission and several others at San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. You can birdwatch in Laredo, or breathe in the warm tropical air of Rio Grande City.

The Dallas-Fort Worth area is a major part of the Prairies and Lakes region. Dallas seems to have it all, from the strange and eclectic to the historic to the fun. Deep Ellum features live music and the shops’ merchandise there truly define the term “wearable art.” The African-American Museum houses a very large collection of African-American folk art, and many historic homes are around town. Don’t miss the Galleria, with an ice-skating rink in the middle of the mall! Experience the Old West today in Fort Worth.

There are roses, dogwoods, and azaleas nestled within the pine forests of the Piney Woods region. Nacogdoches is considered to be the oldest town in Texas, and has plenty of history to see, including the reconstructed Millard’s Crossing Historic Village. Longview is a prime destination when it comes to outdoor recreation and shopping, and has a historic downtown.

The Gulf Coast consists of 624 miles of coastline, where many beach and water opportunities exist, from Galveston to Corpus Christi to the Padre Island National Seashore. Houston is the largest city of Texas, with a wealth of arts and culture, including Space Center Houston, which combines Disney simulations, NASA, and the Johnson Space Center. Check out the ArtCar Museum here, with custom designed cars in fun settings.

With so many different vacation spots in Texas, how can you plan your travels with ease? From rustic East Texas vacation rentals to modern Austin condos, you can comfortably and affordably visit any Texas destination. A Texas family vacation home is as warm and inviting as the state itself, so feel free discover your inner-Texan! If the beauty of unspoiled forests intrigue you, consider West or East Texas vacation rentals. If you’d rather watch stand-up comedy or listen to a live band, Dallas or Texas hill country vacation homes are your better bet. The bottom line is there are Texas vacation rentals for every style!

Sites and tours to see

Aquarium Pyramid in Galveston

Bishop’s Palace in Galveston

Fulton Mansion State Historical Structure in Rockport-Fulton Marfa Mystery Lights Viewing Center in Marfa area West-of-the-Pecos Museum and Park in Pecos Bremond Block Tour in Austin Cave Without a Name in Boerne Buffalo Gap Historic Village Crazy Water Well in Mineral Wells Beard House in Jefferson Excelsior House in Jefferson

The program was presented by Dr. Ted C. Jones, PhD, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist for Stewart Title Guaranty Company. After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from Colorado State University, Ted earned a PhD in finance with a minor in statistics and a master’s degree in land economics and real estate from Texas A&M University, where he served as chief economist at the university’s Real Estate Center, the nation’s largest publicly funded real estate research group.

According to Jones, the growth of the regional housing market is directly tied to the area’s ability to create and maintain jobs and positive consumer confidence. While the US lost 1.37 million jobs since June 2000, Austin grew 94,700 net new jobs between May 2000 and May 2010. The region has gained 9,900 jobs year-to-date through May 2010 with 1,000 of those jobs gained in May 2010 alone.

“Simply stated, Austin is a job-growing machine,” says Jones.

The population of the Austin Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is forecast to grow by roughly 273,000 people every five years; doubling our current population of approximately 1.7 million by 2035.

“The current rate of new construction of all types of residential dwellings is just 10,000 per year. This is not even close to keeping up with the forecast population growth of the region,” says Jones.

Buyers who may be “on the fence” are encouraged to buy now. If interest rates were to tick up just 1%, the price of a home would have to decline by 10% to make up the difference. Home prices are already on the rise in the greater Austin region. Expected population growth coupled with the lack of new home starts that will keep up with the region’s growth will likely cause prices to rise further.

Each community was ranked according to 12 metrics, including costs (business and living), job growth (past and projected), income growth, educational attainment and projected economic growth.

Quality-of-life issues, including crime rates, cultural and recreational opportunities, migration patterns, were also given weight, as were such factors as the number of highly ranked four-year colleges in the community and the percentage of subprime mortgages handed out over three years.

Here is a closer look at what was said about Austin:

Metro-area population: 1.71 million

Rankings

Cost of doing business: 160th

Projected economic growth: second

 Projected job growth: second 

 Educational attainment: 19th

 Income growth: 100th

 Net inbound migration: sixth

The “Santa Claus bank robbery” took place in Cisco, reformer Dan Moody became the state’s youngest governor at 33, the “mocker” was named Official State Bird.

And the Austin Development Co. filed the plat for the first section of prestigious Pemberton Heights neighborhood with the Travis County Clerk’s office. “In restfulness and beauty — no limit!” the lot sellers promised.

In those days, Austin’s population was 55,000 and the subdivision on the bluff overlooking the city, nine blocks from the University of Texas and 100 feet above Congress Avenue, was suburbia.

Now the family-friendly neighborhood located roughly between MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) and Shoal Creek Boulevard and between West 24th Street/Windsor Road and West 29th Street is apart from the city yet a part of the city.

Developers announced that some streets in Pemberton Heights, which was planned by the Dallas consulting firm of Koch and Fowler, would have “homey $3,500 to $4,000 cottages” while “adjacent streets were reserved for $150,000 mansions.”

Today, real estate agent Simon Magnus with Coldwell Banker United says, “Prices range from about the low $500,000s for a bungalow to more than $3 million for an estate.”

“It’s unassuming from the curb,” Magnus says of his recent listing at 1407 Westover Road. “But the one-story, single-family house lives large inside.” The price: $749,000.

Built in 1938 and renovated with an open floor plan and large island kitchen, the cottage has three bedrooms, three full bathrooms, high ceilings, oak floors and wooden louvers throughout. Although updated inside, Magnus says, “It retains the overall contour and lines of the original. The footprint hasn’t changed.”

“We love the neighborhood,” says owner Hunter Brown, whose burgeoning family is the reason for selling. “It’s the main reason we don’t want to leave.”

While Brown needs more room, Aimee Laughlin at 2615 Harris Blvd. needs less. It’s why the 1938 home she lovingly remodeled and doubled in size is on the market for $1,435,000.

“We tried really hard to make it look as if it’s always been here,” says Laughlin.

The home’s hardwood floors are chestnut; the kitchen cabinets, antique reclaimed pine.

The second story she added is airy and bright. “I’m all about bringing nature inside,” Laughlin says. Her favorite place is looking out from the main-floor master bedroom to the walled backyard with its waterfall, lily pond and brick fireplace.

The former two-bedroom, one-bathroom house now has five bedrooms, four baths, three living areas, two dining areas and a mesquite-paneled office, where husband Brad Laughlin displays the gun, badge and vintage photos of his great-grandfather, a Texas Ranger and city marshal.

Aimee Laughlin lauds the proactive Pemberton Heights Neighborhood Association (www.pembertonheights.org), with its chatty newsletter and e-mail grapevine that lets neighbors instantly communicate concerns. “We take care of our own problems,” she says.

“Pemberton Heights is really a small town in a big city,” says Laughlin’s real estate agent, Debbie Gainer with Moreland Properties. “We can go to the pharmacy or grocery and see all our neighbors.”

“I like the Heights because of its close proximity to downtown,” says neighborhood association president Bryan Chester, director of sales at Dell Inc. “The historical character is maintained. There are not too many teardowns. There’s a spirit of cooperation, issues get resolved and the design of the lots is unique. There are some weird shapes.”

“I think it is crazy that in newer subdivisions all of the lot sizes are so similar,” says former Heights resident Larry Speck, former dean and current faculty member of the UT School of Architecture. “In Pemberton Heights, parcels vary dramatically, even on the same street.”

Initially, he says, that allowed people with a wide range of incomes to be neighbors. “And even though real estate prices in the whole neighborhood have soared, there is still more variety of incomes in Pemberton than there would have been if all the lots were the same.”

“Overall, property values have maintained here,” says agent Magnus, a 20-year real estate veteran.

Broker Laura Gottesman calls Pemberton Heights “A great place to weather the economic storm. I believe it has been very little affected.”

Her Gottesman Residential Real Estate specializes in luxury property, such as the distinctive 1927 Hildebrand-Scott House, offered for an undisclosed amount, at 2431 Wooldridge Drive.

Named for a colorful UT School of Law dean and the founder of the Continental Club on South Congress Avenue, the renovated home, one of the earliest in Pemberton, has five bedrooms, a pool with spa and breathtaking city views.

Another high-end Gottesman listing is the elegant Massey-Page Estate, offered for $1,480,000, at 1305 Northwood Road. Although recently renovated, the estate, built in 1933, retains the original hardwood floors, high ceilings and Peter Mansbendel-carved railings and mantel.

Austin-based Mansbendel was a master Swiss woodcarver, whose work includes medallions of past UT presidents in the Texas Union lobby. His friend, German ironsmith Fortunat Weigl, created the home’s ironwork at his Austin foundry, now Iron Works Barbecue.

Long a magnet for doctors, lawyers, UT professors and politicians, Pemberton Heights was home to Lyndon Johnson’s mother and sister, biochemist and UT professor Roger J. Williams, who discovered pantothenic acid, aka vitamin B5, and U.S. Sen. Ralph Yarborough, whose legacy to the people of Texas includes Padre Island National Seashore.

Lance Armstrong lived here. So did UT head football coach Mack Brown and Dixie Chick lead vocalist Natalie Maines. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and Capstone Partners executive chairman Steve Hicks still do.

The neighborhood, part of the National Register of Historic Places’ Old West Austin Historic District, has so many venerable homes and points of interest that resident Elizabeth A. Cash has published the revealing “Sight-Seer’s Guide to Pemberton Heights.” Its 3.5-mile walking tour includes movie locations.

First stop is “The Castle,” aka the Fisher-Gideon House, at 1415 Wooldridge Drive. The ivy-covered limestone home is rumored to harbor two ghosts: a groom and his new bride whom he is said to have drowned in the former cistern. The groom was hanged there for the crime, the story goes.

“The history of ‘The Castle’ is such a gas,” Speck says. “It was originally a water storage tank, then a real estate office. And now it is a very gracious and expensive mansion. I love its ability to morph itself and accommodate change over time.”

No. 39 on the tour is the Catterall-Mills House at 2524 Harris Blvd. Built in 1937 and impeccably restored by owners Bryan and Jenni Chester, the Early American Georgian Revival is one of several Heights homes with backyard bomb shelters.

“That’s because the politicians knew that the B-52 bombers at Bergstrom Air Force Base made Austin a prime Cold War target,” Bryan Chester says. “It was hush-hush, but the politicians knew and wound up building them.”

Developers named “Austin’s Skyline Addition” for James Pemberton, an ancestor of the Fisher family, prior owners of the land. The Philadelphia merchant was a Quaker, an abolitionist and friend of Ben Franklin. In 1777, his pacificism got him arrested and banished to Virginia.

Until 1928, Shoal Creek prevented easy access to the bluff above Pease Park. That year developers funded a concrete arch bridge at Windsor Road and donated it to the city. Widened as part of the federal government’s Public Works Administration project in 1939, Shoal Creek Bridge is an Austin Historic Landmark.

In 1998, Town and Country magazine hailed Pemberton Heights as one of “25 Platinum Addresses in the U.S.” In 2007, the American Planning Association listed Old West Austin, which includes the Heights, among its “Ten Great Places” neighborhoods. And in 2011, Arcadia Publishing will bring out a photo history written by Elizabeth A. Cash and Suzanne Deaderick.

“I love the eclectic nature of Pemberton Heights,” Speck says. “It has everything from mansions to bungalows and includes architectural styles that range from cute little Cotswold cottages to Miami Beach Art Deco to Frank Lloyd Wright-influenced modernism. But they all seem to fit together quite compatibly.”

But Frank Shirley of Frank Shirley Architects did exactly that. In 2009, he and a team converted a two-car attached garage on a lovely ocean-side home in Massachusetts into a beautiful family room.

The cozy 84-year-old home overlooks the Atlantic Ocean, but like many older homes, it lacked the space needed for today’s lifestyle. The homeowners turned to Frank to help them solve their space dilemma.

While some people would never give up their garage, this family needed more bedrooms and a family room. Plus, the large driveway leading up to the old garage, often full of cars, blocked the home’s entryway. Frank had an idea: Don’t give up the garage, move the garage to the other side of the home. Then you’d improve the home’s curb appeal — and the family wouldn’t lose the much loved storage space.
The result is a spectacular conversion and addition that looks like it was part of the home’s original cottage-style. It added about 2,500 square feet to the home, including a family room where the old garage was once located, as well as a new 2-car garage, a mudroom, three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a laundry room.

The family room is divided into two areas: the game area (pictured above), which houses a pool table and a window seat, where you can wait your turn, as well as rich wood built-in cabinetry for storing board games and other recreational items. On the other side of the room is where the family can relax and watch movies or television on the flat screen TV that sits inside a custom-built wall-to-wall entertainment center.

Frank’s team wanted to pay respect to the original home, so he carefully selected woods to fit the character and craftsmanship of the house. To replace the old garage doors, he selected leaded glass doors that open onto an intimate front garden area, perfect for relaxing on a cool summer evening.

I have a very hard time not blaming the moving company for all my moving woes, but in all reality I did not prepare for the move myself. I just wanted to weigh in on what I think I did right and what I did wrong.

Let’s start with what I did right:

• While I also try and see booking a week and a half vacation to the middle of the Pacific something that would be good, I now know it is only good when FOLLOWED by said move! I think this should go in the wrong pile.

In fact, let’s skip the what I did right section and start with what I did wrong.

• Booked a vacation to the middle of the Pacific and scheduling my departure within 45 minutes of the arrival of the movers. I think I should repeat that this trip would have been better suited after the move was said and done.

• If you are choosing to use movers, I would strongly suggest boarding any animals. Even if your move is cross country, I now know it is much less stress on the animal.

• Do not choose a moving company based on a lady in a muumuu and some nice gentlemen moving a moose head. I don’t own either of the said items, therefore the moving company I chose was terribly ineffective. I work in a referral based business, one would think I would have asked for a referral or two from friends. If your friends are like mine and still believe movers are their own friends who will work for beer, try Yelp or Austin 360’s web sites, even the Better Business Bureau has ratings on such things.

• While choosing your moving company ask for and research any referrals they have.

• Get a quote in writing of what the charges for the move are going to be. What seemed like a routine move, within the same apartment complex, turned into a nightmare which cost triple what I was quoted and only a third of the work I had intended on having done was completed. My move, which was literally across the parking lot, cost as much as my sister’s whole house move from Dallas to Houston.

• Have a point of contact and ONLY deal with that contact. I had the misfortune of speaking with two different people on separate days and the only instructions which were followed were the ones I typed in the non-optional box at the bottom of the form. The reason I find this important is because when the movers showed up nobody knew what was going on. They flat refused to pack things I had requested to be packed, and could easily justify this because “it’s not on the manifest.” At this point I just shut off my brain and prepared for Hawaii. Luckily I was on a month to month lease at this point and even more luck came my way when the manager allowed me to pay the remainder of the balance so I had two weeks to deal with the rest of the move when I returned.

• Make sure you and your moving company are on the same page when it comes to payment. I left a blank check, which I found was useless AFTER I received a frantic call while frantically trying to change gates in Dallas. It would never cross my mind to write the movers a check and then cancel the check. But hey free move, guess someone has thought about that. I ended up having to pay with my mother’s credit card because there was not enough in my account to cover the move. Thanks again to the ad ons from the moving company. Who knew you had to rent the truck for an hour just for them to get to you and back to home base?

• Renting the truck for an extra hour also falls under finding out just what you have to pay for and what is included in the $96 an hour I was paying for labor. Apparently I was only paying for labor. Luckily I was able to return moving supplies which were not used.

I cannot list every last thing I did wrong, because there are certainly a number more things which didn’t register on my radar. I wanted to cover what I did wrong according to finding a reputable moving company who will put some time into taking care of your things when they are being run down the stairs on a dolly.

I know many of the things I talked about seem like no brainers, but when it comes down to crunch time, some things slip! If I had it to do again I would make a list of the things I needed to do and not just wing it. I would still take a vacation, just not beginning the day the moving truck arrived! I would also make sure my couches were worth less than the move, because that’s what they tried to take when I only had a check to offer!!

In the end any move is going to come with a certain amount of stress. I’m still in awe of the military precision that went into my best friend’s move to Houston, while planning a wedding! So I guess the moral is it can be done. It just takes a bit of planning.

I will say I did get the mail forwarded a week before the move, so technically I didn’t do everything wrong!!

Now, over two years later, the Brookings Institute has released their quarterly in-depth analysis which also ranks Austin the third most recession proof city in the U.S.

The Brookings Institute analyzes the health of America’s 100 largest metropolitan economies. It examines trends in metropolitan-level employment, output, and housing conditions to look “beneath the hood” of national economic statistics to portray the diverse metropolitan trajectories of recession and recovery across the country. MetroMonitor looks at the particular industries that drive national economic trends, and takes into account metro areas’ unique starting points for eventual recovery.

Click here for the full report. You can also view many interactive reports for employment, REO properties and other economic measurements.

The top 10 stable cities identified by MetroMonitor are:

1. Albany, N.Y. 2. Augusta, Ga. 3. Austin, Texas 4. Baton Rouge, La. 5. Buffalo, N.Y. 6. Columbia, S.C. 7. Dallas, Texas 8. Des Moines, Iowa 9. El Paso, Texas 10. Honolulu

SPLASH Party movie Nights at the Deep Eddy Pool. This event has been around forever and the movies change all the time. This is perfect for kids and or grandparents. To see what the current movies are please vist the website for deep eddy:  www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/pools_special.htm

Hartman Foundation Concerts in the Park is held at the Hartman Concert Park in the Long Center. For more details on the performances please visit their website: www.AustinSymphony.org. July 12th- Patriotic themed music, July 19th Light classical large string ensemble, July 26th mixed woodwinds performs classical music.

Unplugged at the Grove-Every Thursday starting at 8:00pm there will be a live performance from a local favorite or some famous musicians passing through Austin. To see who is performing this week check out www.KGSR.com to see the lineup.