Lake Travis Lifestyle

Your Guide to Lake Travis, Austin TX

Emily O'Shaughnessy

Chuy’s Children Giving to Children Parade

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One of my favorite Austin holiday traditions, The Chuy’s Children Giving to Children Parade, comes to town this Saturday.

I’m a sucker for most any parade, but this one has a unique and wonderful twist. At the Chuy’s parade, children don’t get toys and trinkets, they give them.

Families are encouraged to bring toys to donate to Operation Blue Santa, a local non-profit that provides gifts and a holiday meal for over 3,800 families in the Austin community.

Operation Blue Santa distributes the toys in time for the holidays, bringing Christmas magic to children that otherwise might not receive any gifts.

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5 Things You Didn’t Plan On Doing This Summer

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Back to School Card

Summer is winding down and many of us are gearing up for back to school.

Whether you spent the summer preparing your firstborn (and yourself — sniff sniff) for kindergarten or visiting colleges with your incoming senior, it’s impossible to escape the anticipation. But in many households (mine included) it’s hard to tell who is more excited — the kids or the parents.

Has anyone else been counting down the days until school starts?

Yes, we love our kids and yes, we love summer. The smell of sunscreen, the sand between our toes, tan lines, boating on the lake. Summer ales.

But let’s face it. It’s time.

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Exotic Resort Zoo: Take a Guided Safari Tour in Texas

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Exotic Resort Zoo

Load up the family and take a mini road trip to the Exotic Resort Zoo in Johnson City. It’s about an hour out of town — depending on where you live in the Lake Travis area — but truly a world away.

The Exotic Resort Zoo is located on 137 acres with over 500 animals and 80 different species. The highlight is the guided safari tour, where you ride around the property in a large open but covered trailer. You can buy buckets of feed at the gift shop, which I highly recommend (they are large enough to share).

The tour takes about 45 minutes, and our guide did a wonderful job of telling us about the animals as we meandered through the grounds.

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Strawberry Picking at Sweet Berry Farm

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Sweet Berry Farms

Sweet Berry Farm in Marble Falls is a favorite local excursion. My family loves to go in the fall for the pumpkin patch and the gorgeous flowers, but we had never made it in the spring to pick the berries.

That seemed wrong, considering it is called “Sweet Berry” after all. So when I heard that the strawberries were ripe and ready for pickin’ we loaded up the kids and headed that way.

My kids love strawberries and also love to pick things growing in the ground (more than once we’ve had to apologize over a picked flower from a well-manicured garden). So I knew they’d be thrilled when they were not only allowed to, but encouraged to pick something! I was right. They were in heaven!

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Tree Talk Winter Walk at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

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If you’ve never been, this Saturday is a great time to visit the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Really.

Sure, I get that when people think of outdoors in January in Austin the word “wildflower” doesn’t usually come to mind (“cedar,” “allergies” and “miserable” are more like it). However, Saturday is the annual Tree Talk Winter Walk  — a very cool event that’s worth the drive from the Lake Travis area.

This family-friendly event provides a perfect opportunity to explore the center. Admission is free, and there are tons of activities for all ages and interests.

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