Muscial Adventure Deep in the Heart of Austin:

Pinetop Perkins shuffled slowly across the stage at Antone’s, the divey blues joint that’s been around in Austin, Texas for just about forever. Although the club was packed, a hush of anticipation fell over the crowd. Then, the 94–year-old former sideman with Muddy Waters lit into a blistering rendition of “Got My Mojo Workin’,” and the place went wild. Perkins, who earned his first Grammy a few weeks later for his part in “Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen: Live in Dallas” is a living legend, and we got to see him. 

That experience, and so many others we had in Austin, was exactly the reason my girlfriend and I chose the funkiest city in Texas for a reconnecting getaway. For us to decide on Austin as a destination it needed to meet strict criteria: 1. Be a great music town. 2. Have plenty of good restaurants. 3. Offer eclectic non-mall shopping. 4. Deliver pampering and R&R. 5. Boast ethnic and cultural cache.

Austin exceeded our expectations on all fronts. The only blue dot on the red map of Texas, Austin’s town slogan is “Keep Austin Weird.” Enough said. We were there.

Dubbed “The coolest city in America” by Forbes Magazine, Austin is also one of the brainiest, with more than 40 percent of its adults sporting bachelor’s degrees. Austin continues to attract scads of educated professionals and California expats to its hefty concentration of high-tech industries. It’s also a young town, with some 110,000 students enrolled in seven area colleges and universities. A penchant for health and fitness is another characteristic of Austin-ites. Every morning, we walked around Lady Bird Lake, a reservoir on the Colorado River directly behind our hotel, and always had plenty of human and canine company.

The entire city is walkable to the point that we really didn’t need to rent a car. A free trolley runs between major attractions and downtown neighborhoods, and public transit is good, making getting around this city a breeze.

“It’s all about lifestyle,” said Lisa Wineland, a commercial realtor who relocated from D.C. to Austin four years ago. Wineland, a native of Lubbock, is the first to say that Austin isn’t like other places in Texas. “Everybody’s fit and into organic food here. Austin is also at the forefront of the green movement in Texas. And the weather’s great,” she said. “People are genuinely nice and happy to see you. That took some getting used to coming from D.C.”

That lifestyle component is one of the reasons a gaggle of celebs have homes in Austin, including the likes of Luke Wilson, Sandra Bullock, Matthew McConaughey, Lyle Lovett, Lance Armstrong and Willie Nelson.

The Beat Goes On

The music scene in the state capital is capital indeed. On the national music map for two main reasons: the annual South by Southwest indie music fest, and the rootsy Austin City Limits PBS show, Austin has a soundtrack for every music lover. Into a crazy club scene? Head to Sixth Street, akin to a mini-Bourbon Street, seven blocks of neon-lit honkytonks that draw a (mostly) college-aged crowd to a wide mix of nightclubs and lounges, including Light Bar, Fuel and Momo’s, which has an awesome rooftop deck overlooking the city. Our highlight was taking in Esther’s Follies, a Sixth Street musical comedy revue that pokes hilarious fun at current events and politicos. We took a cab to what turned out to be our favorite bar in town. Deliciously located in a former chain saw factory, the Mean-Eyed Cat is a live music venue that also happens to be a Johnny Cash tribute bar, complete with velvet paintings and prison photos. And yes, “Ring of Fire” is on the jukebox.

Good Treats, Good Eats

For a good dose of Austin weirdness, it doesn’t get any better than SoCo, a neighborhood called South Congress Avenue south of Lady Bird Lake. Lined with funky shops, art galleries, cafes and music venues, SoCo is Austin at its hippest. Shops like Lucy in Disguise, for costumes to rent or buy, New Bohemia for retro “collectibles” and Uncommon Objects, for Texas-made artsy accessories, kept us happy for hours.

For lunch, a stop at the venerable Guero’s Taco Bar, where a band was setting up for an afternoon jam session. Dessert meant crossing the street and lining up at Amy’s Ice Cream, with homemade flavors like Mexican vanilla, sweet cream and even Shiner Bock, inspired by a local micro brew. Trio, the recently renovated restaurant at the Four Seasons topped our list for swank dining spots, thanks to chef Todd Duplechan’s emphasis on local and seasonal ingredients and a top shelf wine list, including 60 by the glass. For brunch, gospel music at Stubb’s, with its $16.95 buffet laden with red eyed gravy, grits, biscuits, brisket and barbecue chicken, is an absolute must.

Dancing, shopping, eating and drinking can wreak havoc on a girl, so we couldn’t leave Austin without some pampering. The new spa at the Four Seasons puts the emphasis on treatments incorporating native Texas plants and flowers like Texas Hill Country lavender, yellow rose petals, Hill Country grapeseed and Colorado river mud, all in a setting of luxe serenity. At Milk+ Honey, a downtown day spa in the heart of the Second Street shopping district, we were scrubbed, rinsed and kneaded into contented jelly.

The only complaint we had about our long weekend in Austin? It was over too soon. Next time, we’ll bring the guys, maybe for South By Southwest, and eat more Tex-Mex. And hit Antone’s again—although Pinetop is a tough act to follow.

For more information about Austin, visit www.austintexas.org.