I had a bit of an off day yesterday, which probably lead to my trouble with sleeping. I woke up at 5 in the morning unable to go back to sleep. I had the day off of work, so I figured maybe I should grab my new camera and get out. So I did.
I arrived at Auditorium Shores around 6:30 in the morning. I’ve never been there that early, so was pleasantly surprised that I could actually get a parking space! (Which were still very limited.)
I started the morning on the south side of the lake near 1st Street. I’ve walked this side before so there wasn’t really much new in views (outside of the nice mural on the side of the LINE hotel.)
I crossed the river on 1st Street. It’s weird to see downtown so quiet on a Monday morning, but it was barely 7 in the morning at this point. I’m sure rush hour traffic was still to come.
While walking along the north side of the lake, I was surprised to see this bunny just hopping around.
I made my way toward Congress. While they couldn’t be seen, the bats under the bridge were very vocal.
I continued eastward from Congress, entering territory that I’ve never been before.
One of the points of interest that I came across was the Austin Rowing Club. There were definitely a few rowers on the lake this morning, some with someone barking commands to the rowers. Guess that’s one way to get a workout in. You could also here an instructor from a workout class going on inside the building itself.
Walking past the rowing club was a peaceful and quiet area of the trail. While downtown was just a few steps away to the north of me, you wouldn’t know it.
While probably not an officially named bridge, crossing the Love Bridge does give ya the warm and squishies.
As I got closer to I-35, I figured I’d better turn back around. I only had a 2 hour parking max!
As I mentioned, walking down the trail, you’d have no idea downtown was just steps away. Heading back west, it was more noticeable now.
A section of the trail was under construction. Walking back, a construction vehicle was trying to back its way down the trail, blocking the path. So I made a quick detour toward Cesar Chavez.
The last time I walked around the lake, I had taken the upper path along Cesar Chavez. This time around, I decided to take the lower path and cross under 1st Street.
I’m glad I took this path because I got to seem some friendly woodland creatures!
I felt it was time to end my journey. I crossed back over the river on South 1st, walked by some beautiful flowers, and took one more photo of downtown.
It was really nice to get out and about again. I haven’t done so since winter. I usually avoid doing so because I’m not a fan of this warmer time of year. This might make me want to reconsider.
