A Downtown Weekend Spent Outdoors – Sunday

The Rowing Dock on Lady Bird Lake

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been on Lady Bird Lake.  I woke up early on Sunday morning and wanted to rent a kayak.  Even though the temperature has been high, the mornings are still crisp and perfect for some morning zen.  At 7am I headed down to the Rowing Dock, just beyond Zilker Park.  Here it is easy and quick to rent a kayak.  I rented a normal kayak and not one of the popular single sculls.  $10 per hour, fill out one form, they drop the kayak in the water and you’re off.

under the bridge graffiti art

My goal was to make it from Mopac bridge to Lamar bridge.  By foot or by bike this doesn’t seem like a big deal, but by kayak this is quite a distance.  It was worth it as I snapped a couple of photos [the white balance on my camera is off ]

Downtown Austin Skyline From The Water

Not far from where this photo was taken was the Barton Springs outlet. The water depth couldn’t have been more than four feet in certain places. I’ve heard that animal waste that comes from dogs swimming in Barton Springs is one of the main reasons that people are allowed to swim in Lady Bird Lake.

This weekend I’ve rediscovered downtown Austin’s outdoor amenities. We take it for granted and so often forget to enjoy so much of what downtown Austin has to offer.

-Jude