Back on South Congress, we parked up and headed to Amy's Ice Cream, which was just across the street from the motel. It had been recommended by a friend and by the guide book and it didn't disappoint. A particular favourite was the Cop Shop flavour - coffee and donuts!
We had a bit of a walk up and down the street, calling into Allen's Boots to ooh and ahh over the fabulous (and very expensive) boots before heading back to the motel and cooling off in the pool.
Austin is pretty much the home of Texas barbecue, so it was only right that we went for some. Tripadvisor recommended Terry Black's and after we waited a little while for the bus, we decided to walk as it wasn't very far. Having been to Rudy's, we felt that we understood how it all worked, and were much more confident ordering. We went for brisket, ribs and sausage, while the vegetarian had some very tasty mac and cheese. The sausage wasn't as good as Rudy's but the brisket and ribs were delicious. We ate our fill and waddled back to South Congress. It was approaching sunset, so the family agreed I could watch the bats again and we all headed back down the bridge. The bats obliged by appearing very shortly after and it was again an amazing sight.
Then it was back to the motel to digest all that smokey meaty goodness (and cheesy pasta) and watch the ballgame.
Austin was a great place - very different from the rest of Texas but totally Texan in a different way. Their slogan is Keep Austin Weird and it is certainly is an unusual city - lots of Texas history and the same time, plenty of hipsters. However, we really liked it and could have spent quite a bit more time there. It would have been good to see some live music - we were there on the wrong days for venues that we could take the kids to - and also to explore Zilker Park and the other green spaces. Definitely somewhere to return to.