Austin’s famous unofficial motto is Keep Austin Weird. Established by local businesses, it’s an effort to encourage individuals to buy from Austin-run businesses and grow the local economy. BFF hates it and dislikes when she inadvertently (inevitably) describes something in Austin as weird. I kind of love it, however. To me, it embraces that which makes businesses exist there and not elsewhere and experiences you can only have in Austin. But it also expands beyond the businesses to the people themselves. Austin welcomes that which makes us unique as humans. And that’s pretty cool.

With BFF and family living in Texas, I’ve spent a fair amount of time in Austin. During my summer of travel, I got to experience a month of Keep Austin Weird and break away from the traditional tourist items on lists on this topic. Everyone knows about the Museum of Weird or the Cathedral of Junk. I wanted to find things a bit more “local” that might not be on lists as frequently. So here are my 10 recommendations for distinctive, Austin activities. Continue reading →