AUSTIN
Head south for 700 miles and you'll end up in Austin, Texas, considered the "Live Music Capital of the World." From arts to shopping, it's a great place to visit for fall break.
Check into the Austin Motel, 1220 S. Congress Ave. Each room is distinctively decorated and rates run from $60-153. Reservations can be made up to three months in advance by phone at (512) 441-1157.
For great live music, check out The Backyard. It's located at 13101 Hwy. 71 West and has featured such live acts as Willie Nelson and Ani DiFranco. The 6th Street Entertainment District, the heart of Austin's nightlife, is located downtown and also features live venues and a variety of bars and pubs.
Also check out the Congress Avenue Bridge (pictured below), spanning Town Lake. From March to November, an estimated 1.5 million Mexican freetail bats make their home under the bridge. About dusk each night, the bats blanket the sky to look for food. The best viewing spot is around The Austin American-Statesman's Bat Observation Center, located on the southeast side of the lake.
Austin has a variety of food options. For a Cajun twist, try The Boiling Pot, 700 East 6th St. This unique restaurant gives you a bib, a mallet and then
throws your food on the table
literally. Another great option is Stubb's Bar-B-Q, 801 Red River St. Its Sunday Gospel brunch, Bloody Mary bar and southern breakfast buffet provide good food and great atmosphere. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling (512)480-8341.
Erica Brittain
TRAVEL WEB SITES SAVE MONEY
You see them all over the place. Those aggravating, little pop-up advertisements that attack your computer on a daily basis. If you are like me, I move my mouse as fast as I can up to the top right corner of the screen, hitting the little "x" in order to close the annoyance that has interrupted my surfing session. If you are planning a fall break trip, those pop-ups can help you save some money.
There are numerous travel Web sites that are resources when looking for airfare or hotel options. Sites such as www.expedia.com, www.travelocity.com and www.orbitz.com offer search options for airfare, hotels, cruises and even vacation deals. Each site breaks down the options between each airline or hotel that offers a service for your destination. This makes it easy to compare among companies and find out how you can save your money. Expedia and Travelocity also offer a "book together and save option." According to Travelocity, doing this can save you an average of $155. The Web sites also offer last-minute deal options for those travelers who put off planning their vacations or those who want to take a spontaneous weekend trip.
Web sites that are geared toward students can also be great resources. STA Travel has a Web site, www.statravel.com, that allows students to plan vacations to destinations all over the world. STA Travel also has an office on the fourth floor in the Kansas Union. The phone number is (785) 864-1271. Travelocity also has a student center at travelocity.studentuniverse.com that not only searches for cheap rates, but also factors in the student status to find an even better deal.
—Erica Brittain, Jayplay writer, can be reached at ebrittain@kansan.com
18 jayplay
thursday, september 25. 2003
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