Last week, I went on the most packed-out trip in the shortest period of time! I spent 24 hours in Austin, Texas with my friend Kristyn. With her planning and our combined enthusiasm, we were able to hit almost all of the spots on our list. If you have a layover or have the opportunity to fly to Austin even for only 24 hours, follow some of spots from our trail and you can have amazing memories too! Austin Sign Kristyn and me Texan breakfast HOPE Park HOPE Park HOPE Park HOPE Park Texas Keeper Cider Nick Doughty of Texas Keeper Cider Fairweather Cider Co. Austin Eastciders Sparky Pocket Park Austin at night Terry Black's BBQ Half Step Cocktails UnBARlievable UnBARlievable The White Horse The White Horse Berdoll Pecan Shop Berdoll Pecans Berdoll Pecans is a few short miles away from the airport, and it’s a great spot to pick up pecan candy, brittle, and of course pecan pie! Berdoll makes 1,170 pecan pies annually. This shop is great for snacks to munch on or souvenirs to bring back home. They have free samples of practically everything, including sweet jalapeno pecan brittle! Be sure to say hello to Ms. Pearl, the tallest squirrel statue in the world, standing at 14 feet tall. If you’re on a time crunch, check out their vending machine outside. How convenient! Cosmic Coffee + Beer Garden Eat breakfast like a Texan by starting the day with breakfast tacos! Although most spots have food trailers lined up with a variety of styles of food, you’ll always see tex-mex. The tex-mex menu isn’t limited to steak or chicken. Instead, these trailers feature hearty, tender meat ranging from brisket, pulled pork, chorizo and loaded with potatoes, eggs, and cheese. You can find a breakfast trailer like this at Cosmic Coffee & Beer Garden. Cosmic Coffee & Beer Garden features over a dozen craft beer, cocktails, coffee, and boozy coffee! I recommend the cold brew, made with locally roasted beans. This quaint shop is nestled on a small farm with chickens and a rainwater pond, which is naturally filtered and self-sustaining. It’s the home to a wide variety of flora and fauna including many edible plants, frogs, toads, dragonflies, fish, lizards, and turtles. There are many species of birds on the property too, each singing lovely sounds. HOPE Outdoor Gallery As a New Yorker, I have always been amazed with beautiful graffiti murals including 5 Pointz: The Institute of Higher Burnin’, once located in Long Island City. I did not realize how eclectic Austin was prior to this trip. HOPE Outdoor Gallery is a 6-acre graffiti park in an abandoned condo development in Austin. The park is very detailed, colorful and ever changing. In 2011, the space was first filled with Obama’s Hope posters. Unfortunately Austin’s Historic Landmark Commission recently approved the demolition of the park and will most likely be turned into a condo development once again. Stickwork at Pease Park Conservancy Before checking out some cider in Austin, Kristyn and I made a nature stop located near HOPE Outdoor Gallery. Pease Park Conservancy features “Stickwork,” a five-piece maze sculpted by Patrick Dougherty. According to the Pease Park Conservancy, Dougherty is a North Carolina-based artist known for creating whirling architectural sculptures from locally harvested saplings. It took Dougherty and a team of over 200 volunteers to install this piece.  Dougherty says of his inspiration for the sculpture, “We didn’t build a cathedral, instead we borrowed its corners,” referring to the Spanish-Colonial style architecture he encountered during his time in Austin. The piece is here to stay for a few years. Once dismantled, it will be used as mulch...