After spending some time in Colorado and Kansas for the Christmas holiday, I decided to take a short, personal getaway before New Year’s. After considering a few different locations, I landed in Austin, Texas.

My first visit to Austin, Texas, took place when I was in college, traveling as part of my school’s competitive speech team. It was late November, and I didn’t win any of my events, but finishing in the top five earned you a frozen turkey to take home for Thanksgiving. I don’t remember how we kept those turkeys frozen on the drive back (thanks, Coach!), but my family appreciated and enjoyed my turkey prize, fresh from Austin.

Returning to Austin between the holidays proved an excellent choice, with the weather reaching the upper 70s each day of my trip. Although I enjoyed seeing both the University of Texas campus and Sixth Street again, the true highlight of my travels was my own personal walking tour through the state capital.

Completely free to the public and exceptionally photogenic, the Capitol building was buzzing with tourists like me, enjoying the air conditioning and ability to roam where state lawmakers govern. For someone who strongly considered moving to Texas more than once in my life, I was taken with all the history — specifically, the annual composites dating back to 1895, the Dallas Morning News from 1914, and more than 400 door hinges created especially for the Capitol building from the late 1880s.

Further, I also found little “Texas touches” in numerous places, including lone star punch cut-outs on the wooden studded chairs, the state seal embossed in gold on the elevator doors, and gold stars topping the wrought-iron fence around the property.

Finally, both the state house and senate chamber, along with the Supreme Court, were open to the public and wonderful to explore from upstairs in the guest area as well as from the floor.

While my Austin adventures were not limited to the Capitol Building, I’ll save some of my other stops for another post. Not everyone understands the vibe of Austin, but I’m all for it. It hit all the right notes for me, even though I didn’t return home with a turkey this time.

— Carrie Cox, account executive