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We heard about a great new place called Zinger’s.  Since a Zinger was my favorite childhood snack (Chocolate Zingers from Hostess) I thought it would be a great idea to check things out.

Zingers has a lot of things going for it… especially for a family.  We have adults, and we have kids, so there are a lot of varied interests.  At first glance Zingers is somewhat of a sports bar, but don’t let that hold you back.  Zingers has great food at great prices.  The big ol’ bar features drinks of ever kind. Many flat screen TVs including one huge one to watch soccer, football, or whatever.  The place is loaded with table-side games (you have to put $ money in, but they are fun and inexpensive).  Our table was right by the Wii and Rock Band making dinner and play a total blast!

Outdoor and indoor seating (of course) plus Thursday night music on the lawn (at least, during the summer).   Since it is located right on the main drag of the Galleria, the location is super convenient for going to a movie or shopping before or after dinner.

We look forward to going back…maybe even without the kiddos=)

LakeTravis.org has just added a Community News section to it’s website. The section, accessible via the tabs at the top of the home page, lists user-submitted updates on what things are going on in the community. Anyone can contribute. This is really useful for churches, community organizations, and schools to list their latest news updates. With 200 characters allowed, the update can be a short posting on it’s own, but in addition, a link to an existing page or article on a group’s website can be provided. A photo can be submitted as well which will be placed into the description.

Buster’s has been a landmark around Lakeway and the Lake Travis area since 1995.  They had disappeared for a little while this past year, but have reappeared in the heart of Lakeway, right in the Lakeway Town Center at the corner of 620 and Lohman’s Crossing behind the CVS store.  We’re glad they are back!  They have a beautiful new restaurant with a great, cool, comfortable atmosphere inside and a spacious beer garden outside.  There’s live music in the beer garden which gets started at 6 p.m. on Thursday through Sunday nights. 

I recently visited to check things out and was very impressed.  I ordered a straight-forward brisket sandwich and fries.  The sandwich was huge.  I would have split it with another family member, but I was by myself so I had to stuff it all down on my own.  With music and free wireless to boot, Buster’s is a real winner of a place.  Since getting the nod from John Kelso of the Stateman as one of the best barbeque restaurants in Central Texas back in 1996, Buster’s has been a landmark out here.  We’ve used them for catering for special events as well, and they give you a great deal.  Welcome back!

Tony & Jolie Freeman

As all of our postings go, we review services, restaurants, and places that we personally experience in the Lake Travis area.  That being said, we just had one of the very best car repairs ever and we had to introduce you  Lake Travis Auto Expert.

I’m used to working on cars and quite often do a lot of my own work to save cost.  The other reason I work on my car when I can is that many shops try to add in extra parts and services that aren’t really needed.  Well, that all changed this week.

The other day, a business card was left on our Camry advertising Toyota car repair and service.  Our “check engine” light had been on (a while) and we were due for inspection.  Actually past due. Don’t you just hate that feeling when driving past a policeman knowing that you might be pulled over for an expired inspection sticker?  And Lakeway police have really good eyes to see them in passing!  So, between the past-due deadline and my inability to get the light to go off, the service seemed like something we needed to check out.

So, we gave Lake Travis Auto Expert a call to see what they had to offer.  The expert is Tony Freeman.  Tony quickly diagnosed the engine problem and fixed it right away.  He replaced or repaired only what was truly necessary.  His price for parts was totally fair (no surcharges, parts prices were what I could get them for at the local car parts store!)  He even personally delivered the car to a location closer to our home.  We trust Lake Travis Auto Expert to give us great service and a fair deal in the future and will use Tony to work on our other Toyotas (well, one is a Chevy Prizm, but they share parts with Toyota).  I plan on using Tony in the future rather than doing my own repairs.  Give Tony a call at (512) 243-5893.  He provides high quality service on Toyota, Lexus, Ford and other makes.

Washington, January 25, 2010

After a rising surge from September through November, existing-home sales fell as expected in December after first-time buyers rushed to complete sales before the original November deadline for the tax credit. However, prices rose from December 2008 and annual sales improved in 2009, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Existing-home sales including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – fell 16.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.45 million units in December from 6.54 million in November, but remain 15.0 percent above the 4.74 million-unit level in December 2008.

For all of 2009 there were 5,156,000 existing-home sales, which was 4.9 percent higher than the 4,913,000 transactions recorded in 2008; it was the first annual sales gain since 2005.

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The Texas Longhorns showed their strength and mettle in a painful defeat against Alabama in the BCS National Championship game.  Colt McCoy was hurt on the Longhorn’s opening drive with a serious shoulder injury.  After an X-ray, Colt was pulled and our Lake Travis champion Garrett Gilbert was charged with filling the cleats of a Captain, leading the offense for the rest of the game.

After settling into his role in the second half, Gilbert led the charge as Longhorns muscled their way into the Crimson end zone twice on passes from Gilbert to Shipley.  A two point conversion later and the score closed to 24 and 21.   Read the rest of this entry »

For those of you from the Bee Cave and Lakeway area, you’ve probably driven by Living Desert many times. It kind of blends into the landscape by the side of the road. The fact is, after having been around for 31 years at the same location, it pretty much is part of the landscape. But have you had time to go inside? If you haven’t, you’re really missing out. It is one of the most unique specialty shops you’ll find in the Lake Travis area.

Darrell, Yvonna, and Jared Dunton run the place. It started out as a small cactus, succulent, and plant shop back when Bee Cave was barely a blip on an intersection of two, two lane highways. In fact, Darrell can remember seeing Grandma Bohls sitting in her rocker on the front porch of her house enjoying the peace of a Hill Country evening on the Bohls ranch across Highway 71. Now, Hill Country Galleria has taken the place of the ranch. The Trading Post, Branding Iron, and Rosie’s were the restaurants out here back then — Rosie’s shared the space with a gas station where Spring Hill Restaurant now sits.

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Alpha Music Center is one of the success stories of Austin.  They’ve been in business for over 33 years, starting in 1976.  Once on the drag near campus, they recently moved to West Anderson Lane in an area in Austin they are calling “music row.”  It’s centrally located, easy to get to from any community, just East of Burnet Road on the South side of Anderson.

It is a small store, but you can’t let the size fool you.  Sheet music and music books don’t take up much space, and Alpha Music Center has packed it all in nicely.  It’s clean, incredibly organized, well-lit, and run by some of the most knowledgeable people in the sheet music business.  There are over 50 thousand titles in the store and 80% of the unique, single sheet titles are out-of-print – you won’t find them anywhere else!  They have over 400 Theater and Broadway scores; music from every decade.  In addition, over 250 thousand titles are available online.  Read the rest of this entry »

Game Day Information

Date: Thursday, January 7, 2010
Time: 5:00 p.m. (PST)
Match-Up: No. 2 BCS Texas Longhorns vs. No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide
Location: Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif.
Television: ABC

The Bar in the Roaring Fork Restaurant at 7^thand Congress is co-located with the Historic Stephen F. Austin Hotel.  From the time you enter into the Roaring Fork, you know it is a really special place.  The inviting, candle and fireplace-lit atmosphere is dark, romantic, and cozy.  It’s like slipping into another place and time.  Our experience let us live in the moment and forget the busyness of the day.  We just wish it was closer to Lake Travis!