6 Things to Do this Summer in

Pflugerville, Texas

 

It’s almost officially summertime, and like usual, I started looking for places to visit. Then I realized that I haven’t really fully experienced Pflugerville yet, though we’ve lived here for almost 4 years. So, I went on the hunt for fun and relaxing things to do inn Pflugerville before looking elsewhere, and thanks to the City of Pflugerville, I got some great ideas to add to my list.

 

produce at the Pfarmer’s Market

Pfarmer’s Market

Pflugerville’s Pfarmer’s Market is every Tuesday, 3pm-7pm, ,from May 11 to October 26. Due to construction, it’s currently located at Pflugerville First United Methodist Church.

You can expect tons of fresh produce (of course) from local farmers, as well as baked goods, honey, plants, eggs, Find new small businesses to support while enjoying some time outdoors. Pro tip: while cards are accepted by most vendors, bring cash just in case.

 

Rochelle & the Sidewinders

Music in the Park

Music in the Park is a good time for the whole family! It’s an outdoor concert series held on select Friday nights, 7:30pm-9:30pm, all summer long, starting next Friday, June 25. The first musical guest will be Royal Velvetee, a classic soul and jazz band who put on an amazing show!

Music in the Park is a free event in Pfluger Park, located at 515 City Park Rd. Alcohol is allowed, but no glass containers. For more info and a list of all the concerts this year, check out Pflugerville’s site here.

 

photo courtesy of Typhoon Texas

Typhoon Texas

If you’re trying to beat the Texas summer heat, aside from all the natural water holes, my first recommendation would be Typhoon Texas. They have rides and attractions for  every age range, from Buckaroo Bayou, which is made for toddlers, to the Snake Pit, where you must be 48″ or taller to ride the intertwining water slides.

For Independence Day weekend, Typhoon Texas will have its annual Red, White, and Boom festival, which will have carnival themed attractions, live entertainment, a hot air balloon ride, fireworks, and a Saluting our Heroes event. There’s also several food and beverage options at the park. Read more about Typhoon Texas here.

 

photo courtesy of ILY Nails

ILY Nails & Beauty Bar

Tired from running around to all the different events this summer? Treat yourself to a day of pampering at ILY Nails & Beauty Bar, Pflugerville’s first and only Black owned nail salon. They currently offer nail services and pedicures, with facials, brow services, and waxes coming soon. You literally sit on a throne while receiving a relaxing, stress relieving pedicure from one of the licensed technicians. For pricing or to book an appointment, head to ILY Nails’s website.

 

photo courtesy of Spirit of Texas

Spirit of Texas Independent Distillery

Do you like supporting local distilleries and breweries or maybe touring them? Well, Spirit of Texas Independent Distillery is located right here in Pflugerville! Their tasting room is open Thursday through Saturday. You can also book group tours or private events outside of these hours.

Something really cool to me about this distillery is that their spirits have local related names, like Pfluger single malt whiskey, Spirit of Texas straight silver rum, and Pecan Street rum. You can support them by visiting the actual distillery or by using their store locator to purchase these spirits at your neighborhood liquor store.

 

photo courtesy of Down South Cajjun Eats

Down South Cajjun Eats

My favorite, somewhat new, restaurant in Pflugerville is Down South Cajjun Eats, located at 15630 Vision Drive. As the name suggests, they specialize in Cajun dishes. They also have the best fried catfish in town, in my opinion.

This restaurant is owned by twin brothers and has turned into an awesome gathering place for great food and music. It’s located in a food court, but has definitely become the anchor site for the venue. Besides the catfish, they offer gumbo, pasta, wings, and several specialty items. Check out the full menu here.

Thank you for reading! To find even more things to do this summer in Pflugerville, visit the city’s event calendar.

 

Your Biker Gang: Austin, TX

We recently had the pleasure of experiencing e-bikes for the first time through Your Biker Gang, located near downtown Austin. They also have a location in Panama City, FL. I had heard of e-bikes before but had never been on one. The rest of the crew hadn’t even heard of them. So we were all in for a real treat!

 

We started at the Your Biker Gang clubhouse off Cesar Chavez, took a beginner driver’s ed course (which was sooo fun), and we hit the road. Word to the wise naturalistas! You will be wearing  the helmets pictured. So don’t show up with your hair in a high puff and headwrap like I did lol. I will also admit that crossing the first street kind of scared me, even though we had the light and the right of way. I’ve just always been afraid to cross streets lol. Our first stop was near the Lamar and 15th St. intersection.

We got off, checked out the amazing murals on both sides of the street, and had our first photo op. Since the bikes are motorized and you ride them in the street, no mobile device usage is allowed while operating them. We took a group pic in front of a mural on the side of a building. Then we did some individual exploring. The mural below is by Rex Hamilton. Click his name to check out his amazing work on Instagram.

 

After our photo op, we were back on the road. We made our way to Auditorium Shores and Butler Park, where we learned some architectural history about downtown. We also learned that the sidewalk path near the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue creates the shape pf a guitar.. I don’t want to give away too much in case you take the same tour path as us. That way you’ll still be surprised at all the hidden gems and history in good ole Austin.

 

 

After learning more about downtown, we headed to 2nd and Brazos to check out the Tau Ceti mural by Josef Kristofoletti. I actually had a photoshoot last year on the roof of the garage this mural is painted on, but that’s neither here nor there. By the time we made it to the Tau Ceti mural, we were a full blown biker gang. We had the e-biker skills locked down and were thoroughly enjoying the ride!

At the mural, we learned that Tau Ceti is a star in the constellation Cetus, about 12 light years away. The star is very similar to our sun, but is only 78% of the sun’s mass. The mural imitates what it would be like if the sunlight reflected off the windows downtown during sunset was refracted into a spectrum. If you’re there right at sunset in the Spring, you can experience just that!

 

 

So, upon leaving the Tau Ceti mural, we made the trek back towards the clubhouse, but now before making a couple more stops. We stopped in front of the Austin Proper hotel to view this pretty neat art installation down below. It was so cool seeing them in action! Thank you to the homie Derrick for the demonstration. You can see it in action on my Instagram page. (The video wouldn’t upload here for me.)

 

 

Our final stop before making it back to the clubhouse was at the Treaty Oak. This is a HUGE live oak tree said to be 500 years old. It’s the last of the Council Oaks, which was a grove of trees that served as a meeting place for the Comanche and Tonkawa tribes

Tribes would meet at places like these as neutral grounds. It’s said they would each bury a weapon to show they were done fighting, which is where the term “bury the hatchet” comes from. There’s A LOT more history behind this tree, but again, I don’t want to give too much away. So if you’d like to learn more, take the bike tour!

 

Thank you so much to Sweet John of Your Biker Gang for this awesome experience! We can’t wait to come back to ride and learn more about this historic city. 

If you’re in the Austin, TX, or Panama City, FL, area, definitely book a tour, and use code ALYSENICOLE for 20% off your ride! Have any of you been e-biking before? Let me know if you have or if you’d try it.