A lovely day at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Garden in Austin, Texas, begins with breakfast/brunch/lunch at Whole Foods, a nice cuppa java from Starbucks, and a short ride across town. The Wildflower Gardens are ripe with promise. Coming back in another two weeks, we’re sure, would reveal a whole new assortment of plants in bloom. Lovely hardscape, engaging stone towers with circular staircases that lead to overlooks, and a clever arrangement of rain-capturing eaves and troughs, all leading down, down, down to water features and turtles. Lovely.

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Saturday, March 14. We strike out for Austin, and make our way to the University of Texas. There, we see the history museum (but don’t go inside), the capitol building (but only from a distance), and the Blanton Museum of Art. We view the modern/contemporary art section of the permanent collection, speed past the antiquities, and spend a luxurious amount of time viewing Birth of Cool, an exhibit focused on mid-century design, culture, furniture, and music. Much time spent watching a small girl spin wildly in an Eames chair. Our favorite? “Stacked Waters,” the acrylic installation by Teresita Fernandez. Beautiful, restful, makes you want to stand in the atrium forever.

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