After exploring the city during Austin Trip 2025: Day One, we decided to venture a bit further from the center. Jen and I crossed the bridge to grab a coffee at Desnudo Coffee. The coffee is served from a cozy camping trailer right next to the bridge, so we didn’t have to travel far. Back at the hotel, we woke up the kids and had a delicious breakfast together before hitting the road. Our next stop was the Austin Nature & Science Center. It’s a small place designed for younger kids, but it had some cool animals and beautiful grounds, including a pond filled with lily pads.

Next up was a quick lunch at Modern Market. I had a yummy banh mi sandwich, which was a lighter lunch compared to our burger bar adventure the previous day. Once we were all fueled up, we headed to Barton Springs Pool. One of the parking lots was under construction, so it took a while to find a spot, but we were lucky enough to get one close to the entrance. Inside the park, I was amazed by the size of the pool. It’s about 1000 feet long and up to 150 feet wide! Due to construction, we had to walk around the pool to change into our swimsuits, but we eventually made our way onto the hillside under the trees. The water is always around 70 degrees because it’s a spring-fed pool. We spent the afternoon swimming and relaxing under the big trees. We also had a few fun moments watching a family of ducks with about eight ducklings swimming around and wandering on the sidewalk next to the pool.

A few hours later, we headed back to the hotel, changed, and then strolled to the SoCo shopping district. The day before, we had already had burgers and Mexican food, so we were trying to decide what to have for dinner. As we climbed the hill, the enticing aroma of pizza filled the air, and I knew exactly what we were in for. Home Slice Pizza was buzzing with activity, and we had heard great things about it. We ordered a few slices and enjoyed them on the patio. After dinner, we explored the area a bit more before indulging in some delicious dessert at Jeni’s Ice Cream. Jennifer and I had tried it in Chicago a few years back, and it was even better than I remembered. They offer such unique flavors that are simply mouthwatering.