Casa Kenwood Guesthouses

A Bat Story...

2011-12-13T13:26:00.001-06:00

As we all know, Austin is known by some as "Bat City" because of our very large bat population that lives under the Ann Richards bridge on Congress Avenue. I ran across this video of a rescued baby bat on the Huffington Post and just had to share! Take a look:

Bats are really important for our ecosystem. : )

The Natural Gardener

2011-10-12T11:56:00.001-05:00

There is an amazing place to visit while you're in Austin, called the Natural Gardener. It's about a 12 mile drive west from casa kenwood (out toward the Hill Country), but well worth the drive! Check out this really great blog post, where you'll see some amazing photos: Natural Gardener

A Wedding at Casa Kenwood Guesthouses

2011-03-15T22:53:00.000-05:00

Today was a special day at casa kenwood guesthouses. We hosted our first wedding here in our backyard! We got so many compliments about the landscape, and the bride and groom (Natalie and Bryce) did an amazing job of decorating. Couldn't have been better weather for an outdoor wedding.

We're in the midst of SXSW and there's so much activity in Austin right now! The energy is amazing. The interactive part just ended, and now music is starting up. I'm excited to see some live music this week, including The Strokes in a free show on Auditorium Shores on Thursday night (!) Makes me happy to be living in such a great town.

Austin: Home of the Whole Foods HQ

2011-03-05T15:11:00.002-06:00

CIMG0305.jpg, originally uploaded by mychinarose.

...Okay, this isn't the greatest photo of the Whole Foods Global Headquarters (in Austin, TX), but at least it gives you somewhat of an idea of what it looks like. The building in the back is the actual HQ.

Why am I posting about Whole Foods? Well, it's just a little tidbit of fact that Whole Foods' humble beginnings happened just down the street from their current 6th and Lamar behemoth store in what is now Cheapo Records. I remember their quaint little first store. Even way back then (we're talking early '90s) I remember how I gravitated to the natural soap section, and the way the store employees used to get on the loudspeaker and banter with each other. All of the employees back then smelled like patchouli (among "other things", ha ha) and most of them had dreadlocks and wore tie-dye. I've never actually seen the Richard Linklater film "Slacker", but it supposedly captures early 90's Austin in a moment in time, back when Austin was truly laid-back and "weird" (if you weren't already aware of it, "Keep Austin Weird" is our official--or unofficial--mantra), and some of the scenes were shot right by the original Whole Foods.

I have to admit that I look back at that time in Austin with fondness. I grew up only an hour north up Interstate 35, but I moved to the ATX officially in the summer of 1993 after graduating from college in Sherman, TX (an hour north of Dallas) and just entering film school at the University of Texas. I'd just missed Robert Rodriguez' (filmmaker) time there, he graduated from the undergrad RTF program the year before. And I thought that parking around the university was crowded back then! This was before the LA/NY invasion of hipsters that would gobble up Austin property like PacMan gobbled up little dots and dashes. This was back when South Congress was not the nicest place to be, and we used to joke about the ladies-of-the-night that used to hang around the seedy motels there.

No more. South Congress (and the surrounding neighborhoods of Travis Heights and Bouldin Creek) are THE place to be in Austin. It's the last vestige of authentic Austin, if only the "artistic interpretation" of what Old Austin sort of...meant. We South Austinities like to joke around that anything north of the river (it used to be "Town Lake", now it's "Lady Bird Lake") was Round Rock (the uber-conservative suburbia of sprawling sameness). South Austin is anything but sameness, "and that don't sit well with some people." But that's okay.

The days of winter are slowly slipping past us now, and cool, crisp, blue-skied days are ever more present (including today), and so with that reality I'm making it my goal to start highlighting some more haunts and hallowed ground of my fair city. Stay tuned!

Down the Meadow - Austin Skyline - ACL 2010

2010-10-10T20:29:00.002-05:00

Down the Meadow - Austin Skyline - ACL 2010, originally uploaded by Amicitas.

We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful weekend for the Austin City Limits Festival this year. There have been clear skies for about a week and a half now, if not a full two weeks. Some days it feels like Fall is coming, but then the temp marches back up to the high 80s (I'm not complaining!) We're entering into one of the absolute best seasons in Austin. We do have some open dates this month, so let us know if you're headed our way, we'd love to have you stay at casa kenwood guesthouses!

Video of Studio Azul

2010-04-12T11:33:00.000-05:00

Here's a little preview of Casa Azul (the "artist studio loft") at Casa Kenwood Guesthouses, taken on the Flip Minno. It's a little shaky, but it works for now :)

Video of the new backyard waterfall

2010-04-07T10:00:00.002-05:00

Our brand new waterfall!

2010-04-06T14:16:00.000-05:00

After a lot of hard work, it's just about done! Although as I type those words, I can imagine that Andrew will be tinkering with it for a long time. But I am really excited about how the waterfall (dedicated to my mom) has turned out. We named it "la cascada de Nelida" (which means "Nelida's cascade/waterfall"). I know Mom really would have enjoyed it. Now we're at the point where we're filling in the landscape with lush vegetation. It really is like a tropical paradise. It's a great place to hang out and read a book. And of course, you can hear the three tiers of water as they splash against the rocks while you lounge on casita roja's porch. Just heavenly. I recently had oral surgery and spent the rest of the day sleeping off the meds by napping in the hammock on casita's porch. It was great! (well...not the oral surgery part!) Now we're considering putting in a saltwater pool. Hmmmmm. Stay tuned for more exciting changes to casa kenwood guesthouses!

Welcome to 2010!

2010-01-24T21:59:00.000-06:00

It's a brand new year, and with it comes new beginnings and of course, New Year's Resolutions. I resolve to blog a whole lot more than I did in 2009, that's for sure. It's been a rocky start. We had a death in our family recently, and are moving through our grief day by day. I know that my mother would want me to do everything I can to live my life to the fullest, and so that is one more resolution I will do in her honor. I resolve to be honest. To be kind. To be as focused as I can be on helping and giving to others.

As for our little oasis in the middle of Austin, Casa Kenwood Guesthouses, exciting changes have happened recently, and even more are afoot! Our pride and joy, Casita Roja, has undergone some pretty nice changes in the last few months. The porch is completely weathered-in now, with the open airiness of the living area still as accessible as ever. You've just gotta check it out yourselves to know fully what I mean. Also, Studio Azul has had a great kitchen makeover, and we now have a full-sized fridge and a stovetop...perfect for longer-term renters. And even though the recent arctic blast killed a lot of our tropical plants, Andrew is intent upon resurrecting it all! So we have big plans to continue making CKG the lushest and "Weirdest" Austin garden it can be. We hope to see you soon!

ACL is almost upon us!

2009-09-29T21:11:00.000-05:00

ACL is almost upon us and I'm really excited! Hopefully the weather will remain as great as it's been these past couple of days...just slightly cool, maybe a little overcast, but nothing like our sweltering summer that we just had. We just added electric bike rentals to our offering here at Casa Kenwood Guesthouses, and that's what we're going to use to head over to the festival (only about 2.49 miles away). There's a gigantic area available for locking up bikes. I'm really excited about seeing Kings of Leon, Dave Matthews Band, and Pearl Jam!

Bats of Austin, TX

2009-09-15T23:06:00.002-05:00

Bats of Austin, TX, originally uploaded by Talke Photography.

Casa Kenwood Guesthouses is less than a mile's walk from the famous Congress Avenue Bridge, which is home to the largest urban colony of bats in the United States. It's a pretty cool tourist attraction, as nightly (especially during the warm summer months) people line the pedestrian sidewalk to watch the up to 1.5 million bats take flight at sunset to chow down on 10,000 to 30,000 pounds of mosquitoes and other insects each night. (Some nights Casa Kenwood Guesthouses is right in the "bat path", and we see their little bat highway directly above us!)

The Congress Avenue Bridge was initially constructed in 1980, and at the time the bridge engineers had no idea they were constucting the ideal bat environment. At first people feared the bats and wanted to eradicate them, but eventually cooler heads prevailed and Austin began to love our bats (think of all the mosquitoes we'd have without them!), and erected a huge bat sculpture as an homage.

The bats arrive in Mid-March and then leave for Mexico in November (they're Mexican Free-Tail Bats), and the mostly female population give birth to pups who start to emerge nightly with their mothers in August.

If you're a visitor to Austin in the coming months, make sure you take a stroll down the Congress Avenue Bridge at sunset and witness their amazing emergence (seen in this photo).

Tubing on the San Marcos River

2009-07-12T16:16:00.002-05:00

Tubing on the San Marcos River 2009-06-02 118, originally uploaded by ericcrews.

This weekend we went to the San Marcos River for a cool dip! I didn't take my camera phone with me on the water, but found this recent photo on flickr so you can see it....

For those of you who aren't from the Central Texas area, the San Marcos River is our local treasure. It's probably one of the cleanest rivers in the U.S., due to the fact that it springs directly from underground springs (the Underground Edwards Aquifer). The water is comfortably cold (72 degrees) year-round, making it an attraction for people for...well, for as long as there have been people here! Starting with the Tonkawa Indians, and then the Spanish settlers who eventually named it, this river has been a real hub.

The entire river is 75 miles long, but it starts near Aquarena Springs (used to be a resort) at Texas State University in the heart of San Marcos, TX. You can rent tubes to float the river from the local Lions Club (http://www.tubesanmarcos.com/) who have a shuttle van that will take you back to your car once you reach the three-tiered tube chutes a couple of miles down, or bring your own float and hike back. There are also canoeing and kayaking options as well. People gather in small groups, tie themselves to one anothers' tubes, sometimes stick a cooler of icy cold beverages in a tube all its own, and...float on!

San Marcos is 30 miles away from Casa Kenwood Guesthouses, just a short zip south down I-35. So if you're planning on an Austin vacation this summer and want an idea on how to beat the heat, ask us about tubing the San Marcos River! You'll come away with an experience you'll want to repeat again and again :)

We're on Yelp now

2009-07-02T22:41:00.003-05:00

I'm constantly learning more and more new things about the internet. It can be overwhelming to say the least. One of my main jobs as the owner of our proud little establishment is to advertise that we exist! So I have to do what I can to learn what I can, bit by bit.

I discovered in googling vrbo's in Austin that there's this really interesting place called yelp.com It's a site where you can write reviews of...well, just about anything. So I added our info to the site an voila! A listing now exists for people who've stayed at Casa Kenwood Guesthouses to write a review of their stay. Here's the link:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/casa-kenwood-guesthouses-austin

Getting the word out

2009-06-23T23:39:00.002-05:00

Today I added us to both Google Local Listings and Yahoo Local Listings for Austin. I hope it helps people find us!

Also, we have a Summer Special going now...Book 2 nights and you get the 3rd night for half price! Just mention you read it on this blog or promotion code 689430-1.

Summer Availability at Casa Kenwood Guesthouses, Austin VRBO

2009-06-22T22:31:00.002-05:00

Here's the Craigslist Ad that I posted today:

Summer Specials! Artsy Cool Guest Suites for Vacationers in ATX

Check out our guesthouses! We have lots of summer availability!

Planning your trip to Austin and want to stay near downtown in a laid-back and very funky cool "Keep Austin Weird" place? Well, our accomodations at Casa Kenwood Guesthouses is for you!

1) "The Writer's Retreat" - Casita Roja

Ideal for the solo-traveler or for couples, Casita Roja is a rustic hideaway situated in the middle of Austin...but you'd never know it! Surrounded by woods and wildlife, ponds and hammocks, the Casita is a great retreat. It's small but has tons of charm...don't miss it! Current available dates:

July 6th through the 8th
July 12 through August 3rd
August 6th through October 1st
October 5th and on is open availability

2) "The Artist's Loft" - Studio Azul

High ceilings, open living plan, a wall of window that look-out onto the woods, lots of color and texture throughout...Studio Azul is a cool place to hang-out! This space was once a photography studio so it lets in amazing natural light. It's like having your very own Artist's loft in ATX! Current available dates:

This week!: June 22 through June 26
June 29 & June 30
July 5 through July 8
July 12 through September 29
October 5 and on is open availability

We start at $95 per night, but some dates this summer are as low as $75! Also, we can work with you if you want to stay for a length of time.

Some amentities:

- Free Wifi
- Washer/dryer available
- Your own personal koi pond and waterfall in a moonlight pond
- Just blocks from the SoCo shopping district, downtown, and Congress Ave bat viewing!

Welcome to Casa Kenwood's Blog!

2009-06-21T23:17:00.005-05:00

Well, this is the first post for Casa Kenwood Guesthouses! I've spent just about the entire Father's Day on the internet fixing our website and creating this blog. Okay, it didn't take that long. I was doing other things, too. Still, I hope to use this blog as a way for Andrew and I to keep our website fresh and up-to-date, and to give our visitors a place to drop us comments from time to time. It's pretty cool to have something interactive.

We'd love to hear your thoughts about our place, so comment away!

Cheers!

~Christina