San Marcos
The closest town south of Austin is San Marcos, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) away. The town itself has less than 35,000 inhabitants, which is a drop in the bucket compared to Austin's 700,000. Still, there is surprisingly much going on.
San Marcos is the home of Texas State University at San Marcos, a school with over 21,000 students and one of the prettiest campuses you have ever seen. That's where I'll be going to school. Unfortunately, Texas State University seems to suffer from an inferiority complex compared to University of Texas at Austin, which with its 50,000 students and much greater reputation, is the main University in the area.
Say "San Marcos" and most people will either think of the University or Shopping. Despite its humble size, San Marcos was recently ranked the third Best Place to Shop in the WORLD (!), after Dubai and Brooklyn, by ABC's "The View". I have yet to experience the Prime Outlets of San Marcos, but I will make sure to let you all know when I do.
For those who want something a little more soothing than shopping, San Marcos River, which runs right through town, offers a great variety of activities. The water keeps a constant 72 °F, 22 °C, all year around and is perfect for swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, tubing, canoeing, and kayaking. It is not uncommon in the area to own your own canoe or cayak.
After my orientation last Wednesday, I found a place where you could rent tubes for the day. You basically rent a tube, hop in the water and let the stream take you down the river. After about forty minutes, you find yourself at a series of small waterfalls where you can either show your courage and tube down them or get out of the water. However, you then take a "river taxi" back to the starting point and do it all over again, and again, and again.
It was a perfect end of a day. After having ran around campus a whole day, I was sweaty and tired. A couple of hours floating down the river on that tube was pure meditation for me. The river itself was absolutely beautiful. Again, I was surprised to find the nature in the heart of Texas so lush and clean. The water was crystal clear and you could make out every rock at the bottom wherever it wasn't covered with water lilys or seaweed. Everywhere you looked, you saw tons of fish swimming around. Amazing.
Since I couldn't bring the camera, I borrowed a picture of tubing people online instead.
I think I am falling in love with Texas.
San Marcos is the home of Texas State University at San Marcos, a school with over 21,000 students and one of the prettiest campuses you have ever seen. That's where I'll be going to school. Unfortunately, Texas State University seems to suffer from an inferiority complex compared to University of Texas at Austin, which with its 50,000 students and much greater reputation, is the main University in the area.
Say "San Marcos" and most people will either think of the University or Shopping. Despite its humble size, San Marcos was recently ranked the third Best Place to Shop in the WORLD (!), after Dubai and Brooklyn, by ABC's "The View". I have yet to experience the Prime Outlets of San Marcos, but I will make sure to let you all know when I do.
For those who want something a little more soothing than shopping, San Marcos River, which runs right through town, offers a great variety of activities. The water keeps a constant 72 °F, 22 °C, all year around and is perfect for swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, tubing, canoeing, and kayaking. It is not uncommon in the area to own your own canoe or cayak.
After my orientation last Wednesday, I found a place where you could rent tubes for the day. You basically rent a tube, hop in the water and let the stream take you down the river. After about forty minutes, you find yourself at a series of small waterfalls where you can either show your courage and tube down them or get out of the water. However, you then take a "river taxi" back to the starting point and do it all over again, and again, and again.
It was a perfect end of a day. After having ran around campus a whole day, I was sweaty and tired. A couple of hours floating down the river on that tube was pure meditation for me. The river itself was absolutely beautiful. Again, I was surprised to find the nature in the heart of Texas so lush and clean. The water was crystal clear and you could make out every rock at the bottom wherever it wasn't covered with water lilys or seaweed. Everywhere you looked, you saw tons of fish swimming around. Amazing.
Since I couldn't bring the camera, I borrowed a picture of tubing people online instead.
I think I am falling in love with Texas.
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