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  • 4 weeks ago
Join ESSENCE editor D'Shonda Brown and travel enthusiast Ciara for a two-day, whirlwind trip to Austin, TX. As a Texas native, Ciara knows where all the hidden gems are, from Brown’s Bar-B-que food truck (you’ve got to try the peach cobbler) to rooftop yoga. She then invites D'Shonda to step out of her comfort zone by showing off this destination’s unique blend of blend of city and nature with paddle boarding trip followed by a little cultural immersion at the George Washington Carver Museum.
Transcript
00:00With over 35 destinations directly in and out of Austin, American Airlines was
00:06the easy choice for our Essence escapes getaway. What's up everybody? I'm Deshonda
00:12Brown and I'm an associate editor at Essence.com and I'm about to meet up
00:16with my dope travel influencer friend, Sierra Johnson, and we're about to link
00:20so we can tear up Austin together. So stay tuned because we got a lot for y'all.
00:25Hello sis. Hey girl. How are you? I'm good. How are you? I'm good. I love the dress. Thank you so much. Welcome to Texas. Thank you so much.
00:33So are you ready to go? Alex is outside. I'm ready. All right. Let's do this. Let's go.
00:43We're in Austin, Texas' own Browns BBQ food truck. It's my first time ever in Austin, ever in Texas at that and it was a great way to kick off my trip.
00:52Hey. Hi. Welcome to Browns BBQ. So what would you say are some of your specialties? Because I see a lot on the menu.
00:58Yeah, we do all traditional BBQ but I would say our top sellers are gonna be brisket, pork ribs, and then turkey.
01:03This looks amazing. It does. I thought the food was amazing. I thought it was incredible. As a Texan, you know, I always am looking for the best BBQ and so this was awesome. A great way to kick off the trip.
01:15Yo, the peach cobbler is like the thing you have to get. Like it's immaculate. And don't leave without the cabbage. Or the coleslaw. Basically try it all.
01:27This is, you know, outside of my comfort zone, you know. But I'm very glad that I'm doing this because I get to get in my exercise. I get to see some natural trees that's not turf.
01:42Right. I like this for me. I love this for me. And that's what travel is all about. Facts. Stepping out of your comfort zone, trying new things. So. And just being. I love this for you. I love this for me too.
01:52What? This is in Austin. This is one of my favorite things about Austin is that it has both a blend of nature and city. So you get the best of both worlds.
02:06You can go 10 minutes down the road and you'll be in downtown Austin in the city. So it's just this perfect balance, which makes it a really great city to visit.
02:22So it is day two of our Austin adventure and we're starting the morning off with some paddle boarding. I'm facing my childhood fears today. I'm extremely afraid of water. I only bathe and shower. That's as close to water as I get. So I'm going to go ahead and trust you with this because I don't do water. But let's see how the day goes.
02:44Have I steered you wrong thus far? No. All right. Let's go. Okay.
02:56I had a blast. I love anytime I can be out on the water. What did you think? I liked it. I would definitely do it again. I feel like once I got out of my own head, I started to do very well. It was good. I liked it. I would do it again.
03:08So what's next? We're finna do some rooftop yoga so we can stretch out the hamstrings, the biceps, the triceps, all the steps.
03:14Oh, let's go. You ready? Yeah.
03:16Oh, that's a skyline view. Wow. Oh, you must be Anne-Marie. I am Anne-Marie. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Welcome to rooftop yoga. Thank you.
03:33Let the front side of your left hip open. Look towards your thighs now. Dome your back. Plank to downward facing dog. Palms together.
03:45Thank you again so much. This was so well needed. Thank you so much. Thank you.
03:52All right. So you ready to go check out some culture? Yeah. Let's go. All right.
04:03We just spent two days here in Austin, Texas, and we just ended it at the George Washington Carver Museum.
04:12I had a great time, and I actually learned a lot, and I love the fact that we learned so much about black history within the state of Texas specifically.
04:19Being from Texas, this means a lot to me. You know, I have not seen this side of Austin, and so it's been a really great privilege to witness it.
04:29It was so small and intimate, but there was so much history jam-packed on every wall, every portrait, every artist.
04:36It's like every piece of art within the museum had a story to tell, and I was willing to listen to it.
04:42This trip was made possible by American Airlines.
04:45The American Airlines Admirals Club at Austin Bergstrom International Airport was warm, welcoming, spacious, and comfortable. It was the perfect topper to our Austin experience.
05:01So, Austin, overall verdict?
05:05I would come back. I would definitely want to come for, like, a longer stint and period of time. Like, I would probably try at least four to five days.
05:13Oh, absolutely. I would do it a little longer. Yeah.
05:16And I see why you come back all the time.
05:18Thank you for coming along to explore Austin with me. I think it was a great adventure, and I'm glad you had a really good time, too.
05:24Honestly, Sierra, I couldn't have done this without you, and thank you so much Essence Escapes.
05:28And thank you, American Airlines.
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