I don't get to that part of the state often. Here's some stuff I found:

http://www.yelp.com/topic/austin-driving-from-austin-to-houston-is-there-anything-to-see


http://www.traveltex.com/tours/FromtheCoasttotheHeartofTexas.aspx


Sixth Street was a fun time.

If you're going to Houston then you don't have to drive through Austin at all - the airport is on the south-east side of the city Actually, the big problem with driving from Austin to Houston is that you're gonna have to take a smaller highway - HW 71 until you get to I-10 - expect occasional town driving and over-zealous policemen.

Driving in Texas definitely requires guarding your space jealously. Unlike LA, feel free to use your turn/merging signal liberally as no one knows how to merge/yeild properly here and most people just sort of continue on at whatever speed they please with no thought to the people who want to be in their lane.

In Houston, no on seems to use the right-most lane of a 3-lane highway, even if they want to pass. It's kind of odd and scary.

If you stop in San Antonio (take I-35 instead of Highway 71), I'll take you to the Alamo!

Oh wait, I see that you'll be staying in the city for a few days. Austin rush hour traffic can be annoying but, IMO, nowhere near as bad as Los Angeles. It depends on what route you're taking and what time you're planning on leaving. If you plan on leaving Austin in the morning then it'll be a reverse commute.

You'll want to avoid I35 in Austin during rush hour. It isn't LA rush hour, but it can be a parking lot. Houston can get pretty bad too. In between it is pretty tame.

Driving between Austin and Houston isn't too bad along hwy 290. The road is multilane and the only stoplights are in a few little towns. These days it becomes freeway again far outside Houston so it is pretty fast drive.

It's been several years since I drove in Austin, but provided that you avoid rush hour, you should be okay. There are two basic routes: 71 to I-10, or 290 all the way to Houston. Friends of mine who commuted to Houston regularly always took 290; they preferred it, but I don't remember why.

Note that from Austin east, for about 20 miles, that stretch of 290 has gotten pretty built up. Last time I drove out that way, the after-work traffic was pretty bad. It might be much better now.

Still, avoid rush hour and then enjoy the long drive through the countryside.

One of the benefits of going 290 is that you'll pass through Brenham, a charming little town that's the home of Blue Bell Ice Cream. Free ice cream with a tour!

Driving in Texas is easier than any other place I have been. Don't sweat it. Try to avoid driving in rush hour, as everywhere. I always drive TX-71 to IH-10 to get to Houston. If you want some really good barbecue you can go slightly out of your way and take US-183 to IH-10 instead, stopping in Lockhart (Smitty's or Kreuz Market) or Luling (Luling City Market) for some food.

I was thinking 290 to Houston because it looks like the most straight way. What's the speed limit on it and what can I get away with if I look like I'm driving carefully?

Also, thinking of leaving Austin on Friday around 10 am, but was just informed that the person I'm visiting in Houston isn't around till after 9 pm. How far is it from Austin to San Antonio and is it too far out of the way?

It's about a 90 minute drive from Austin to San Antonio, downtown to downtown. The driving distance from San Anto->Houston is about the same as from Austin->Houston, since you can take a major divided highway the whole way.

"Driving in Texas is easier than any other place I have been." - I agree, and it's about the only nice thing about Texas I can say. As I told BP during my visit last week, "Texas is a cancer growing off Mexico."

You should totally do the Central/South Texas trifecta, if your schedule allows. Do the touristy thing and hit the Riverwalk/Alamo, then wander around downtown San Antonio. (The Riverwalk and Alamo are both downtown.)

But if you don't do that and still need to kill time, I'd definitely second grouse's suggestion to hit Lockhart. That place has killer barbecue. (Read up first, though. A couple of the die-hard places there don't serve sauce with their 'cue, and will likely escort you out of town if you ask for some.)

Charming, Ardiril.

BONUS! My sister-in-law works for Blue Bell. Every time I go to Brenham--which isn't that far from the WDaddy country estates (AND OBVIOUSLY A PLACE WHERE ARDIRIL NEEDS TO SPEND SOME TIME SHEESH)--I get FREE HALF GALLONS OH YEAH.

BONUS! My sister-in-law works for Blue Bell.

You have a relative who works for Blue Bell and I AM JUST FINDING OUT? I mean, I'm a happily married man, but you, sir, have made me reconsider my options.

The drive from Austin to Houston is lovely down Hwy 71 to Columbus. Not at all "traffic-y". From Columbus to Houston is interstate traffic on I10, but it's not as bad as other places I've driven. Within the city of Houston, it's speedy and crazy on the major highways at rush hours, but otherwise, not bad at all. I'm sure you'll find it somewhat quaint, even. There's rarely ever honking, because no one knows who is armed.

As for what to do in Austin...I could write pages and pages. What exactly are you interested in?

* If you go down 290 and hit Brenham (and have any interest at all in flowers/gardening/good smells), go to The Antique Rose Emporium. I was there was about this time of year and when we got out of the car, we were enveloped by a cloud of rose fragrance--in the parking lot, at least 100 yards away from the place.

* If you're not into ice cream and flowers, take the I-10 route and detour to Shiner for a brewery tour. (warning: annoying flash) They always have free samples in the hospitality room -- but this is their 100th anniversary so lord knows what they've got going on now.

* Not to pick a fight or anything but I'd put my hometown barbecue joint, Louie Mueller's, up against anything in Lockhart. Well worth a drive from Austin. (Link goes to a recent review; here's their site, with directions and all.)

* San Antonio is a fantastic place but I think it's a bit much to make the triangle in the time you have.

* As you approach Houston, the landscape becomes progressively flatter and less interesting, just as you hit what seems like (okay, is) mile after endless mile of stripmallchainstorefastfood. Do not despair. Houston is an amazing place, INSIDE THE LOOP. Remember that phrase. Stay INSIDE THE LOOP.

* Houston's freeways are ALWAYS under construction (expanding from 8 lanes to 16, from 16 to 48, from 48 to 72...) which is the worst part about driving there. But if you've driven in Manhattan without collisions or mental breakdowns, you'll be fine.

* Prepare for humidity. Austin is moderately humid but there's usually a breeze. Houston's humidity is, literally, stupefying and there's never a breeze unless there's a hurricane. Your hair will be flat/frizzy and you'll sweat, a lot. Everyone does. Wait for the blessed dusk, find a patio and drink margaritas and listen to the crickets.

* Not a shopping tip but you must go to the Rothko Chapel. The related and right-next-door Menil Collection is also fabulous--but not quite the experience of the Rothko.

The road surfaces suck and that is all I can say.

(free Blue Bell, omg. OMG. You cannot just throw this information out there, are you bloody taunting me?)

Apologies for the logorrhea--

To directly answer your driving question: Use the modified "Fuck you" approach. There are lots and lots of transplants in both cities so it's not like you'll be encountering a totally foreign lexicon. Defend your turf, make eye contact, use hand gestures as appropriate.

It's a little sad how inordinately happy I am at the prospect of driving for three or four hours.

Then you'll love the drive, no matter what route you take. Nothing spectacular and distracting in the landscape, just lots of rolling hills and sprawling trees with enough variation to feel like you're actually going somewhere, plus incredibly smooth and uninterrupted roads (thanks, Dwight D. & LBJ!). I've made that drive hundreds of times but the last trip was more than 15 years ago and I'm sorta envious.

ColdChef: A friend of mine who went traveling to anime conventions as a guest of honor said that wherever he goes, he'd like to know what makes people live in XXX place, why they like it so much and haven't moved away (if they're not stuck there, like the friend I'm visiting is).

I think I like that approach to visiting foreign cities, even if they're in the same country as mine. I also would like to try the "No Reservations" approach to visiting other cities and try out the awesome local cuisine and out-of-the-way spots, which sounds like I'm going to be having barbecue and TexMex.

An awesome non-Starbucks-y cafe in Houston is paramount, especially if it has free wifi because though my friend works at a Starbucks, I believe in supporting the awesome little guys.

The other friend I'm crashing with in Austin is taking me to the Alamo Drafthouse for Star Trek, and I'll probably see if there's an awesome local band playing on Thursday night somewhere.

(Am so pissed off I'm leaving the state before Cowboy Mouth plays Austin.)

So basically, it's just Houston I'm having problems with on my itinerary.

There's always something to see in the Texas landscape. The wildflowers should still be good this time of year.

Traffic, even in the big cities, isn't nearly as nuts as NYC.

Gotta have a puffy taco. Jacala's has the best.

Also - Taco Cabana is excellent Mexican fast food. I highly recommend the chicken fajitas nachos.

Houston:coffeshops:metafilter

PS to WolfDaddy: I'll assume that my invitation to Toad Hall got lost in the mail.

It's so freakin' charming!

Hah hah hah yes free ice cream and it's Blue Bell and I have it and you don't lolololololol

...actually I don't take advantage of this opportunity often enough.

Also, I swear one day I'm gonna host a mefi/cha meetup up in the country, seeing as how it's precisely 1/2 way between Houston and Austin.

As far as driving in Houston. Drive. Defensively. Even with cameras, red light runners are frequent, and fast. Also be on the lookout for people turning left out of the right most lane, or vice versa. Also be frustrated by people who spend the entire duration of the red light creeping out into the intersection, only to sit there for 10 seconds when the light turns green.

Also? Inside the Beltway is the new inside the Loop.

WolfDaddy: Hmm... you mention awesome guest houses and free ice cream factory tours? I believe you may have sold me on skipping San Antonio this time around and swinging through the ice cream town. If you live near there, could I buy you a meal as I drive through?

TL, my home base is Houston and unfortunately won't be up near Brenham until this weekend or next. :-( However, even if you miss the Blue Bell tour, you'll find it on sale practically everywhere and you simply must try it!

WD: Well hey, if you're in Houston, maybe we should do lunch one of the days my friend is working (Sunday or Monday). My email addy is in my profile.

If you're headed to Houston, you better act right. You better not gamble, and you better not fight. 'Cause the sheriff will arrest you, and his boys'll bring you down. And next thing you know, you're prison bound.

If you're gonna play in Texas, you gotta have a fiddle in the band.

TL: e-mail addy not in profile ;-)

And I blushingly admit that Thursday is my birthday so I have events planned this weekend. Or rather, they've been planned for me. Stay a week longer and come to the meetup on the 31st!!!!!!!

If you want some really good barbecue you can go slightly out of your way and take US-183 to IH-10 instead, stopping in Lockhart (Smitty's or Kreuz Market) or Luling (Luling City Market) for some food.

This.

As regards mudpuppie's warning, Kreuz is the place with the Soup Nazi-like "no sauce" strictures. Great brisket, though. For ribs, I prefer Black's.

And if you go this route, be sure to pick up a watermelon in Luling.

WD: Email addy thing fixed.

I wish I could stay longer. But my boss mentioned a bit passive-aggressively that I need to tell one of our contacts that I'll be away and as such, she's on her own for about a week. I'm surprised that I managed to get these days off. But happy birthday! Hmm, what was that awesome thing someone posted about what to say when people have birthdays...?

You asked about the drive on 290 between Austin and Houston. Once you're out of the Austin mess (about to the tollroad construction), it is pretty much divide highway with 65-70 speed zones and you can drive above that without much fear of johnny law until you cross through little towns that make their money with leadfooters from Austin/Houston. If you drive the posted speed limit in these little towns you won't have a problem.

Although the bluebell ice cream is worthy of a side trip, don't forget there are several Amy's Ice Creams shops in Austin (including at the airport... note the shops in the airport close rather early so if your flight comes in after say 8pm, don't look for a bite... it is kind of embarrassing they close so early) that are worth checking out if you're into ice cream.

I'm glad you're going to the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, as it is an institution. They have new digital projectors at the Alamo Village, but any Drafthouse is going to be awesome.