Callahan’s General Store
218 Old Highway 183
(512) 335 8585
callahansgeneralstore.com

I'd like to think that every day starts out with potential to be a perfect day; it's all a matter of channeling one's inner Ferris Bueller and grabbing life by the horns. And since the horns are long here in Austin, they ought to be easier to grab.

As a father of two boys, Hollins (8) and Calder (10), life is always an adventure. Like every parent, seeing the world through children's eyes has given me the blessing to see things in a new light. And as an architect, being able to see the beauty and joy in the everyday and in the ordinary is indeed a blessing. One of our favorite adventures is weekend outings to Callahan's General Store. What makes it so special? Maybe it's the drive across the old steel truss Montopolis Bridge. Maybe it's the beautiful live oak tree out front. Maybe it's walking in on a Saturday afternoon and hearing live music. Where else in Austin can you get a hunting license, goat and chicken feed, all the while listening to a live band performing "King of the Road?" Need a small swimming pool? They've got a big selection of large galvanized tubs… and the smaller ones are great for beer.

After a trip to Callahan’s, it’s lunch at Nau’s Enfield Drug for cheeseburgers, shakes and a couple bags of Frito’s. It's an Austin institution with an eclectic mix of customers—old and young, rich and less so. The boys love to spend an afternoon at Camp Mabry. Known to most drivers on Mopac as a series of simple stone buildings and fighter jet forever frozen in flight, it is also home to a military history museum and semi annual battle reenactments. But my favorite Camp Mabry experience is attending Mass in the chapel on the base. It's a simple humble building, a perfect environment for reflection, humility and prayer. It’s a place that shows while Austin continues to become more wonderfully vibrant and diverse, it can still be as much of a simple small town as you want it to be. It's just a matter of seeing the beauty and joy in the everyday and the ordinary.