Living the Good Life In Georgetown Texas: November 2009

The skies have been so clear and clean here in Central Texas this week  this old windmill in Georgetown Texas drew my attention upwards.  I was reminded of how wind energy is a great way to protect our environment.

Well, I guess it had to happen sooner or later.  We  all watched the collapse of the real estate market in California, Nevada, Florida 2 yrs ago, and the big bubble of inflated values pulling the rest of the country down last year.  All the while here in Central Texas we were thinking, whew, we dodged that bullett.  Our area saw mild declines yes, but nothing like other harder hit areas.  After all, we still had people moving here and some job growth.  Well,, the $#@* finally hit the fan here.  The local Foreclosure Listing Service shows a dramatic 57% increase in year to date foreclosures for the Austin Metro area.  Travis County has a 58% increase year to date and Williamson County which includes Round Rock, Georgetown and Cedar Park has a shocking 61% increase in foreclosures year to date from 2008. 

 I suspect most of the foreclosures are not from crazy loans that made no sense, but more a reflection of job loss in the local high tech economy.  Another contributing factor in 1-4 family income property was the number of west coast investors snapping up anything on the market 2-3 yrs ago, now they are strapped and unloading their properties here.

Whatever the reason it's going to be putting a downward pressure on prices here for the next year.

I was down in Galveston County visiting my Dad for Veteran's Day (Dad's a WWII vet) and ran across two news local news items that are very odd and yet have similar lessons that my dad taught me years ago when he told me to keep my eyes peeled on the road and not bikini girls on the seawall. 

First was an article in the Galveston News reporting that a woman on her way to work called 911 and reported that she had hit a MOOSE!.. Now since this is south Texas, so the dispatcher figured she was either drunk or crazy.  When she calmed down a bit she reported it must have been an Elk!.  Well the only Elk you'll find down in Galveston County is at the local lodge.  The police came out, thinkiing that the lady had hit a deer, or even a cow since she was insisting it was much larger than a deer.  Sure enough, she had hit an Elk!  Thankfully, she was not hurt, though the car was worse for wear.  To date, there is no information on where the Elk came from or why it was in Texas.

Second, was a news article, again from the Galveston News, and it was picked up by the tv stations, of a Bugatti Veyron (a car costing upwards to  2 milliion dollars.. yes 2 MIL!) that had splashed down into a salt marsh that lay along interstate 45 between La Marque and Galveston.  The driver reported that he had been distracted by a low flying pelican and lost control.  Oh ya, he also dropped his cell phone.  You be the judge, there is a video link on youtube here.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWzkMXcRII0&NR=1

So, good advice Dad, evidently you do need to keep your eyes peeled when driving down there.

Complementing Georgetown Texas's historic downtown district is the newly opened Wolf Ranch Shopping Center close to downtown at the interesection of IH35 and Highway 29.

Featuring at least 40 retail stores and restaurants, along with 11 large anchor retail businesses, this open air mall is a favorite shopping area for the entire county.

Owned by the Simon Property Group and developed under the City of Georgetown Unified Development Code the buidings replicate the small town feel of a past age.  

The center was built on the site of the ranch owned and operated for years by Jay Wolf, hence the name Wolf Ranch Shopping Center.  The developers protected many of the century old trees and even incorporated them into the parking plan and the building sites.    

Care was taken to integrate the parking and preserve the trees and even add green spaces   

When was the last time you were able to take a wooded hiking path back to your parked car? 

One of my favorite places is the outdoor patio area between the Fish City Grill and The Cotton Patch Restaurant.  It's a perfect place to enjoy a drink and take in the spectacular view of the sunset. 

The sculpture is as inspiring as the sunset.  

I hope you enjoy your shopping experience as much as we do!  For information about the Georgetown and Round Rock area visit the other blog entries or for a no hassle complete search for property in the surrounding area visit my web site I'll be happy to assist you in relocating to our beautiful area. 

One of the greatest features of Georgetown Texas is it's beautiful San Gabriel Park, the keystone of Georgetown's extensive park system.  The park is near the center of town and occupies the original river crossing and sacred campground used by the native American Indians. There are centuries old live oak trees that the Indians tied down as saplings to mark the trail.Park amenities include a Gazebo for Eventshiking trails, softball and baseball diamonds, a rodeo arena, many soccer fields, disc golf course, playgrounds and more.    Of course nothiing is more fun than just meeting friends and family at the park and enjoying grilled hot dogs.   

 afterwards you can feed the ducks or take a bike ride to work off all those calories

Nothing is more relaxing than to spend the day in Georgetown's San Gabriel Park I hope you enjoy the pictures.  To view more pictures and read about Georgetown Texas and the interesting history or to learn more about the area plese visit my other blog entries.  Or you can visit the City of Georgetown Parks link to learn more about our great park system.

The fall weather has Wiley and I out exploring the great parks that Georgetown Texas offers.  One of the most visible is Blue Hole park within a couple of blocks of downtown.  The park lies along the north San Gabriel River  and has been a popular swimming hole for generations.

There is a wooded picnic area on the south side and dramatic bluffs on the north. There is a beautiful waterfall over and around the low dam that forms the swimming hole.

The hiking trail connects under the Austin Ave bridge to San Gabriel Park.  There are picnic tables and a nice wooded area above the river on the south side.

The main swimming area is upstream from the low damn and is about 6 ft deep.  The water is clear and clean.  Perfect for swimmingThere are some good fishing spots upriver and you can catch perch, bass, and catfish.  Or so I'm told, with Wiley the RealDog splashing around I've never had any luck fishing.  But this guy was catching em.

 Blue Hole Park on the San Gabriel River is one of Georgetown's most beautiful places!

To explore Georgetown more  please visit  my website Sparks-Realty and also check out my other blog posts that feature stories and pictures about Georgetown Texas and the surrounding area.  Also, feel free to browse available real estate listings for the Georgetown, Round Rock and greater Austin Area on my free search website. Search for Homes.  Thanks for visiting.