An Austin holiday day-trip itinerary

Facing a slow holiday stretch with the specter of Omicron, we thought we’d roll out our No. 1 get-out-of-town, all-outdoors itinerary.

🐄 Chow down at the Salt Lick. Though it's not considered fashionable by the barbecue elite — it didn't even pull an honorable mention in Texas Monthly's most recent Top 50 — we think of this dean of Hill Country 'cue as something akin to Old Faithful.

🥾 Hike the Pedernales Falls State Park river bed. You've gotta work that BBQ off somehow, and this is one of the prettiest ways we know how.

🚜 Drop by the Arnosky Family Farm to grab farm-fresh eggs, locally made goat cheese and some gorgeous, fresh-cut flowers.

🔥 Enjoy some late-afternoon s'mores — and maybe a cocktail — at Tillie's. This peculiar Hill Country gem is in an old Vietnamese church, situated on a hilltop just west of Dripping Springs, and it has an elegant outdoor fireplace and marshmallow skewers to match.