Ki Gray - Austin Real Estate

Even though it's nearly December, it's never too early to think about summer time fun. Volente Beach Water Park is just a hop, skip and splash away from Austin, in Cedar Park. It's located on FM 2769 right on the beach of beautiful Lake Travis.

The park has water rides and slides for every person in the family, young or old. From rides like the `Texas Twister' that take you on a plunge that twists and turns, or how about `The Sidewinder' that takes you and a friend down a slope and up the other side, all why you are twisting and turning sideways! How about trying to get across `Gators Crossing' without falling in! You have to make it from one side of the pool to the other by balancing on lily pads; just a little secret; you get to hang onto a rope from above to keep from falling into the gator infested waters!

If you're not quite up to out swimming gators, then how about jumping on the pirate ship; it's decked out with a slide and lots of other surprises. If you don't like that, you can always walk the plank! `The Roadrunner" also offers the adventurous at heart to take a fast swift ride down the twisting slide with lots of water pushing you along the way.

After all the pirates and gators, you'll want to take a ride on the lazy lagoon. Just sit back and relax while floating around or playing a game of Marco Polo. Volente beach also has a nice sandy beach to visit and build sand castles or just sit back and catch some sun!

After you've spent the day on the beach or in the park, you can always find something good to eat. Try the Blu Parrot Grill. They have awesome food and always have live entertainment on Friday nights! What a way to end the day!

It's never too early to start planning for the summer. If you want to check out Volente Beach, just to see if it's something your family would enjoy, they always have a "Free Day." When they say "free" they mean free! It's usually in mid April and it gives families a chance to see if it's something they would enjoy; if so, then you can even purchase season tickets.

The park offers specials year round. For mother's day, mom gets in free. Same for father's day, except it's dad who gets the free ticket! Check out their website for the events they have scheduled for the season.

Looking for that perfect birthday party for your kid? Volente Beach offers several packages for parties, and you even get your own area, food, drinks and balloons. Your kids will love it, and mom and dad will even have a good time! Volente Beach also offers corporate parties as well; adults like to have fun as well.

Staying in the Austin or Cedar Park area for vacation or weekend getaways is easier than you thought, and what a wonderful way to cool down during our hot summer months.

Ki lives, and works, in central west Austin, Texas. He developed a website to track Austin real estate. Clients can search available properties in the Austin MLS. They can also search by regions for example Cedar Park real estate or west Austin real estate.

A quaint, tree-lined rural community exists in Southeast Austin called Dove Springs, and it has a unique charm and many opportunities for recreation, housing, entertainment and access to the central city area. Dove Springs can be found by exiting I.H. 35 and traveling east on Stassney, among other routes, and the neighborhood's proximity to the freeway is another advantage to residents.

Most of the street names include the word Dove, such as Dove Meadow, Dove Hill, Dove Wood and others. These streets are tree-lined, quiet, meandering, residential streets, with inexpensive to moderately priced homes and duplexes, as well as numerous apartments.

There is a local library at the Southeast Austin Community Branch on Nuckols Crossing, a few blocks east, and there is regular bus service to the area, as well as a good road system with close access to cities and towns south of Austin proper, since the community is also relatively close to Highways 71 and 183.

There are also many recreational facilities, especially for golfers, since the Jimmy Clay Course and the Roy Kizer Course are both just east of the neighborhood, as is McKinney Falls State Park for swimmers, boaters, hikers, anglers, and other sports enthusiasts. Park lovers will enjoy the Dove Springs Community Center on Ainez Drive, which includes an outdoor pool, three baseball fields, three soccer fields, and other facilities.

In addition, the adjacent Dove Springs District Park has a disc golf course, basketball court, volleyball and tennis courts and other park amenities such as picnic tables, barbecue pits and walking trails.

Ben White Boulevard and William Cannon are the unofficial boundaries of the neighborhood, and both streets offer access to shopping, restaurants, and other nearby interesting businesses. This area was recently the target of an improvement and renovation effort, and the successful project brought about changes which benefit area youth and families, such as the River City Youth Foundation, which has worked extensively with local youth at risk.

The area has roughly 36,000 residents, so it is a large community. The area included within its zip code, 78744, is considered the second fastest growing community in Austin, as well as an area with a large Hispanic population, and the area continues to grow rapidly.

With the large presence of Latinos, the Tex-Mex choices are abundant, and many corner grocery stores offer genuine Mexican menu items, meats, fruits, produce, and other ingredients usually found in traditional Mexican food fare. Some of these are called Camino Real, Dalia's Tacos, (a local favorite) and El Taco Gordo, and all of which are locally owned and popular with the neighborhood residents. There is also a popular catering company called Dina's on Peppertree, right off Stassney and Dove Meadow.

Dove Springs is also close to the restaurant row area of South I.H. 35, with many choices for shoppers and diners, including Texas Land and Cattle Company, Macaroni Grill, Johnny Carino's, Bennigan's, T.G.I. Friday's and many other well-known chains, and the new Southpark Meadows Shopping and Dining Complex is also very close, offering affordable and accessible homes as well. The South I.H. 35 area is also called the Austin Motor Mile, with car dealerships in abundance, so car buyers have a plethora of choices.

Dove Springs is a family oriented neighborhood, and in the process of revitalization, so it is a great location for those on an upwardly mobile path looking for a good home price or the possibility of finding a fixer-upper with lots of potential. There are also many very nice homes already complete, and multi-family dwellings as well, so consider Dove Springs if southeast Austin and its charms appeal to you, with access to the central city as well.

Ki is active in the Austin community. He built and grew a website, which allows buyers to search for homes in the Austin MLS by specific criteria. His site has statistics on Austin real estate and southeast Austin real estate. His business is conveniently located in Central Austin.

If there is one Central Texas town that has grown significantly in the last 10 years, it would be Georgetown. The Williamson County seat is a picture-perfect small town, with its town square surrounding the historic courthouse. The town was founded in 1848, the same year Williamson County was established. The charming Victorian style limestone buildings surrounding the domed courthouse reflect Georgetown's early prosperity as a commerce center.

Built near the banks of the San Gabriel River, with fertile farmlands to the east and wide-ranging ranch lands to the west, Georgetown had no problem attracting settlers. The addition of a Southwestern University in 1873 brought more prosperity to the little agricultural community. It was a stop on the historic Chisholm Trail cattle drive and that was soon followed by a railroad. But as Georgetown grew, its small town charm remained the same. The Williamson County Sun has been publishing a weekly newspaper from its offices on the square since 1877.

In 1990, the population of Georgetown was around 16,000. The 2000 census put the population just over 28,000 and current city of Georgetown estimates has the population well over 50,000. Just 25 miles north of Austin, this not-so-little town has become known as a great place to raise a family. With highly rated schools, a brand new library and community center, Georgetown has a lot to offer families.

But it's not just those raising families that have raised the town population. Sun City is a Del Webb retirement community with three golf courses and other amenities geared toward the active senior lifestyle that has grown on the west side of Georgetown over the last fifteen years. Sun City attracts new residents from all over the country.

There is plenty to do around Georgetown that keeps its tourism industry thriving, too. A day or two could be spent just poking around the shops, restaurants and coffee shops on the square alone. Just off the square is the historic Palace Theater, first opened in 1926 featuring silent movies. Over the decades, the theater lost some of its luster and even shut down for awhile. In the 1990s, local residents formed the Georgetown Palace Theater, Inc to raise money to restore the theater to its old splendor. No longer a movie theater, The Palace is now an integral part of Georgetown's arts and culture as a live performance theater.

After loosening its civic ban on the size of business that could operate in Georgetown, the town has boomed. The Wolfe family, long time Georgetown residents, sold a large track of land that has become the shopping mecca called Wolfe Ranch right along I-35. Restaurant chains, movie theaters and well known stores abound all over Georgetown. Yet, the small town feel of Georgetown still remains. While the edges of the town spread south toward Round Rock and Austin and west toward Liberty Hill, the heart of Georgetown remains largely unchanged.


Ki works in Central Austin. His website distributes free information on Austin real estate to potential buyers. It is a clearinghouse of available Austin homes in the MLS . He also provides a search for Georgetown Texas real estate as well as Austin real estate.

Head west, between Austin and San Marcos, across the seemingly endless Texas Hill Country vistas dotted by quaint towns and you will find the old mill town of Wimberley. The town was first settled in the 1840s, after Texas became a state. Mills powered by Cypress Creek kept the town growing, and changing names, for decades. Each new mill owner gave the settlement a new name, until it officially became Wimberley in 1880 after then mill owner Pleasant Wimberley.

Perhaps the best known spot in Wimberley is Blue Hole. Shaded by Cypress trees, this spring-fed swimming hole is always inviting. Purchased by the city of Wimberley in 2005 with the help of the Texas Department of Wildlife and other public funding sources, Blue Hole will be enjoyed for generations to come. The grassy banks that surround the cool waters are perfect for sunbathing and picnicking. The rope swings hanging from the tall branches of the Cypress trees entice daredevils to leap into the deep water with splash.

Other outdoor activities include hiking the Cypress Creek Nature trails, which has 7.24 acres of trails crisscrossed by the babbling creek. There are great Hill Country views from the top of Mount Baldy. The stone steps carved along the path to Mount Baldy, also called Prayer Mountain, make this a pleasant hike.

Beautiful Hill Country views can be found along the drive to the Devil's Backbone off of Ranch Road 12, where the whole valley can be seen and then grab a bite at one of the nearby taverns. The town of Wimberley goes to the banks of the Blanco River and another popular drive is River Road. The river may entice drivers to stop and fish, swim or drift down the river on a tube.

Visitors to Wimberley will want to meander over to the Driftwood Estate Winery, which has seven grape varieties on its 20 acre vineyard. Enjoy the views from the deck where the winery serves lunch and offers tastings year around. Another tasty Wimberley destination is the Bella Vista Ranch, an Italian style family farm. This home of the First Texas Olive Oil Company has over 1000 producing olive trees and an olive press. There are also seasonal fruits and vegetables, a winery, tasting room and gift shop, with tours and tastings daily.

Wimberley Market Days are on the first Saturday of the month, March through December. With over 400 booths, there is something for everyone at this historical market. It is the oldest continuous outdoor market in the Hill Country and the second oldest in Texas. Even just a stroll down Main Street is a unique Wimberley experience with its eclectic array of shops and eateries. This Hill Country town needs to be put on the to-do list.


William graduated from UT, and stayed in Austin to live and works as a broker in the Austin real estate market. He authored a website, which serves Austin real estate buyers. It has a feature, which includes free searches of houses in the Austin MLS. His site also provides a map based home search for Wimberley real estate

In the 1800s, many German immigrants made their way to Texas having heard there were great opportunities to be had. They created settlements throughout central Texas with uniquely German traditions. In 1846 a group of settlers left New Braunfels, TX and headed up the Pedernales River to what would become Fredericksburg. Through a generous treaty with Native Americans in the region, the German settlers of Fredericksburg were able to not only persevere, but also thrive.

It is an area rich in history, a microcosm of the struggles of European settlers and the adventures of the Old West. Just a little over an hour out of Austin, Fredericksburg offers a little of something for everyone. Whether it's sausage, wine or wildflowers, Fredericksburg is a great escape for anyone looking to step away from the hustle and bustle for awhile.

Landscape Attractions
Fredericksburg and the surrounding area boasts peach orchards, vineyards and wineries including the well known Becker Vineyards, a wildflower farm, a lavender farm, a herb farm, golf, parks and playgrounds. Enchanted Rock State Natural Area is about 18 miles outside of Fredericksburg for hiking, camping and picnicking.

Historical Attractions
Fredericksburg is home to the National Museum of the Pacific War, which tells the story of WWII in the Pacific theater. While it may seem like a strange location, far from the Pacific, it is also known as the Nimitz Museum named for Fredericksburg's famous son Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. There is also the Pioneer Museum Complex focusing on the history of the German immigrants who settled the area. Fredericksburg is known as the "City of Steeples" because of the number of historic churches throughout town and there are two historic cemeteries.

Good Eats
In an area steeped in the traditions of German, Spanish and Czechoslovakian settlers there is all kinds of marvelous food to be had. The Fredericksburg Brewing Company brews its own beer in the German style, but offers truly American fare to go with its beer. Quintessential Chocolates has been making chocolate in the European tradition with a liquid center for generations. There is barbeque, TexMex and plenty of fabulous kinds of chili. There are Czech bakeries and, of course, German food.

Fairs and Festivals
As the county seat, Fredericksburg is also home to the Gillespie County Fair Grounds, which each August is host to the oldest continuous county fair in Texas. The third weekend of every month is the Fredericksburg Trade Days, showcasing antiques, crafts, collectibles, jewelry and more. There are art, food and musical festivals throughout the year, and even an historic 112 mile horseback trail ride every Spring.

Fredericksburg is uniquely Texas with its Hill Country views combining lush landscapes of wildflowers with rustic miles of cactus and rocky granite. There are art galleries, shopping and theaters--truly something for everyone to enjoy.


Ki works, in the Austin real estate market. He maintains a website for future buyers of Austin homes. The site offers information and a search for Austin real estate along with statistics on fredericksburg real estate.