| This weekend, February 18, 2007, Austin's Lake | | | | for families with kids as well as a reasonable |
| Travis hosted the $1 million Wal-Mart Forrest L. | | | | commute into the city. As opportunities become |
| Wood Bass Fishing Tournament. The winner, pro | | | | available, many businesses have, or are |
| Aaron Hastings of Middletown, MD, claimed the | | | | considering relocation of facilities to the corridor |
| $125,000 prize with a final-round total of ten bass | | | | area between Austin and Lake Travis, to |
| weighing 19 pounds, 9 ounces. Professional and | | | | complement and enhance the residents who |
| amateur fishermen from all over the globe | | | | choose to live in the area. Schools are excellent, |
| converged on the lake for a week of competition | | | | retail shopping, restaurants, and entertainment |
| in the prestigious tournament, which will be | | | | venues are in place, and due to continued road |
| broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) | | | | improvements, the trip into Austin has shortened |
| subscribers in the U.S. and abroad as part of the | | | | significantly. |
| "FLW Outdoors" television series, the most widely | | | | Even closer to town, the lake that shares Austin's |
| distributed weekly fishing program in the world. | | | | name offers a great variety of homes, |
| That's quite a commercial for those with an | | | | condominiums, rentals and resorts, as well as |
| interest in lake property in the Austin area. | | | | water sports, great fishing, and other |
| Only a few years ago, a trip to Lake Travis was | | | | entertainment amenities close at hand. |
| an excursion, a chance to bask in nature and | | | | From the hills of Lake Travis, the water slopes |
| enjoy the outdoors on a boat or at one of the | | | | gently down to Lake Austin, finally meandering its |
| many parks that ring Austin's liquid jewels. With | | | | way through the heart of the city as Town Lake, |
| improved access, highway construction and | | | | our treasured, urban waterway, these three |
| commercial development completed, or well under | | | | named bodies of water are claimed by Austinites |
| way, the Highland Lakes have become a viable | | | | as their share of the chain of 7 lakes that |
| choice for those seeking the best of both worlds | | | | comprise the Highland Lakes, that were created |
| Austin has to offer. | | | | by a system of hydroelectric dams on the |
| Today, many native and new or prospective | | | | Colorado River. |
| Austinites have been lured to the lakes by the | | | | I believe that Austin's claim to all three is valid |
| natural beauty of the live oaks, cypress, granite | | | | because somehow, the people who make their |
| cliffs, and the sparkling blue water. The rugged hills | | | | homes on opposite banks of the water, or |
| surrounding the lakes have recently become | | | | sometimes even share adjoining property lines, |
| dotted with magnificent homes that take full | | | | reflect the eclectic, vibrant nature that Austin calls |
| advantage of breathtaking views of the lake, and | | | | its own. The celebrities, politicos and notables |
| offer distant glimpses of the thriving city of | | | | happily mixing with artists, university students, |
| Austin. The landscape, and the upscale homes in | | | | writers, musicians and interesting hippie |
| the hills evoke a West Coast style, and many | | | | hangers-on, are still noticeable and treasured out |
| former residents of that state have found good | | | | there, just as they are in town. The lure of |
| value, compared to property in California. | | | | Austin's lakes has its real root in the lure of |
| Along the arteries that lead into the heart of | | | | Austin's people and their collective Texas-bred |
| Austin, more modest, yet still upscale, | | | | personality. Yipee! |
| neighborhoods offer an idyllic, semi-rural setting | | | | |