Teenage Birthday Fun
Our son turned 15-years old this week (Happy Birthday!). Long gone are the days of prepackaged birthday parties (think Pump ‘Em Up, Main Event, Chuck E Cheese, and Dart ‘Em Up). We decided to put together a fun evening out for our son and his friends, appropriate for their soon-to-be-driving ages.
First stop was a group outing at the Austin Panic Room. If you haven’t been to one of the escape rooms before, the quick summary is that the group is “locked” inside of a room and to escape, they need to find clues in the room to help them solve a series of puzzles, each of which opens a lock that exposes them to more clues. It’s a lot of fun, and the session takes about an hour and a half. The boys had a blast, and were able to escape from their “Cabin Fever” room (there is more than one room there, and each is different) with 9 minutes to spare!
From the Austin Panic Room, we took a short car ride to Frank. Frank is gourmet hot-dog and sausage specialty restaurant in the heart of downtown Austin at 4th and Colorado. The restaurant is very casual, fun music playing, and the menu is easy for teenage boys. They feasted on plates of queso fries, and ordered interesting hot dogs like the Notorious P.I.G. and German Curryworst. Surprisingly, none of them took a chance on the Creole Gator or Jackalope (rabbit and antelope) offerings! One caution – Frank is also known for their beer, and can turn into more of a bar scene later in the evening.
After dinner, we walked a few blocks to Voodoo Doughnuts at 6th and Brazos. This quirky restaurant is known for their eclectic selection, featuring doughnuts topped with all different types of sugary breakfast cereal (Fruit Loops, Cap’n Crunch, Coco Puffs) and other foods you normally don’t find on top of the glaze (bubblegum or Kool-Aid powder, bacon, crushed candy bars, etc.). They even have a fun one called the “Voodoo’ which is in the shape of their signature voodoo doll logo. The menu has a bunch of interesting titles for these creations, but be careful, some of the names are definitely PG-13! Also, don’t forget that Voodoo is a cash-only place.
It was a fun night out for a group of teenagers!
