Daily Flavor

A favorite for cyclists, south Austinites, families fresh out from Barton Springs and others, Daily Juice on Barton Springs road is a refreshing and healthy stop on any day. Listen to the Juice Jams on their web site to prepare for the atmosphere.

Though I’ve known about the place for a while, I recently discovered through biking travels that they offer a 15 percent discount for bikers (!) Biking to this place is also beneficial because there are 2 official parking spots for the place. Everyone else is left on their own to fight with Flipnotics regulars next door. The last time I went, a lot of entertainment was provided in an incompetent woman’s parking failures. Curbs were hit, feelings were hurt and laughter was a plenty.

This place isn’t the cheapest, but the discount helps and the Sure Thing, a simple take on the strawberry banana classic, starts at $3.75 (so 3.20 for bikers). And they have plenty of juices and all the wheatgrass shots, baraka bars and goji berries to fill your vegan or vegetarian heart’s delight. And if you’ve ever heard of the grade-b maple syrup cleanse, try their master cleanse for $14. Hardcore health fans only.

On a hot fall day in Austin, the only thing more refreshing than Barton Springs is Daily Juice.

Best (outdoor) things to do for under $5

This is going to be a series, since school is almost done. For the first installment, I have to choose Barton Springs. It’s only $3 to swim, embarrass yourself on the diving board or tan. The pool’s closed on Thursdays for cleaning, so you’ll have to endure your apartment pool on those days. The awesome exhibits in the front are free also. I highly recommend watching the Barton Springs history video in the rock cove. Two thumbs up, really.

Do not ever ever ever buy a season pass though, unless you plan to live at Barton Springs. It cost $180 and the pass only lasts until November. The 15-year-old kid working there when I was complaining about this corrected me, saying that it pays for itself in just 60 visits. Oh, how silly I was, I only have to come here every day of the summer to make it worthwhile.