Our Road Trips

7/2/2016 6/27-7/1/2016

Monday morning was a sleep late morning and then get back downtown Austin for our appointment to ride the boat to watch the 1.5 million bats that go hunting dinner at sunset every night from the Congress St bridge across Lady Bird Lake, which is the section of the Colorado River, where it flows through Austin. This Colorado River originates south of Lubbock, flows through several more reservoirs before reaching Austin, including Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake & Lake Lyndon B. Johnson. After passing through Austin, the Colorado River continues flowing southeast until emptying into Matagorda Bay on the Gulf of Mexico, near Matagorda. The Texas waterway is not connected to, nor part of, the longer and more well-known Colorado River that originates in Colorado, flows through Utah and Nevada, created the Grand Canyon and Lake Mead, and marks the entire length of the state line separating Arizona and California. We got there early, found a place to park & went into the Hyatt adjacent to the dock to stay out of the heat and get some snacks. At 730, we boarded the boat and went cruising, first west, then back east under the bridge and while we were still going east the sun was setting, so by the time we got turned around and back to the bridge, it was mostly dark. The bats did fly, but seeing them in the dark was nearly impossible. I did get a couple of pictures, but it was pretty disappointing. When we got back to the dock, it was late enough that we decided to call it a night.

Tuesday morning, we headed west with a destination of Luckenbach, made famous in a song sung by Waylon Jennings in 1977. On our way, we passed through a lot of small towns and other sometimes pretty, sometimes some not so pretty countryside. We also passed through Johnson City, hometown of Lyndon B Johnson who became President upon the death of JFK. We stopped and looked around, then continued our journey. Next, we passed the LBJ Ranch, which was closed, so we continued. We were traveling on Hwy 290 which turns into a Wine Corridor from Johnson City to Fredricksburg, probably 20 wineries in 30 miles. We followed our GPS to Luckenbach and we were there with less than 30 other people, most there to listen to 4 folks playing acoustic guitars and singing old time folk songs in what was called Pickers Heaven. It was an interesting hour+ in what has been described as a state of mind, far removed from modern life as we know it today...a step back in time to where everybody is somebody. We headed back so we could get back before dark...we had passed through a lot of territory where wildlife would be abundant at dusk.

The next day we drove 80+ miles east to College Station, home to the Texas A&M Aggies & the George Bush Presidential Library & Museum. Many more miles of rural roads & small towns along the way made the trip enjoyable. We arrived about 1 pm and spent the next 3+ hours traveling through time, beginning with his time as a little boy until his time as POTUS, and everything in between, which was a lot. He served his country in a lot of ways, Navy pilot, Envoy to China, US Ambassador to the UN, Head of the CIA, and much more...it was a very educational day, we both enjoyed it thoroughly. We got run out at 455 by a very rude wannabe cop and we tried very hard to not let it ruin our enjoyable day. It is a shame when you run into someone who thinks their position gives them the right to be rude...this guy fit that mold. But we will move on and suggest you take the time to visit, it is a far superior place than GW Bush's attempt in Dallas, and still an educational place to visit. We had a very nice discussion about our day on the ride back...it has been a very fun day.

The next morning was again spent in Austin, with our first stop at the Lyndon B Johnson Library & Museum. We spent another 4 hours walking through the Life & Times of LBJ. We forget how great these people have been until we see it all in one place. When we left the LBJ Library, we drove 1/2 mile to the Visitor's Center for the Texas State Capitol. We arrived just in time to get an hour tour by a nice lady. It is the largest Capitol in the US and has recently undergone a thorough restoration so it is a very nice place to visit. After the guided part of the tour we were invited to go anywhere on our own, so we spent another 45 mins looking around...quite the place. On our way out, we stopped to talk to a Texas State Trooper for about 5 minutes...very nice chat about multiple issues...nice guy. Fun visit. Then we drove 3/4 of a mile towards town to find a pub Barb had found while doing her research for stuff to do...Firehouse Lounge & Hostel. We found a parking spot & when we entered, the lobby, we found directions to slide a bookcase out of the way which exposed the entry...very different. We found later a website on 7 speakeasy hidden entrance bars in Austin, and this was one of them. What a fun place. We stayed a couple of hours and then made our way back to the camper. It has been a fun 4 days of sightseeing the Austin area.

Yesterday, we went on a tour of the Inner Space Cavern in Georgetown, 1.5 hours of walking through a very well developed cavern that was discovered while building I-35. It was pretty warm & humid down there, unlike most caves we have been in, but the tour was nice. After the cavern, we drove to downtown Georgetown and got a free tour of the Williamson County Courthouse, completed in 1903 and renovated in 2006-7. We also walked through the museum across the street. The courthouse is in the center of the town. Then we headed back to the camper, with a stop at the grocery store. We hung out at the camper for an hour or so and then drove to the Rentsch Brewery for happy hour and a couple of Mexican dishes. We made it back right at sunset, the campground is filling up.

Today, we have been taking it easy and enjoying doing nothing, tomorrow is more of the same. The campground is full, everyone enjoying the July 4th holiday. Monday will be a long day at Willie's Picnic in Austin & Tuesday we will be moving west to Alpine, TX.

Steve & Barb Larson