Tourin' Texas

We exited Louisiana from Lake Charles, drove into the great state of Texas, through Houston to a KOA in San Antonio.  A beautiful couple of days there, as our spot was to the back of the campground, leaving us in solitary serenity.

On our first night we strolled on the beautiful River Walk, below street level.  Lots of stonework and lighting.

Tour barges gliding along.  And of course, the Tankmeister got his usual quota of admirers!

Then a walk to the historic Alamo, looking particularly small in the midst of all the modern buildings towering over it.  Nevertheless, we could feel the energy of this place and its importance in history.  When asked to surrender to a superior force, the commander fired his cannon in reply.  All 200 were killed and then burned.  It rallied the forces for Texan independence...

Cinderella carriages in downtown San Antonio

On our way to Austin we visited the Wimberley Glass Works.  Our glass-blowing instructor from New Orleans, Kyle, had suggested we visit his friend Justin, who works there.

 Another awesome experience!  We watched Justin and Susan shape a beautiful vase, explaining the steps as they went.  It was good for us to see the similarities with our experience in New Orleans.

These conchs are NOT from the Florida Keys!

Then on to Austin to visit Jon, Karen's nephew.  The first stop on Congress Avenue was one of the famed food wagons, and we were not disappointed.  A toasted cheese sandwich with barbecued beef brisket!!  As Jon had just had several wisdom teeth extracted, we stayed the night in Walmart and watched a Redbox movie.

The next day we met up with Jon and headed to Zilker Park, along the Colorado River in downtown Austin.  A gorgeous day, and lots of people and their dogs out enjoying the weather!

My awesome nephew, Jon! He's a Phy Ed teacher at a charter school here in Austin

Later that day Jon treated us to delicious Mexican food at his favorite place.

We followed that with a trip to Rainey Street, a very unique district of bars.  Most of the bars were in renovated houses.  One bar, called appropriately Container Bar, was made out of metal containers welded together.

Moe, Larry and Curly!

Interestingly enough, as I called Florida the Grey Zone because everybody was old, Austin is the opposite, as Karen and I were the only ones over 40!!











The next day we went for an excellent bike ride on the miles-long bike path through Austin, along the Colorado River.  Again, lots of people out actively enjoying the day!

Stevie Ray Vaughan ... Da Blues Man and native Austonian

We followed that up with a visit to the LBJ Presidential Library on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin.  I had visited the JFK Memorial in the Dallas Book Depository Building over 20 years ago, a very emotional experience for me.  Kennedy and Johnson were the presidents during my "coming of age" years.

"All the way with LBJ"

 I remembered LBJ primarily as the one who escalated and could not end the war in Vietnam.  I was totally astounded to learn of his positive accomplishments however.  During his term the following events took place: the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, passage of the 24th Amendment abolishing the poll tax, the creation of Medicare and Medicaid, the National Endowment for the Arts, both PBR and PBS, the removal of national origin quotas for immigration, and gun control legislation in 1968.

Later that night we went to an Open Mic at D.B. Riley's, an Irish bar on the famed 6th Street lineup of bars and night spots.  We had a great time, again meeting some very friendly folks.

Featured performer, Darren with Brooke and Mark, hosts of the
open mic and the guy who recorded six of our songs in his studio

Brooke and Mark were the hosts of the Open Mic.  In talking to them, we found out that Mark has a recording studio in his apartment.  We are heading over there in about an hour to record some tunes... exciting!

Met a rep from a company called Sage Parts that I did a story for when I
was editor of Ground Support Worldwide. Small world.