Texas Hill Country

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On Saturday, Jan. 18, we got up early and got to the LBJ Library and Museum in Austin right at the 9:00 am starting time. This is our 3rd presidential museum on this trip and I have to say that I think I enjoyed this one the most. I remember the LBJ years, even tho I was still very, very young.The museum tells about the turbulent years when Johnson was president, but it gives you a good feel of LBJ the man and his family. I was very impressed with the letter that Jackie Kennedy wrote to him after he took over office. It was so genuine and full of understanding of the problems he was facing...what a classy lady she was. Jim and I were also very impressed with the war pictures that were part of the museum. Photographs from the Civil War through the Iraqi War were displayed along with letters from the soldiers. It struck me that all those soldiers faced different foes in different lands, but they all had something in common...they were all young men and women far from home and afraid. We were surprised to see pictures of women involved in the wars all the way back to the Civil War. We spoke to a docent next to a display of space pens and Jim told her his story about how the US spent thousands of dollars developing a pen that could write in space and the Russians solved the problem by using pencils. She laughed and said that she would use that story in the museum. I think that made Jim very happy. :D

I wanted to check out the shopping on South Congress so we headed down that way. We had to cross over the Anne Richardson Bridge to get there. In our research, we found out that that is the bridge the bats live under and where people can see them fly out in the evenings. Unfortunately for us, the bats don't like the cold any more than we do and they are currently in Mexico and won't be coming back to Austin until March. We were able to find a parking spot on SoCo (back-in parking only; Jim did a great job parking) and we walked down looking at some of the shops. We stopped in Allen's boot store and I found a pair of boots that actually fit me! Cowgirl Debby!! :D A picture of me wearing them will certainly follow!

We headed west into the Texas Hill Country as I wanted to see Fredericksburg, TX, a town I had heard of from reading other peoples' blogs. Fredericksburg is a German settlement about 1 1/2 hours from Austin. We noticed many wineries as we drove into Fredericksburg, but decided not to stop as we didn't have a lot of time. It turned out to be a really cute town, very touristy, but with nice shops and restaurants. We found a beautiful handmade Christmas ornament that we bought and saw some beautiful lamps that we didn't buy, but took the store's card if we change our minds (and have any money left after this trip). We also stopped in Rustlin' Robs where we teased our tastebuds with all the samples they had of mustards, relishes, sauces, etc. We probably didn't need dinner after all that sampling, but we stopped at Der Lindenbaum, an authentic-looking German restaurant (lacy curtains and everything). Jim enjoyed his schnitzel and I had the sausage sampler. I wasn't sure about the German potato salad at first as it was more mashed than chopped, but the flavors blended very well and we both enjoyed it.

There was something so familiar to me as we drove through the Hill Country. I don't know if it reminded me of some other place or if it was some vestige of memory from when I used to live here, but the land really sang to me. I would love to come back here and spend more time in Fredericksburg. I want to tour the Museum of the Pacific War (Admiral Nimitz was born in here), sample some of the wineries and drive around the beautiful countryside. And, of course, we'll have to come back in March sometime to see the bats fly out from under the bridge.

We left Fredericksburg just as the sun was setting and headed back east to San Antonio. We found a Comfort Suites on the outskirts of the city and enjoyed a quiet night. Sunday morning, we got up, had breakfast at the hotel and then headed for the San Antonio Zoo. We got there early (thank goodness because the line to get in was a lot longer when we left at noon) and spent an enjoyable couple of hours walking in the warm sunshine and enjoying the sights and sounds of the zoo. I loved seeing the birds flying around and listening to all the sounds they made. We were very impressed with the beauty of the landscaping and the way the exhibits were incorporated into what had once been an old quarry. It must have still been a little cold for the animals, tho, because what few animals we saw were lying in the sun and not too active. We certainly enjoyed walking around in the warm sunshine. An elderly man we met right inside the zoo told us about the nearby Japanese sunken garden so we walked over and checked it out. Even though I'm sure it will be much more beautiful later in the season, we enjoyed the walk. The San Antonio Zoo is located in Brackenridge Park. We drove through the park and were very impressed. The river runs through it and at one point we actually had to ford the river as it ran across the road. The park seemed to be a lovely place to come for a picnic or just to bike or walk and we saw several families making use of it. By now, it was after 1:00 so we put the address of our hotel in the GPS and headed into downtown San Antonio. We found the Drury Inn and Suites on St. Mary's St. easily and pulled into the parking area. Our room wasn't ready yet, but the friendly girls at the front desk said that we could leave our car and go out to the Riverwalk - they would call us when the room was ready. We had to take the elevator one floor down to the Riverwalk. We walked out of the hotel doors and just said "Wow!" It felt like we had walked into another world. The Riverwalk feels like you have stepped into another time and place! The first thing we did was take the 1/2 hour river cruise to acquaint ourselves with the area. What a romantic and beautiful place! The hotel called us as we were on the cruise so we headed back, checked in and got our suitcases out of the car. The Drury Inn and Suites turned out to be a very good choice for us. It is located right on the Riverwalk. Our room is clean and restful, everyone on staff that we have spoken to has been very polite and they offer a free breakfast and a free kickback at 5:30 - 7:00 which includes three free drinks and happy-hour type food. Sunday evening we ate at the kickback and didn't even need to eat any more. I wore my new boots when we went out later to walk the Riverwalk - I felt like "hot stuff." :D Like I said before, walking on the Riverwalk feels like you have left the normal everyday world and entered another realm where stress and tension seems to disappear. We walked for quite a while and then returned to the hotel for an early night. Our room overlooks the Riverwalk, but it was pretty quiet. That might be different during the high season, but now we could have our windows open and enjoy the evening cool and quiet.

Monday morning we got up early for the hotel's hot breakfast and then walked up a few blocks to the Alamo. Again, we got there early and practically had the place to ourselves. We were kind of surprised to find out that there were some New Yorkers who were killed at the Alamo, too. There are flags of many states and countries inside the Alamo with the number of men from that state/country who were killed in the battle. Once we start talking to people, they always ask where we're from. I guess they pick Jim's accent up right away and know that we can't be from here. :D Everyone we've talked to has been very nice and we've actually met a couple displaced New Yorkers. They all seem very happy to be living here. We continued walking and saw San Fernando Cathedral, the oldest cathedral in the United States, and stopped in a few shops in La Villita and the Market Square. Jim had asked around last night for someone who would shine shoes. I guess it's a dying art now as there weren't very many around. We did find The Matador, a barbershop, who had a shoe shine, but he was out to lunch when we got there. Lunch sounded good to us, too, so we went back down to the Riverwalk and found a table on the river where I had a Mexican Martini and fish tacos. After lunch, the shoe shine had returned to the shop and Jim's shoes now look great!

This evening, we went back to the hotel for Kickback at 5:30. We walked around the Riverwalk for a while and found some places we hadn't explored yet. We're leaving here tomorrow so I wanted to get some clothes washed in the guest laundry. There is a pool and hot tub on the top floor where the laundry is so it made perfect sense to wait for the laundry in the hot tub. We met a couple there from Raleigh, NC and spent a lovely half hour talking with them. After they left, I decided to take a swim. How lovely to swim in a rooftop pool in January with the stars shining brightly above me. We truly have a lot to be grateful for!

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Photos

LBJ Library & Museum in Austin
This is a letter that Jackie Kennedy wrote to LBJ after Kennedy's assassination. I was very impressed with this letter.

Congress Ave. in Austin
A statue of a bat just before the Anne Richardson Bridge where the bats come out Mar. - Oct.

Allen's Boots in Austin
Yep, I bought a pair of boots!

San Antonio Zoo
Beautiful lories.

San Antonio Zoo
The tiger just had twin cubs.

San Antonio Riverwalk
This is one of the cruise boats that take tours along the river

San Antonio Riverwalk
Sitting on the river having a Mexican Martini. Life is good!

San Antonio Riverwalk
Seems like another world

Comments

[Ro]

Thanks for letting me take a free ride with you and Jim again this time to the Alamo and its environs. Talking of shedding all tension you look ten years younger. The Martni too must have done its trick:) Waiting for the next installment. Ro.

[nancy skoglund]

Deb and those boots
I can just imagine how much you loved Texas. You certainly picked interesting things from LBJ to a German Restaurant. Good for you!!