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| A Searing Set of Memories for our Age Group. |
We rolled out of Austin just before noon in the drizzling rain. Our exit was easy, and soon we were rolling through the Texas Hill Country. Of course, we stopped for BBQ at Dripping Springs (Railroad BBQ). Now that we're BBQ snobs, we thought it was adequate but average. Our touring today consisted of stopping in Johnson City where Lyndon B Johnson has his roots. For people my age, he was a significant figure in American politics. It was very interesting to tour his boyhood home, see his grandfather's homestead, and to drive by the Texas White House. We didn't have time to tour the ranch; we'll do that sometime this weekend. We've left Austin behind, but we haven't left live music behind. Tonight we saw a couple of honky tonk pickers (Bo Porter and Bobby Boyd) at Hondo's in downtown Fredericksburg. It was really a pleasant venue. Judy didn't have to wear ear plugs and we were home by nine thirty. Plus there were some great country song lyrics bandied about: "I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could." "I don't need no help losin', I can do it by myself." "Three nails and a cross equals forgiveness." "There may be another morning, but there won't be another now." In addition to those guys, we also heard a couple of songs by a young gal, Samantha Ann Little, who just happened to stop by. One thing I'll miss when I get home is this live music. It's really quite amazing. Oh, I almost forgot. Our trip today was uneventful, except for almost sliding through a red light just outside of Austin. The roads hadn't had any rain for quite a while, the light turned yellow, I braked, and Fric and Frac slid halfway through the intersection on a straight line. I decided since I was in the middle of the intersection, I'd just keep going. The oncoming car that wanted to turn let me, though he did seem a bit taken aback. I learned something about momentum on that one, and once again we were lucky enough to suffer nothing serious. And on the rate the RV park page, Fredericksburg RV Park is clean, well run, and full of "Winter Texans", many from northern spots such as Illinois, Iowa, the Dakotas, New York, etc. This is not a new phenomenon, but if we ever chose to winter somewhere, we'd make sure the sun was shining most of the time. Here in middle Texas, it is very likely that cooler weather will prevail. On the other hand, Fredericksburg is close to Austin, San Antonio, and a few other nice places. Who knows what makes people choose what they do. On a tournament note, the wily cager made a valiant come back , but fell a bit short. This made me the champion of Austin, and put me up one in the overall series. However, no lead is safe against the wily one. For now, we're readying ourselves for another taste of Texas, and we both believe that life is good, especially today.
A fair lunch, but no one is standing in line for three and half hours to eat here.
Lyndon B Johnson's grandfather's cabin, built right after the Civil War.
If only these old live oaks could talk. Imagine the things they've seen and heard. Treebeard-wake up.
Most of the barn is built of the foot thick blocks of limestone.
Art shot: Ain't it potty?
Water was life in Texas. When Johnson was a boy, he had no electricity, no running water, no plumbing. The first thing he did after getting elected to Congress was to bring electricity to his home county.
Johnson's parents moved to this home in the early nineteen hundreds. They raised five children here. All five became college graduates. Johnson, like his mother, believed the only sure way out of poverty was education.
What do you see? This photo of a woman in front of her vanity is hanging in the parlor of the Johnson home.
I'm partial to kitchens.
Lyndon's bed, ball glove, and ball.
Judy trying on one of Lyndon's mother's dresses. Quite stylish.
We can't wait to tour Fredericksburg. Hopefully we can tour a little by bicycle. Being the fair weather wimps we are, our bikes have been a little lonely of late. Stay tuned. Talk is cheap. Hondo's is a very cozy bar/pub. Food appeared to be medium, but we only saw some, we didn't eat any.
Bo Porter on the left. Bobby Boyd on the right, who wrote this song, which is on George Strait's latest album. George Strait - Three Nails And A Cross
Samantha Ann Little sang during the break. I was dying to ask her about the "dream" of being a star. It was easy to tell she loved the music, and my intuition told me she also loved the idea of being a star. I won't ever really know.
You can't tell in this still shot, but Samantha's sweet little Texas head was bobbin'.
Home sweet home for a few days, right down prowler path.
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