Friday, May 7, 2010
We are in Louisiana! Settling in at the RV park, we decided to do a real Cajun Swamp Boat Tour. It was quite a intresting 2 ½ hours in a small skiff, captained by “Butch”, who was born, raised and still lives on the banks of this bayou. He took us to “another world”, through swamp with cypress trees hundreds of years old.
We saw so many species of heron, including the great blues, and many other birds. He even took us deep into the trees to show us birds nesting high in the trees. We could even see tops of the heads of the babies peeking over. It was a real special treat……
then we went on the gator hunt. There were so many, we stopped counting. Some 6-7 feet long, but mostly huge ones at least 9-12 feet. We had a great time and know that this will be at the top of the list of things enjoyed on this trip.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Nine days in and around Lockhart, TX has really been a great time, visiting with friends and soaking up the history in this part of the country. We could use a few more days, but must move on. Today we will drive to Beaumont, TX for one night.
Randi will take advantage of sitting by the pool while catching up on the laundry, but Curt, Yvonne and I are more interested the historic sites here. They visited the historic Sam’s Club, while I chose historic Lowe’s, Home Depot, Harbor Freight, Best Buy and Taco Bell. A good time was had by all.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
A “down day” today until 4:30 when we left for Austin to our friends’ home for dinner. Jay and Brent moved from California to Austin 5 years ago, bought an old home in the historic district and have transformed it into a real showplace. Randi and Jay have been friends since their time at Hoag, where he was a Radiation Oncologist. He retired at a very young age to pursue his first love…architecture. It was a treat to share the evening with them and to see their incredible home, an awesome display of their expertise in design and workmanship. Yvonne and I are envious of Brent’s grand workshop, which includes every tool imaginable. We blew it no pictures.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
I stayed at the park today to nurse an eye infection and take a much needed bike ride. Randi, Curt and Yvonne spent the day in the Hill Country. They drove to Fredericksburg, a charming town reflecting the cultural legacy of the German immigrants who first arrived in central Texas in the 1840’s. They couldn’t resist having lunch at a local biergarten before starting the drive back to the RV park. Randi said, the most significant stop along the way was a tour of the Lyndon B. Johnson Ranch, which is quite impressive with its massive acreage and extremely modest house, occupied by Lady Bird with the original furnishings, until her death in 2007. They thoroughly enjoyed the day, even though Curt drove about 240 miles in the car. I was happy to “cool it”.
We all met for another wonderful dinner with Jack and Elfriede at their house. I cannot express how warm and inviting they have been.
We were on the road early to visit Austin. Jack is leading the way in his car, leading us to the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, which houses 3 floors of Texas history. We all loved the Imax movie of the 2009 space project to repair the Hubble telescope. In “Elton John” mode, we donned our big red 3-D glasses and took that awesome trip through the stars. I rode back to the RV in Jack’s car, stopping at a bicycle shop to buy a new tire.
Curt, Yvonne and Randi headed for a local eatery before touring the Texas capitol building and other historic sites in Austin.
Early in the evening, Randi and I, following a tip from our neighbors and park hosts, decided to drive 14 miles to Luling and try the bar-b-que at the City Market. It was a pretty drive and they were right about the food.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
This morning we moved back to the state park for 4 more days. It was great fun to share the afternoon with Jack and Elfreide. We gathered at our campsites and each made tacos with Yvonne’s (now famous) chicken and salsa.
