Living Our Dream

Texas Hill Country Part IV: LBJ Library and Good Texas Barbeque

You can't go very far in the central part of Texas Hill Country without running into President and Lady Bird Johnson over and over again. In addition to the LBJ Ranch and boyhood home located a little north and west of where we were staying, the LBJ Presidential Library is also located in Austin to the east. We're not big LBJ fans, but we are interested in history. LBJ is part of the history that was made during the time when we were young adults and were too busy to pay much attention. So while we were in Hill Country, we thought we might as well visit the LBJ Library.

We also decided to stop at the Barton Creek Farmers Market located at the back of the Barton Creek Square Mall on the outskirts of Austin on our way to the library. The market is held on Saturdays.

We weren't sure what to expect with the farmers market. Some farmers' markets have a couple of vendors selling vegetables out of boxes. Other times, there are lots of vendors selling a wide variety of produce. Barton Creek Farmers Market was the latter. The photo below shows only one of the two rows of vendors.

Not only was the market large, but everything was fresh and home grown, and much of it was organic. There was lettuce, broccoli, squash, carrots, and more. One vendor had some very nice-looking orchids.

There were also some natural, prepared foods like salsa, pesto, tabouleh, and cheeses. Someone was also there selling wildflower honey. Since we needed honey, we bought some. We're anxious to try it.

Several bakers at the market had artisan breads. We bought a loaf of whole-grain bread with sweet red peppers and kalamata olives from the fellow in the photo below.

 From the market, it was a short drive to the the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum. It opened in 1971 and is located on the University of Texas campus in Austin.

 

The entrance to the library is on the 3rd floor. There are two floors below ground that aren't open to the public and apparently are used for things like storage and maintenance.

The first part of the library has displays showing a general history of national and world events that occurred during LBJs lifetime from 1908 to 1973. There is also some history of LBJ himself and his family that we learned previously at his ranch and his boyhood home.

On the remainder of the 3rd floor, there are displays of events more specific to LBJ's presidency like the War on Poverty, civil rights, the Great Society and the Vietnam War. There was a moving exhibit on the assassination of President Kennedy which started LBJ's presidency.

The 1968 limousine used by President Johnson is also on display.

The library contains 45 million pages of historical documents relating to the Johnson presidency. Although the floors of the library containing these documents are not open to the general public, the documents are available for qualified research. Some of the binders are visible behind a glass wall as you ascend the steps from the 3rd to the 4th floor.

 

On the 4th floor of the library are displays of gifts from various heads of state to President and Mrs. Johnson. Some of the gifts are priceless relics reflecting the history and culture of the country from which the gifts came.

The 4th floor also has an animatronic figure of LBJ that tells some of his humorous stories.

A seven-eighths scale replica of the Oval Office during Johnson's presidency is on the 10th floor.

Also on the 10th floor is also an exhibit of on Lady Bird's legacy as a humanitarian and champion of the environment. Also on display on the 10th floor is the office Mrs. Johnson used in the library. It is set up just the way it was 25 years ago.

By the time we finished with the LBJ Library, it was afternoon, and we were hungry. Salt Lick Barbecue was featured on the Travel Channel program Man v. Food and it wasn't very far out of our way back to the motor home.

As we rounded a bend in the road, through the trees we could see dozens and dozens of parked cars. Paul thought it might have been a farm auction or something like that to draw that many cars to the middle of nowhere. As we rounded the next bend, we were greeted by the sign for the restaurant, and we realized all those cars we just saw were parked at the Salt Lick Barbecue. We were surprised to see their lot was big enough to park 300 or 400 cars.

After we parked, we found the desk to sign up for restaurant seating. They said the wait was 45 minutes. We decided to wait, but if we hadn't wanted to, we could have gone to the take out window and sat at one of the picnic tables under the trees. The outdoor seating area even had live entertainment that was very good.

As we waited, we noticed people carrying coolers. At first, we thought they were there for take out and they were going to use the insulated cooler as a "warmer" to keep their meal hot until they got home. Then we found out the coolers were full of beer. The restaurant is located in a dry county, but they do allow BYOB.

In the 1950s, Thurman Roberts and his wife were trying to come up with ways for him to make money so he could stay at home and not have to travel all over the state with his construction job. After trying several other ideas, they decided to try to sell to the public the barbecue Thurman had become so famous for when he made it for family reunions.

Thurman and his sons built a huge pit, and Thurman would go to the pit and start cooking on Thursday nights. He would stay all weekend, sleeping on a cot, until all the meat was gone. They eventually screened in the pit and the restaurant grew from there. Thurman has passed away, and the restaurant is now operated by Scott, who is one of his sons.

There are three dining rooms, and our name was called in only about 25 minutes instead of 45. There are three indoor dining areas with a seating capacity of almost 300 people. The mansion that Thurman built near the restaurant is also available for weddings and special events. The main restaurant is shown in the next photo.

Briskets, racks of ribs and links of sausage are on the grill. Notice the bucket of sauce sitting by the grill.

We were seated in the banquet room which has three rows of long picnic tables. When its crowded like it was the Saturday we were there, you may end up sharing the table with another group. We both ordered a combination plate with barbecued pork ribs, beef brisket and smoked sausage. The sides were so-so, but the barbecue was excellent. Paul's favorite was the brisket, with the sausage a close second. The brisket and ribs were tender, everything had a nice smokey flavor, and the non-tomato-based sauce was rich, thick and a little tart.

After lunch, we headed back to the motor home. After all that barbecue, we weren't hungry for dinner, but we did get hungry again a little later in the evening. We started out intending to eat a few slices of the red pepper/kalamata olive bread we got that morning at the farmers market; but it was so good, we ended up eating the whole loaf.

We still have more we want to see in Texas Hill Country, so look for our next post.

San Antonio, TX, Part II: River Walk

The Alamo and the River Walk are probably the best known features of San Antonio. We liked the peaceful, picturesque River Walk the last time we were in San Antonio, and we wanted to see it again. So after stopping at SAS Shoes, we headed into San Antonio.

From the parking lot where we ended up, we had to walk right past the Alamo to get to the River Walk, so we stopped by for a quick walk-around.

In our previous post about San Jacinto Historic State Park where we went about a week earlier when we were in the Houston/Galveston area, we learned about how Texas won its independence at San Jacinto on April 26, 1836. The Alamo is where approximately 200 heroic Texans held off Santa Anna's army for 13 days a few weeks before that. The Alamo eventually fell to Santa Anna, but the battle cry, "Remember the Alamo" inspired the Texan soldiers in their fight for independence.

The Alamo was originally built in the 1700s as the Mission San Antonio de Valero by the Spanish to convert the local Indians to the Catholic faith. In order to protect the local Indians from other Indians who were raiders, they eventually built walls around the mission and the compound became like a small city. We'll have more about missions in out next post.

The mission was abandoned in the late 1700s, and a little later was taken over by Mexico to house troops. The name was changed to the Alamo at that time. The Texans took over the compound from Mexico in December, 1835.

The serene gardens behind the Alamo belie the violence of the battle that once took place there.

Large live oak trees provide shade for a peaceful fountain.

A prickly pear cactus was just starting to bloom.

And there were lots of other desert plants as well.

After strolling around the Alamo, we headed across the street to the River Walk. You can get to the River Walk from stairs that extend down from streets above at the many overpasses, or you can cut through the Hyatt Regency like we did. They are nice enough to allow public access. On the way, there are several fountains that join together and flow all the way to the river. In fact, there are several fountains and artificial waterfalls around the River Walk that not only add to the ambiance, but they help keep the water aerated.

There was also a nice mosaic mural along the way. In the center of the mosaic is the Alamo surrounded by several other area missions and downtown buildings.

The San Antonio River starts in a cluster of springs about four miles north of downtown and then forms a big loop in the middle of San Antonio. There was a disastrous flood in 1921 after which plans were made to build a flood-control dam upstream of town and to pave over the loop and make it a big storm drain.

The Conservation Society protested, and alternate plans were proposed to build movable flood gates at each end of the loop and dig a bypass channel to divert flood water right past the loop. The alternate plans finally won out, and the river, which was once an unsavory area, was developed into a tourist area with restaurants, bars and shops.

We walked along the river past some of the restaurants. Strolling musicians stop at tables and serenade the diners.

 

We crossed the river and stopped for a lunch at Rio Rio Cantina. Like many of the River Walk restaurants, we had a riverside table where we could watch the ducks paddle on the river and the cruise boats go by.

 

We started off with chips and salsa.

 

Most of the restaurants along the River Walk are a little pricey (lunches run around $10 to $12), but they're not unreasonable considering the ambiance, the size of the portions and considering the restaurants are downtown. To economize, we decided to share an appetizer for lunch. We had fajita beef nachos with guacamole and picante salsa for $10.95. It was great; and, although we weren't stuffed, it was enough for two.

In addition to all the restaurants and shops, another fun feature of the River Walk are the Rio San Antonio Cruises. Colorful, flat-bottom boats travel the river on a 30-minute, narrated sightseeing tour. Even though we took a cruise the last time we visited San Antonio, we wanted to go again to just enjoy the scenery. The River Walk is so serene, it's hard to believe there's a bustling city just one story up.

After the cruise, we walked back to the car and headed off for more sightseeing.

San Antonio, TX, Part I: Lulu's Bakery and SAS Shoes

From Dickinson, TX, we drove to San Antonio, TX, where we had reservations at Admirality RV Resort. We made reservations because Admiralty RV is located near the entrance to Sea World, and we were arriving on a Saturday. Although the campground emptied out on Monday, it was pretty filled when we got there, so it was a good thing we made reservations.

Admiralty RV has full hookups with 30/50 amp electric plus cable, free Wi-Fi and an Escapees or Good Sam discount. The roads, pads and patios are paved, but the sites are fairly narrow.  Most of the sites are pull-throughs with back-ins around the perimeter. The pull-throughs have grass between the sites in the front and gravel in back for extra parking. In spite of being near a limited-access highway and across from the entrance to Sea World, the campground is fairly quiet. The photo below shows our site at Admiralty RV.

The view looking down the road is shown in the next photo.

Margery has a former co-worker who moved to San Antonio recently, so we arranged to meet TR and his wife, Carol, at Lulu's Bakery in San Antonio later the afternoon we arrived.

Lulu's was featured on the Travel Channel program Man v. Food. Lulu's claim to fame is a 3 pound cinnamon roll. When the ladies in the campground office found out we were going to Lulu's, they asked us to bring back a cinnamon roll for them. Look at the size of that thing!

In addition to the cinnamon rolls, Lulu's also has a regular sit-down diner with a menu of burgers, fried chicken and their other claim to fame - chicken fried steak. TR was really disciplined and had a grilled chicken salad, Carol had a burger, and we both had chicken fried steaks.

The steaks are available in three sizes, the smallest of which is 12 ounces, and with traditional white gravy, dark gravy, or queso (cheese) sauce. The chicken fried steaks were good, but our cholesterol levels can't stand that kind of eating very often.

We had a good time chatting with TR and Carol and catching up with old times. The cinamon rolls are supposed to be excellent, but we never did get to try one because we couln't justify buying something that big for just the two of us. Too bad they don't make them in smaller sizes. Afterward, we headed back to the motor home for some TV and relaxation for the evening.

We goofed off on Sunday and watched the NASCAR race from Talledega. On Monday, we drove toward San Antonio for some sightseeing.

We got an early start because we wanted to stop at SAS Shoes. Margery started wearing SAS Shoes for comfort back before her knee surgery, and still wears them almost exclusively even now. She wanted to check out a new style in their on-site store, so we thought we might as well include the tour while we were there even though we did the tour when we were in San Antonio back in 2007.

The shoe store has a rustic style to it with several old cars on display outside.

When we went in to sign up for the tour, we found out there were no tours because of the customer appreciation sale that was going on in the store. The good news was the sale provided $15 off the price of any pair of shoes in the store.

SAS was started in 1976 in San Antonio (that's where the name comes from - San Antonio Shoes) by two men who were concerned at how shoe manufacturing was moving overseas. The partners decided to manufacture high quality, comfortable, hand-made shoes right here in the United States.

The shoe store at the factory has every style SAS makes in every size.

While Margery tried on shoes, Paul looked around the at some of the old cars on display inside the store. There was a restored Ford...

...and Paul really liked the old Buick convertible.

Then it was Paul's turn. SAS only has a few styles for men, but they recently started making running and walking shoes. Paul always has trouble finding shoes that fit properly and don't hurt his feet, but as soon as he put on their new walking shoe he was sold. His old pair was getting pretty bad, so he ended up with a new pair of shoes, too. We came for a free factory tour and went home with three pairs of new shoes. Cha-ching...but we did save $45 with the sale!

From SAS, we headed off to downtown San Antonio for some sightseeing. We'll tell you what we did in our next post.

Williams Water Wall

The weather was a little cloudy, and it was a little late when we finished our visit to the George Ranch Historical Park. However, we really wanted to see the Williams Water Wall near downtown Houston. We knew we'd be fighting the start of rush hour traffic; but since our scheduled stay in the area was coming to an end, and since it wasn't very far out of our way, we decided to head toward Houston anyway.

The Williams Water Wall is located at the south side of the Williams Tower in the uptown section of Houston. The water wall is a sculptural fountain that was designed as an architectural compliment to the adjacent Williams Tower.

Williams Tower, which was originally known Transco Tower, was completed in 1983. The water wall was fully operational in 1985. The complex was renamed when Transco was bought by Williams. Williams is an energy company dealing in natural gas, petroleum and electricity generation.

The Williams Water Wall is 64 feet tall symbolizing the 64 stories of the Williams Tower.

 

Water cascades down both the inside and outside surfaces of the semi-circular water fall in sheets.

The total waterfall area of both the inside and outside is about 81,500 square feet.

The arches with their limestone columns in front of the waterfall provides an interesting backdrop for photos.

Although the water wall is on private property, the park is open to the public from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM daily. When we were there, there was a small building to the west of the water wall that was for lease. Although the building was closed, its small parking lot was open. Otherwise, parking may have been a problem.

It was after 4:00 PM when we left the Williams Water Wall. Traffic was heavy, but tolerable. We seemed to be going the right direction at the right time. Although opposing traffic was sometimes stopped dead, traffic going our direction kept moving.

Texas Roadhouse is one of our favorite chain restaurants, and there was one located just a few exits before the exit off I-45 that we needed to take to Green Caye RV Park where we were staying. Since it was Margery's birthday, we stopped for an early dinner. Texas Roadhouse has a several specials for $7.99 that make possible to have a nice dinner fairly economically. The availability of the specials varies by day, time and location, so check the local restaurant if you're going for the specials.

As usual, we both got the 6 ounce sirloin. With peanuts before dinner, and with rolls, salad, and another side dish, we got plenty to eat for around $20 including tax and tip. Of course, they have bigger steaks and other items available.

From Texas Roadhouse, it was only a short distance back to the motor home where we relaxed for the evening. The next day, we had a few chores in preparation for our departure the the day after that. We headed to San Antonio, so stay tuned for our next post.

Heading West From New Orleans

We left New Orleans, drove west on I-10 and made an overnight stop at A+ Motel and RV Park in Sulphur, LA, located just south of Lake Charles, LA. The A+ RV Park is only a couple of years old and has paved roads, pads and patios with grass between the sites. They have full hook-ups with 30/50 amp electric, free cable and free Wi-Fi. Most of the sites are extra-long pull-throughs, and the site width isn't too bad for a private campground. The photo below shows our site at A+ RV Park.

The next photo is the view looking down the road from our site.

The Lake Charles area is a center for the petro-chemical industry. Unfortunately, there is a chemical plant located on the other side of the trees behind the campground that emits a constant hum/whine that is noticeable in the campground when you have your windows open or when everything else quiets down at night.

We got a relatively early start the next morning since we didn't have to hook up the toad. Our next stop was at Green Caye RV Park in Dickinson, TX, between Houston and Galveston. Green Caye RV is part of Green Caye Village, which is a rental community that includes houses, townhouses, duplexes and mobile homes. The village also has a 9-hole, par-3 golf course.

The RV park has paved roads and pads, full hook-ups and Wi-Fi. We had 50 amp electric, and this is one of only two campgrounds where we have stayed that a 50 amp site didn't also have a 30 amp receptacle in the box. Maybe our site was an oddball; but they do have 30 amp sites, so if that's what you need, make sure you ask. The photo below shows our site at Green Caye.

And the next photo is looking down the road past our site. Some of the rental housing is on the other side of the white fence to the right, and the golf course is located behind the motor home.

Margery has been corresponding by email with Janice, whom she met through our blog. Janice and her husband Dave are full-timers who are originally from the Houston area, We learned about Green Caye RV from Janice's blog. It also turned out that Janice and Dave were staying at Green Caye for part of the time we were going to be there. We stopped by to visit with them, then made plans to go to lunch with them the following day.

Janice and Dave suggested La Brisa (The Breeze) Mexican Grill in nearby Bacliff, TX.

La Brisa has excellent Mexican food at reasonable prices. Portions are gigantic. We started off with baskets of hot, crispy corn chips and bowls of tomato salsa (spicy, but not too hot) and bowls of green salsa made with tomatillas that was mixed with sour cream. We've never had the green salsa mixed with sour cream before, and we both liked it a lot.

Margery had a chili relleno that she said was the best she's ever had, and Paul had a beef burrito grande. Prices for lunches ranged from about $6 to $8, and dinners were about $9 to $15.

La Brisa also has a large outdoor seating area complete with some nice murals that evoke a festive, seaside atmosphere reminiscent of Cozumel.

We enjoyed our lunch at La Brisa and spending time with Janice and Dave to get to know them better. We look forward to seeing them down the road in our travels.

After lunch, we dropped Janice and Dave off at their 5th wheel where they were going to wait for some work to be completed on their truck, and we took off to do some sightseeing. We'll tell you all about it in our next post.