I am sitting here while the rain pounds the coach. There is a line of thunderstorms coming through. “Boy, they do things in a big way here in Texas”. Last night it was even worse. I watched the line of thunderstorms go through on my smartphone. Lots of rain, hail, thunder and lightening. We are nice and warm and dry, so we are good. I have internet, the only bad thing is the satellite went out for a few minutes because of the heavy rain, a real bummer, I think part of The Jon Stewart show did not record. All in all we have had great weather.
To backtrack a little We left Bryan, TX for Austin on the 26th of March to see the LBJ Library and play tourist in Austin.
Austin, Texas
LBJ Library – I took pictures of the LBJ Library. Unfortunately the pictures are lost some ware in cyber space and I cannot find them. The Library is very well done and tells the story from boyhood to his death.
Lady Bird Wildlife Center. A beautiful botanical garden of plants and flowers of the area. Unfortunately it is a little to early for many flowers to be in bloom.
State Capital Building - It is a beautiful complex with many fantastic gardens.
Bullock Texas State History Museum - Unfortunately I could take pictures of the outside of the burlding and the lobby. I could not take any pictures of the displays. The museum is very well done with dioramas, video displays and movies. It takes you from the beginning when Texas was part of Mexico to present day Texas.
Fredericksburg, Texas – I real surprise. Nice town, great things to see.
Johnson’s Boyhood Home - Halfway between Austin and Fredericksburg, along US 290, is Johnson City. It is not much of a town. This is where LBJ was born, it is run by the National Park Service.
LBJ ranch (Little Whitehouse)
The LBJ ranch was and still is a working ranch. As you drive through the ranch, the cows and horse roam free. LBJ used to take Air Force One to an Air Force Base near San Antonio then take a Gulf Stream, or as he would call it, Air Force 1/2 to the ranch.
The Main house is right on the Pedernales river. It is not very big and a very down to earth house There was at least 4 phones in each and every room. Except Lady Bird’s bathroom, it had only one.
Then, there was a real, pleasant surprise. Fredericksburg is the birthplace of Chester Nimitz. In his honor they placed the National Museum of the Pacific War here in Fredericksburg. The museum consists of two parts. The first part is a centered around the Japan-US conflict. Starting with the history of Japan, the war with China all the way through the surrender of Japan that ended WWII. We spent at least 5 hours going through this part. One part of the exhibit is an actual casing from the A bomb. There were 6 built at the time. Only one was used.
The other bomb that was dropped was a different design.
The next day we went to the Pacific Combat Zone. It is a recreation of the battle of Tarawa, Also on display was a PT boat, and a TBM Avenger. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly.
(Note: we have seen some great museums on our trip so far. However, the ones that we have seen here in Texas are really first rate. Y’all need to take a trip here and see them for yourselves.)
Get well wishes to Robert.
All pictures are taken by Ann and Roy
Next stop, San Antonio and the Alamo.
Life is Great on the Roan Road….
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