Texas - Lone Star State
In October of 2019 we traveled to Texas, thinking that the weather would not be too hot, and we were right. We flew into Austin, the capitol, and very much the “happening” city. In fact, lots of Californians are moving to Austin because their companies are opening offices there and the cost of living is lower. From what I hear now, however, the cost of living has greatly accelerated. Oh well, that can happen. That first night we walked to Sixth Street, the historic and entertainment district of Austin. We discovered that this is where all the college kids hang out, especially on a weekend night, and we felt like the oldest people in the entire city! We persisted, entering several establishments, but it was a little too wild and crazy for our taste. We decided to find a different neighborhood for the next two nights.
The next day, we walked from our hotel to the nearby LBJ Presidential Library, located on the grounds of the University of Texas campus. The complex is an unadorned 10-story building clad in cream Italian travertine. The appearance was stark, but awesomely impressive as we approached it across a wide expanse of lawn. Inside on one wall was a quote from Lady Bird that made an impression on us: “His compassion was quite personal and genuine; it wasn’t just philosophy from a book. He was full of faults, too, and sometimes misjudgments about people. But he was an awfully good man to have around in a tight spot.” The measure of a man perhaps? Inside the library were photos, statues, a reproduction of his office in the White House, and statuary chronicling Johnson’s historic service to the country, as a Congressman, Vice-President, and President after JFK was assassinated.
We walked throughout the campus, which is like a city unto itself it is so large, and then on to the Texas Capitol, also located in downtown Austin.
In the Artwork Gallery were beautiful paintings of Barbara Jordan, Jim Bowie, Davy Crockett, and a very dramatic rendering called “Dawn at the Alamo.” The capitol was constructed in Italian Renaissance Revival style and is sheathed in sunset red granite. Due to its height – sixth tallest among state capitols – it can be seen from everywhere in downtown Austin.
That evening, we discovered the Driskill Hotel, a “historic landmark of Texas hospitality.” We didn’t stay there, but we did enjoy cocktails and listening to a jazz combo in the bar. It was Halloween and several of the customers, bartenders, waitresses and waiters were dressed in festive costumes. My favorite was the guy dressed as The Joker. Having just watched that movie before going to Texas, it sent a chill up my spine to see him. As it was getting dark, we walked to the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge to see more than a million Mexican free-tail bats emerge from under the bridge and darken the sky as they began their nightly insect hunt. There were dozens of other people standing on and under the bridge to have this iconic Austin experience and it added to the fun to share it with others, some locals who had seen it many times and other visitors like us.
The next day we walked to the Bullock Texas State History Museum where we experienced the “Story of Texas.” Three levels of interactive displays explored the themes of Land, Identity and Opportunity. The special-effects laden Texas Spirit Theater whisked us back through time to witness significant events in Texas history. Texans are, without a doubt, proud of their history!
Within Austin’s city limits and just 13 miles from the state capitol lies McKinney Falls State Park. Onion Creek flows over limestone bridges and splashes into pools. It was lovely. We explored the remains of an early Texas homestead, which looked very primitive, and a very old rock shelter. Once again, we were reminded of the challenges early pioneers faced when heading west into the great unknown.
On our way to Fredericksburg, we stopped in a town called Driftwood to have lunch at the venerable cash-only Salt Lick BBQ restaurant with incredibly delicious food in a rustic setting. This legendary mouth-watering barbecue spot is situated in the beautiful Texas Hill Country.
We also stopped in Johnson City to visit the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park. The park protects the birthplace, home, ranch, and final resting place of Lyndon Johnson, 36th president of the US. The home was very modest, located along the west side of the Pedernales River, also in Texas Hill Country. Learning that this ranch served as the Johnson family retreat during his period of greatest influence gave us a new perspective of President Johnson’s life when he was in office.
We had arranged to stay in Stonewall, a short distance from Fredericksburg, at Rose Hill Manor, a plantation-style house with wide wraparound porches on both floors and traditional-style furnishings. It had southern charm with the amenities of a luxury inn, and a gourmet three-course breakfast each morning. We drove to Fredericksburg that night for dinner, a popular destination to enjoy German-style beer gardens, menus laden with brats and schnitzel, and shops selling beer steins – all of which makes no sense unless you know the town’s history. In 1829, postal clerk Johan Friedrich Ernst lit out from Germany after having allegedly embezzled money. The first German to settle in the area, he encouraged his countrymen to follow. The resulting settlement was the first German town in Texas and the precursor to what’s now known as Texas’s German Belt, also located in the beautiful Hill Country. We learned that today, nearly 20 percent of Texas’s population claims pure or partial German ancestry. We had dinner at Hondo’s on Main which had good food and live entertainment. Sitting at an adjacent table was a delightful couple traveling from somewhere that I cannot remember. We enjoyed each other’s company while we listened and danced to the music, and we took a selfie to remember them by.
The following day we came back to explore the town and paid a visit to St. Mary’s Catholic Church which began with a handful of German immigrants in 1846. The famous twin towers of the two churches, the Marienkirche
(1861) and the new St. Mary’s (1908) can be seen all over the town. It contains many Gothic features, extensive paintings and murals, including on the organ pipes and ceiling vaults. It was incredibly beautiful. As we walked around the town, we entered a jewelry store where I found a gorgeous silver bracelet with several colorful polished stones which had been designed and initialed (EPB) by a native American artist. I wear it often which always reminds me of the time we spent in charming Fredericksburg.
Driving south we eventually came to San Antonio, our next and last destination in Texas. It was colder than we expected, although it was the beginning of November. I think we had always thought of Texas having hot weather, but learned they can have cold days, too. Fortunately, we had each brought a sweater, which we wore repeatedly. We stayed at a hotel right on the Riverwalk, which made it easy to find restaurants…. they were everywhere. We enjoyed our visit to the Spanish Governor’s Palace, a historic adobe from the Spanish Texas period. It is the last visible trace of the 18th-century colonial Presidio San Antonio Bexar complex, and the only remaining example in Texas of an aristocratic 18th-century Spanish Colonial in-town residence.
From there we walked to Market Square, a three-block outdoor plaza lined with shops and restaurants. It is the largest Mexican market in the US. The “El Mercado” section has 32 specialty shops and even though Halloween was past, there were plenty of skeletons and other vestiges of the Mexican spooky holiday known as El Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead.
San Fernando Cathedral faces San Antonio’s Main Plaza. In 1836, it played a role in the Battle of The Alamo when Mexican General Santa Ana hoisted a flag of “no quarter” from the church’s tower, marking the beginning of the siege. The ashes of the heroes that died defending the Alamo are interred here. Most notable were the striking stained-glass windows and the baptismal font, believed to be a gift from Charles III, who became King of Spain in 1759.
While Andy and I had visited the Alamo before, when we had been to San Antonio on business trips, we had never toured it together. This day we had plenty of time to explore and appreciate all of it, and to read all the plaques describing the battle and the bravery of those who fought here. We learned that San Antonio and the Alamo played a critical role in the Texas Revolution. In December 1835, Texans and Tejano volunteers battled Mexican troops quartered in the city, forcing General de Cos to surrender. The victorious volunteers then occupied the Alamo. However, in February of 1836, the arrival of General Santa Ana nearly caught them by surprise and after 8 days, being outnumbered ten-to-one, they were ultimately defeated. Among the Alamo’s garrison were Jim Bowie, renowned knife fighter, and Davy Crockett, famed frontiersman and former Tennessee congressman. The bronze statue of Crockett, with a coonskin cap and a long rifle slung over his shoulders, was especially impressive to us.
One of the best parts of this trip to San Antonio was just walking along the scenic Riverwalk. Despite the chilly weather, there were flowers blooming in pots everywhere. On our last evening we had dinner on the second floor of a restaurant where we could watch a parade of colorfully decorated floats celebrating El Dia de los Muertos cruising down the river. It was a festive and memorable way to end our Texas sojourn.
