Woke up to a sunny morning with the promise of warmer weather. Carol and I had coffee and tea at the Starbuck's next door and then set out to see the town. Austin is a pretty city and very walkable. Bob and Marlene gave us a ride to the University of Texas campus and a quick tour. It is huge with modern buildings and lots of construction. We passed the Longhorns stadium and they dropped us off at the LBJ library.
Jeff and I are trying to see all of the Presidential Libraries and the three in Texas are on our list. I feel guilty about seeing the LBJ without Jeff, but I am here. It was built in 1971 and very well done. Immaculately clean, great exhibits and many movie presentations. Much space was devoted to the Civil Rights bill and the Great Society. The Viet Nam war was another major topic. I enjoyed the displays on life in the 60's with the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Lawrence Welk. Definitely a must see if you are visiting Austin.
Outside it had gotten warmer and we walked around the campus to our next musem. Luckily it was mostly down hill and we stopped at a small cafe for lunch. We visited the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum and it is another winner.
Recently built this is a three story structure with an IMAX theatre attached. We saw the permanent exhibit about the founding and growth of Texas and a temporary exhibit on a shipwreck being restored. The history part is well done starting with the Spanish and then the Mexicans controlling the area. Learned all about the struggle for independence from Mexico and a good exhibit on the Alamo
with a replica of the building. Later Texas became a US state and then seceded with the Confederacy.
Other areas concentrated on agriculture with rice and cottons crops and, of course, oil. The top floor also had culture exhibits including famous folks.
We left there just before 4:00 and walked a few blocks to the State Capitol. This is the largest State House in the country and an impressive building. Built out of Texas limestone and granite and taller that the Capitol in DC.
At the top is an statue of Lady Liberty holding a gold, five pointed star.
You can never forget that star as it is everywhere in the building. Every door handle, door hinges, chandeliers and more!
We took a free tour and visited the Senate and Legislature halls. Stood in the rotunda looking up at the dome which has a16' star at the top. Around the walls are photos of the past governor's including George W. Bush. Governor Perry's photos are in the Senate and House chambers and he has served as Governor for 14 years. A new governor will be inaugurated this Tuesday and they were setting up scaffolding for the event.
Outside we walked around the grounds for a while and visited some of the statues and monuments. The Heroes of the Alamo had the names of all lost there including David Crockett and James Bowie.
The Confederacy monument had all the states names with South Carolina being first to secede. On top was a statue of Jefferson Davis who shared a birthday with Jeff on June 3. Now there is a piece of trivia for you to use.
Finally done with the sightseeing we walked towards the hip 6th Street which is full of restaurants and music venues. Mostly a young crowd, we got a recommendation for a Tex-Mex place which turned out to be wonderful. The Iron Cactus is large and we were seated by a front window where we were able to watch all the characters outside. We ordered margaritas and mine was made made with a a pear alcohol and very yummy. Lots of chips with warm salsa and queso. I had a shrimp dish and Carol had beef and we were stuffed. We took a cab back to the hotel and walked in to find more of our cousins arriving. Lots of kissing and hugging and finally up to our room. We watched TV and fell asleep.
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