2015 Trip - San Antonio, TX to Austin, TX

Sat. 5/16… (Austin, TX) The drive today was only 83 miles so we did some of the prep work on the motorhome and met up at 10:00am to go to Cracker Barrel for breakfast.  Once back we had only to walk Bailey one last time, pull the power cord, and hook up the car so we were on the road pretty quickly.  The drive from San Antonio to Austin was very pretty.  I like this part of the state.  This area is known as Hill Country because it is not as flat and barren as is much of the rest of the state.   Our park, Austin Lone Star Carefree Resort is right on Highway I-35 again is an old KOA campground that was recycled into a really nice park.  We had no rain so the drive and the park were dry and we got our rigs in and parked with no issues.  Since we are in Hill Country this is our first campground with trees.  I was worried about getting a signal from my roof satellite dish but we were about to get out through the trees with no problem.

 

 

Janie’s aunt (Zelda) lives on the outskirts of town so they went to visit her as soon as they hooked up.  We had decided to eat out tonight and I had seen reviews and shows on TV that said when in Austin you must eat bbq at The Salt Lick!  So we looked it up and arranged to meet the Moores and Aunt Zel there.  This place is huge!  It reminded me of a Knowlwoods on steroids.  They have picnic tables out under the trees for the hundreds of folks waiting to be seated. They got there a few minutes before us and turned in our name.  After an hour and a half wait we finally got seated!  They only take cash and have limited beer and wine so they say BYOB and everyone did!  There were coolers and alcohol at every table outside as folks waited and waited.  Guess it made the wait seem shorter!  The food was good but since the wait was too long it took some of the fun away from the day.  We would definitely go back but we will be prepared next time! 

 

 

After dinner Janie brought Zel back to see their rig and then took her home.  We had planned on going to the LBJ Presidential Library tomorrow but thought against it and all decided to take tomorrow off and just catch up on things. We will go on Monday morning.

 

 

Sun. 5/17… (Austin, TX)  We slept in this morning.  Janie wants to go to see her aunt but will wait until the rain lets up.  The forecast is rain until around 11:00am.  Turns out they were on the mark and the rain let up.  Janie then called her aunt but she wasn’t feeling well so we decided to head over to shop for a belt for Janie.  We texted Bill and Treasa and they did not respond so just the four of us went.  We hit Sheplers and Cabela’s and then stopped for lunch and then went to Walmart before coming home.  We were eating in and it was Lydia’s turn.  She made roast and we ate the caramel cake leftovers for dessert.  Very good!  Rick and Janie went to Zel’s and the rest of us went looking for the groomer that we found in our campground brochure.  It’s only about 5 miles from us. We want to get Bailey bathed and her nails clipped plus we can leave her there when we go to LBJ’s ranch on Tuesday.  After walking the dog (yes, we try to do a lot of that – Bailey loves it!) we kicked back for the night and caught up on some TV. Oh, yeah, we are still finding moths!  

 

 

Mon. 5/18… (Austin, TX)  The plan today was to leave at 10:00am and head up to the University of Texas (go Longhorns!) campus where the LBJ Presidential Library is located.  We found it and we were glad we decided to do the tour on Monday.  It was almost empty!  The archives are on floors 5-9 and the library/exhibits areas are laid out on floors 3, 4, and 10.  Not too many people research the archives but they are there if they do.  The exhibits are very interesting and well laid out.  President Johnson had a rough 5 years in office.  Even though he didn’t get us into the Vietnam War, he felt the weight on his shoulders with all the causalities and protests.  But he did do many good things for the country in his term.  It was a positive experience for all of us but we have seen other presidential libraries that we like better.  Rick and Janie have never been to one before so now they can compare this to Bush (both), Carter, and Clinton all of which we plan to see on this trip. 

 

 

Afterward we gathered and decided to go find a Whataburger’s and have lunch and then go home and walk the dogs.  Just ok – nothing special.  We then decided that we still have enough time to drive out to the LBJ Ranch, just outside of Johnson City, about an hour’s drive out.  We got there and found it was a drive and tour for 90% of the ranch.  We saw his birthplace and burial site plus the airport/runway/hanger as well.  In the store we paid the $3.00 (senior) fee and caught the last (4:30pm) tour of the house. The President and Mrs. Johnson donated a portion of the LBJ Ranch to the National Park Service in 1972, with the stipulation that it remain a working ranch. Prior to her passing in 2007, Lady Bird used the home and had it remodeled to today’s styles. But most of the furniture and other items were kept in storage, so after she passed, the Park Service restored the home to what it looked like in 1968. Also on display were cars that were used on the ranch plus one sweet 1965 Corvette that LBJ gave to Luci just before her 18^th birthday. 

 

 

After the long drive back home, we had a quick dinner and decided to head into town to see if the bats were flying.  They have an observation area under a bridge crossing Lady Bird Lake (actually a river).  We parked and took our chairs and sat and waited.  They keep track and the website says between 8:55 and 9:02 when they come out to feed.  Tonight it was after 9:15 so I guess they overslept tonight! It was really dark and the only way we could see them was when the bat boat tours on the lake shined their red lights under the bridge.  I tried and it was too dark for pictures of the bats flying.. We did take Bailey though and she entertained everyone around us and made a couple of dog buddies.  All in all, it was worth the time.  We headed back and rested from our very busy day!