Sunday, Day 6

Howdy, y’all!

Hey, it’s Sunday!  Imagine that…LOL!

I woke up early this morning, had breakfast, and headed out to the Fort Worth Nature Center.  My goal here was to see bison and prairie dogs.  Check and check!  By getting there early in the day, I figured that my odds for seeing those animals were exponentially higher than they would be later in the day, so I guess it’s good that I didn’t stay up half the night drinking. 

As I started snapping photos of the bison, a truck pulled over and the guy started to ask me something when he noticed where my camera was aimed.  He pointed them out to his young son who hollered excitedly and the bison walked away…I think that I got a shot of one of them pooping at us…LOL!  I walked down the path to the “Prairie Dog Village” section of the preserve and (thankfully) left the loud kid and his dad behind.  I had no idea that Prairie Dogs are as shy as they obviously are, are so small, and can move like frightened bunnies.  I took some pictures but I’m not sure if they’ll amount to anything even if I zoom in on them in PhotoShop.  I also saw Bluebonnets! 

I didn’t go far into the preserve because I was alone and, while I’m not afraid of all snakes, I am leery of the poisonous ones; the reviews of this place said that there were cottonmouths which sometimes lie on the paths (and in the underbrush).  I could just picture trying to get a signal on my phone to call 911 about being bitten because no one was around to help…nope, not gonna chance it!  I stopped at the visitor’s center and they even had snake skins on display - so I’m thinking I made the right call.  I saw what I wanted to see and left.

I went back to the hotel, packed, and then headed out for some shopping.  My ankle was feeling better this morning and I was wearing my sneakers (instead of the flip-flops that have been my staple for the last few days) so I figured I was good to go.  


Did I mention that my hotel was smack dab next to the Cowboy Hall of Fame on one side, Stockyard Station (where the Grapevine tourist train – which someone on Yelp described as the “Train To H.E.double matchsticks” because it can take as long as four hours each way instead of its scheduled 90 minutes – stops in a tourist-y “mall”) on the other side, the Stockyard Visitor’s Center directly in front of it, and the Livery (where all of the horses and cows for the rodeos and photo ops are housed) behind it?  Yep, perfect location. 

I got a few little cute tchotchkes at the station (fair warning: "little" and "few" are the key words here), took pictures of cowboys, saw the morning cattle drive, and loaded up the car (since I had to check out by noon) before heading to lunch.  I’ve had TexMex and steak on this trip but hadn't had BBQ until lunch today - it was much better than the stuff I got in the Houston area last year – this stuff had a little kick!  I didn’t make it back to the car before my ankle gave out again. 

I only had three more places to visit and they all involved walking, so I tried changing shoes again…this time into heels.  It worked!  I toured two Victorian homes (including climbing stairs!) and a Log Cabin Village.  The homes were beautiful…the craftsmanship from 100+ years ago is amazing to behold. 

The Village was also really good; there were docents (in costume) in each building to give information about the time period…one even let us “help” dip bee’s wax candles!  There were Plexiglas dividers/walls to keep us from absconding with the “artifacts” but they were much less intrusive than the ones in the Corsicana village.  I really enjoyed this stop…it was most like what I was expecting when I originally scheduled visits to the three “settlements” (one of which I didn’t see).

I got a recommendation for a steakhouse from my cousin who used to live in the Dallas area and it was my last stop before checking into my hotel for the night.  Let me just say: Thanks!  I had told the waiter that I wanted to get dessert to go since I was full and would enjoy it more in a few hours…then I saw that what I wanted wouldn’t travel well (except in my tummy), so I ate it there.  The steak was awesome, the jalapeno Mac N Cheese was startlingly wonderful, but the crème brûlée was exquisite.  I have leftovers of everything except dessert for lunch tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, I only have one stop to make before heading to the airport, so my trip is almost over.  I’m in my hotel for the night.  I’ve had my nightly cocktail.  I’ve caught up on my recaps.  I guess the only thing left to do is to organize all of my goodies (aka: a couple of gifts and a plethora of scrapbook purchases) in an effort to fit them all into my luggage (thank goodness for gussets!) so that I can get a good night’s rest before my day of traveling home.

Saturday, Day 5

Howdy, y’all!

OK, I admit it…I’m a slacker.  It’s Sunday night and I’m just now writing Saturday’s recap.  I’m going to pretend that it’s Saturday and start where I left off yesterday morning, though…

The bed didn’t sucker me back in for a nap…I knew that if it did, the day would be toast.  I packed up all of my stuff and left it in the room while I went to the 6th Floor JFK Museum.  The hotel shuttled me there and I discovered how close it was.  I expected to spend about an hour there but the audio tour (which was included with admission; it was downright weird seeing everyone - and there were A LOT of us – walking around not really talking to each other, listening to their headsets) took almost 90 minutes (and that’s if you didn’t pause between sections to look at the photos and such more closely).  When I walked out it was noon – checkout time at the hotel!  Rather than wait for the shuttle to come for me, I decided hiking it would be faster and I could come back afterward to see the plaza (and the grassy knoll).

They were nice and let me collect my belongings without charging me for delayed checkout and I headed back to the Daly (sp?) plaza and then on to Pioneer Plaza where they have a HUGE collection of cowboy and longhorn statues roving over a rather large section of a park.  I saw a young couple taking pictures of each other and offered to take their picture together (they returned the favor by taking my picture…at least I have a few shots of me while I’m having fun!) before leaving downtown Dallas.

I’ve been driving a lot this week (1500 miles on the rental so far this week!) and I spent quite a bit of time walking around Dallas so my ankle is giving me fits, but did I let that stop me from visiting my final scrapbook store?  Of course not!  Three shops I didn’t have on my list were highly recommended to me but I didn’t have enough time to get to them (and I probably have enough stuff to complete a scrapbook for this trip) so I don’t feel too badly about missing them.

My next stop was the Texas Civil War Museum.  They bill themselves as the largest Civil War museum west of the Mississippi – but I’m pretty sure that’s because it’s the ONLY one west of the Mississippi!  They had some interesting artifacts but I liked it mostly for its movie (where I could sit down and prop up my feet!) and their rather extensive collection of 1860-1900 ladies fashions.  Amputation saws and cannonballs hold no fascination for me.

Then it was time to head to my hotel in Fort Worth.  I had missed seeing the afternoon cattle drive through the Stockyards due to spending more time than anticipated in Dallas but I would have two more chances to see it before leaving Fort Worth, so that wasn’t a big deal.  (Sorry, I just had to grab a Margarita from the hotel bar before continuing…back to the story…)  Driving into the hotel parking lot, I saw cowboys…on horses…leading a couple of longhorns!  Too cool!

The Hyatt is nice; they have the hottest water and the best water pressure in their showers of any hotel I’ve stayed in on this trip…but I digress.  Once I had dropped my bags, I headed to the Cowboy Hall of Fame…only to discover that they are closed for the whole weekend due to a private event!  Come on!  The whole weekend?  This was the only “museum” I planned on seeing while I was here so I was a little bummed…what a “”drag” (which I was told comes from the cowboys at the back of a herd “riding drag” – as in no fun at all…ar, ar, arrr)!

I decided to meander through the area and see what else moght tickle my fancy.  What should I find but longhorns for photo ops!  Yep, I’ve been on the back of a longhorn…a very tame one…and I have pictures to prove it.  I have to say that getting into a saddle wasn’t all that hard (although I felt a little sorry for the cow when my weight came down on his/her back) but getting off is a whole other story!  My poor old leg isn’t as flexible as it once was.  People laughed.  Heck, I laughed!  I think the cow groaned in pain.

I wandered around looking for Billy Bob’s (the biggest honkytonk in Texas) but decided that the signs lied and turned around when it looked like I was leaving the stockyard area.  I got the hotel in Ft Worth (although it was twice as expensive as non-downtown  Dallas hotels) because I intended to drink in the Stockyards (at Billy Bob’s) and wanted to be able to just stumble back to my room – but there were lots of other bars there, so, ok, it might not be at Billy Bob’s…no big deal.

It was time for my dinner reservation at the H3/Booger Red’s Steakhouse/Bar and it was only a couple of blocks from the hotel, so off I went.  The steak was awesome, the table-made guacamole was fantastic, and the Margarita hit the spot!  I ate so much my belly hurt.  Then I stood up and forgot all about my belly as my ankle gave out. 

I limped back to the hotel to put my feet up and decided that I would take a short nap before hitting the bars – after all, if a hotel gives you ear plugs (along with a shower cap and the other normal amenities) there must be a reason (I had read reviews that the bar noise might keep me up most of the night) and I would wake up when things started hopping…it was only 8:00 and bars on a Saturday night wouldn’t get busy much before 10, right?

The next thing I knew, it was 6:15.  AM.  I guess the short night in Dallas caught up with me and I didn’t need those ear plugs.  Thus ended my Saturday…and my explanation for the delay of my daily recap.

Friday, Day 4, Part 2

Howdy, y’all!

I wrote most of this last night after I swore to myself that I was going to sleep…and then, afraid that I’d forget something if I waited, I popped my last wine cooler and ended up staying up until 2am.  Now it’s 9 am here and I’ve already gotten ready to face the day (I had another Texas-shaped waffle…I put peach yogurt on it so that I could feel healthy…LOL!) but I have to say that the bed keeps encouraging me to take a little nap!

Good news: once my camera dried out, it seems to functioning correctly; that new one will definitely be going back.  Now for Friday’s recap:

Every hotel on this trip has included a “hot” breakfast; some have been better than others.  Yesterday’s was good: cheesy eggs, a touch of sausage gravy on a croissant, and fresh fruit. 

Fueled for the day, I visited the Eisenhower birthplace…he doesn’t remember living there since the family moved when he was 18 months old, but he returned for the dedication of the property.  I was the only person on the tour…I really must have chosen obscure destinations for this trip ‘cuz that seems to be happening a lot!

The bakery where I was planning to pick up lunch (at 10:30 in the morning) wasn’t quite ready for the lunch rush so I made do (LOL!) with cookies, cupcakes, and the yummiest lemon bar I may ever have had.  Fruit, grains (as in flour), protein (the eggs in the cookies and cupcakes)…that should be a well-rounded lunch, right?

My next stop was a scrapbook store.  I bought stamps…I’m not sure what stamps but I’m pretty sure I bought stamps.  I didn’t even bring my bounty in from the car tonight so whatever I bought is resting comfortably in the trunk.

The Morton Museum was the biggest joke of this trip.  Apparently during WWII, there was a training camp just outside Gainesville, TX.  It seems to be their one claim to fame.  The museum (where they actually charged admission!) was one room in a repurposed antique fire station…with no remnants visible of its former use – that, at least, might have been interesting…where they put a couple of mannequins dressed in WWII era uniforms, a pup tent, some old (not restored) military equipment (broken radios, typewriters, pieces of guns, canteens, MRE packaging, etc), and reproductions of newspaper articles…oh, and a recreated USO scene (with a couple more mannequins in fancy 50s dresses).  I had budgeted an hour for this “museum” but left after less than 10 minutes…their bathroom was clean, so I guess the stop served a purpose.

Next, I headed for a museum in Oklahoma.  Since I had some extra time, I stopped at the OK Welcome center and picked up a map and a couple of rack cards for scrapping purposes.  I had a list of scrapbook stores in the state (about a dozen) and asked the lady at the counter if any of them were within an hour’s drive (since that’s about how much extra time I had); she told me that one of them wasn’t much more than that but, when I called the store, the proprietress said that it was more like 2-2 ½ hours with road construction…she had just driven it last weekend.  The lady at the counter assured me that the Ardmore museum was worth seeing, I chose to take her word for it, and off I went. 

It wasn’t a bad little museum.  This one was free and located in the old Armory.  There were displays of different early 20^th century scenes…an apothecary, an early dentist “office”, a one-room schoolhouse, a dirt-floored cabin…as well as a look at the growth of their Fire Department (Ardmore has burned to the ground twice and risen from the ashes) but the main attraction was a small “house” (three rooms) that had been disassembled and put back together inside the main room of the museum.  Of course, given the building’s origins (armory), there was also a war museum…with photos, uniforms, and soldierly accoutrements (some obviously were reproductions) from every American war (Revolution through Afghanistan).  They had a gift shop but it had very little to do with Oklahoma…there were Texas items, though…that confused me a bit. Of course, as I headed out of the state I sang as much as I could remember (with a lot of dah-de-dah-de-dahs) of the theme from Oklahoma…at the top of my lungs…LOL!  It wasn’t pretty; good thing you weren’t in the car with me!

I was still running ahead of scheduled when I left so I opted to stop at the TX Welcome Center.  Having never entered TX by car, I’d never been to one of their welcome stations.  The lady was very helpful; GW’s Library is so new that there are no rack cards printed yet - she gave me something she had printed off of the internet when I asked about info on the place.  I was still a little ahead of schedule when I left there but that didn’t last long.

On the way to the Frisco Museum, I hit a traffic jam.  What should have taken an hour to travel ended up lasting more than 90 minutes, my time cushion was history, and I was behind schedule.  The Frisco Museum could/should have been awesome…it includes a village, a railroad museum, and a couple of restored old cars. 

Unfortunately for me, someone was getting married there today and most of the exhibits were “closed for a private party”.  I should have known when the attendant answered my comment of “I guess I’ll have to hurry through this since you close in 40 minutes” with “oh, that’s more than enough time today”!  After seeing their prime exhibit (more kinds of salt and pepper shakers than I would have thought had been made in the last century…they filled a dozen - mostly large - display cases and came from some woman’s private collection!) and a collection of very old (but cool!) quilts, I snuck some photos of the exteriors of most of the buildings that I wasn’t allowed to enter and left forty minutes after arriving…right on time.

My next stop was another scrapping store.  I didn’t get much there because I already have almost all of their stamps and they didn’t have any TX-themed paper.

Dinner time!  I stopped at a pub – mainly because they were convenient to my next scheduled stop – and I’m glad I did!  I’ve never had Shepherd’s Pie quite like this…the “gravy” was a red wine based sauce and was amazingly good.

The scrapbook store that followed had absolutely nothing for me.  Not a thing in the store had anything to do with Texas!  I left without spending a penny (a first on this trip!) and with an extra hour and a half in my schedule.  Sure, I could have headed into downtown Dallas and checked into my room by 9:45 so I would be rested tomorrow, but did I?  Nope.

I went back to the first scrapbook store of my week and got more pages cut out for my Texas mini-album.  By the time I drove there, visited with the owner, and drove on to the hotel, it was midnight!  Insane.

My room once again has a full kitchen and a pretty good view.  I’m on the top floor in a corner suite!  It’s not the tallest building around by any stretch, but I’m on the tenth floor and there are pretty lights visible through the two walls of windows.  Time to pass out under the pretty lights...

Friday, Day 4, Part 1

I’m here.  I’m safe.  I’m beat.  I have no witty repartee at my fingertips.  Two state Welcome Centers, four museums, four scrapbook stores, and seven plus hours of driving have wiped me out…can I be getting old?  Nah, that can’t be it! 

Tomorrow.  I’ll write about today tomorrow…probably before noon…maybe.

Thursday, Day 3

Howdy, y’all!

Today was scheduled to have the most driving of my vacation…and it may end up that way… but, if the timing of stops works out, tomorrow I may revisit a place from my first day…which would make tomorrow the most-traveled day…we’ll see.  I had to fill up with gas twice today for my 6+ hours of driving; of course, I never let the tank get below half a tank.

My day started with a waffle in the shape of Texas…LOL!  I simply couldn’t resist.  My first stop was only five minutes from the hotel and they didn’t open until 10:00, so this was my latest scheduled start for the trip (although sleeping in on Wednesday made that the actual latest start…)

And the first stop was:  a scrapbook store!  I know, color you surprised…LOL!  I almost walked right out of the store (The Crop Spot in Tyler) because the owner told me that she didn’t have anything “Texas”. I walked around and was pleasantly surprised by the Lone Star state stamping bounty!  It turns out she was only talking about paper…which is what most scrappers are interested in.  Yes, I spent more than my $20 allotment but I got such cool stuff!

Next I headed to The Goodman House and Museum…how could I resist a house with my name?  It turned out to be pretty cool…and cheap (I only spent $3.50 there)!  Built just before the Civil War and being passed to an only daughter who left no descendants, it was bequeathed to the city along with most of the family possessions (furniture, clothing, early medical equipment, more sets of china than can be displayed at any one time, etc) with the stipulation that everything remains there as a complete collection for the museum.  It was very cool.

Next was another Tyler destination with a family name association: Stanley’s Famous Pit BarBQ…LOL!  The “Mother Clucker” (a chicken sandwich on a jalapeno roll with candied bacon) was totally decadent and delish!  The place was packed and parking was at a premium but those are signs of good food…oh, and they had Robert Earl Keen (one of my favorite western folk singers) on the muzak system!  Then it was time for sweets.  Off to Paris!

 I only went to Paris, TX because it’s probably the only Paris I’ll ever visit and my first stop had to be at the Paris Bakery, right?  Unfortunately they didn’t have much left by the time I got there at 2:30…the lemon cupcakes were pretty darn good but the Cowboy Cookie…not so much…I am of the firm opinion that chocolate chip oatmeal cookies do not need coconut in them.  Sorry, I had to take a break to try the second cupcake…yep, pretty darn good!

Next I visited the Sam Bell Maxey House.  This house was built just after the Civil War (by a lawyer) and the last descendant left it to the City of Paris much like the Goodman’s did in Tyler.  Not all of the rooms are open to the public but they had a video and an actual docent to guide everyone (translation: me) through the house.

My final stop in Paris was at the Eifel Tower.  It’s built to scale (a much smaller scale!) and sports a red cowboy hat…LOL!  I had hoped to get someone to take my picture there but that wasn’t happening and time was getting away from me.  I had made plans to meet one of my cousins who lives in the area (relatively speaking – pun intended…LOL!) at a restaurant about halfway between Paris and Gilmer (his hometown).  I made it in time…ok, three minutes late.

Dinner was Tex-Mex in Mount Pleasant and I had a nice visit with my cousin and his wife.  As I stopped to wash my hands, I dropped my 10-year-old camera (which I’ve been threatening to replace for a couple of months) in a sink full of water!  Oops.  Accidentally on purpose?  Maybe subconsciously. 

Just after checking into tonight’s hotel in Denison, I ran to Best Buy (as they were closing) and got a new one.  The only photos I got with my cousin were on my phone and I still have lots of places to see on this trip so I really didn’t have a choice.  Really.  Bear in mind that I’m a scrapbooker.  I had no choice.  LOL!  After taking a closer look at it, I may be returning this camera…display screens are nice (if it’s not too bright out) but where is the viewfinder?  Yeah, this isn’t a keeper.

I’m going to call it an evening.  I’ve had my wine cooler while writing this and I have a full day tomorrow.  Maybe I’ll even figure out how to get Pandora from my phone to play on the car speakers; that would be nice.  The first day I got my phone linked to the stereo so that I have hands-free telephone usage but I must have missed a step because only actual phone calls seem to work.

The second day (while sitting in construction traffic), I figured out the cruise control mechanism…it’s not like any I’ve used before but I really like the way it works.  Today, sitting at traffic lights, I finally figured out how to make the radio search for stations…the first two days I was limited to the preset stations and I wasn’t always in the Dallas area (!)…I still don’t understand why buttons with the same symbols on the steering wheel as on the radio don’t act the same, but if I can find music, I’m happy.  By the time I turn this car in, I’ll have all of the bells and whistles figured out…LOL!

Tomorrow is a fairly early day, so I’m crawling into bed now. G’nite, all!

Day 2

Howdy, y’all!

Ok, tonight’s hotel (Staybridge Suites, Tyler) is a pretty cool place! It has a full kitchen (complete with a stove, dishwasher, and dishes!) and half a dozen communal grill in the courtyard, as well as the normal amenities (free wi-fi, free parking, hot breakfast, fitness center, etc).  When I checked in I found that they, too, had upgraded my reservation!  I name most of my trips (the last one was The Taste of Texas Travails) and this one is going to need to include “Upgraded” in the title…it should probably include something about colleges, too since I’ve now been to UT (Austin’s LBJ Library), Texas A&M (Bush, Sr), Steven F Austin University (Nacogdoches…where Al and Susan did and do – respectively - work), and whatever Dallas university houses GW’s Library. 

Of course I don’t really need two bedrooms (one of which has two beds) since I’m traveling alone, but I was tempted to pretend to be Goldilocks: this bed is too hard; this bed is too soft; this bed is just right…LOL!  They put me on the top floor – ok, there are only three - so there aren’t any people stomping around above my head.  I picked up some wine coolers, started the ice maker in my fridge (so I won’t have to feel guilty about replenishing my cooler in the morning) and am relaxing with wine cooler in hand in “my living room” as I write this.  Ahhhh, life is good.  But enough about the accommodations…this is a daily recap, after all…it’s going to be much shorter than yesterday because I didn’t make nearly as many stops today.

I was right yesterday…a little extra shut-eye was in order following my 22-hour day.  I originally planned to leave the hotel by 9:20…I felt lucky to leave before the official check-out time of noon!  After a slow start (involving sleeping in, a leisurely breakfast while watching the news, posting yesterday’s recap on my blog, and a nice long shower), I headed to the Bush (senior) Library.

I found out what the “A” in Texas A&M stands for and what they’re called: Aggies (for Agriculture…still no idea about the “M”, though).  The campus is huge and lovely.  Of course, this is Texas so I should have expected large.  After cruising around in a few of their parking lots (yes, my GPS sent me to the wrong place again…I guess East and West on street names really do matter…LOL!), I finally asked a young lady for directions and found the place.  I didn’t spend long there since I got a late start but I have pictures (thanks to a volunteer docent) to prove that I made it.

When I left, I called my friends to let them know that I was on my way and was told that it should take me about two hours to get there…it was more than three.  My route included a (mostly) two-lane road where the other drivers obviously didn’t get the memo about using the breakdown lane as a courtesy “let me move over so you can pass and keep doing the speed limit” lane.  There were tons of cops out so anyone who has driven with me would be proud of me for controlling my lead foot on this trip…but I digress.  They were doing construction on this two-lane road…turning it into one lane (about 5 miles long in each of three separate sections!) which meant one way would stop for about 15 minutes while the other direction went, then we went for about 15 minutes, then they went…well, you get the picture…with nowhere to turn off (and no alternate routes available).  I did get to see some wildflowers (although the bluebonnets are mostly gone already…I saw some yesterday near Austin but not very many today), cows, and horses.  I did eventually reach my destination (although too late to see Nacogdoches’ Millard’s Crossing Historic Village – Susan says that Corsicana’s Village is better so I don’t feel too bad about missing this one) and had a lovely visit with my friends.

We went out for Tex-Mex food and a driving tour of the historic section of the town and the University.  The food was good, the downtown square quaint and cool, the school grounds lovely (there were flowers – not bluebonnets – blooming and I got pictures), and the companionship was priceless.  This was (at least in my mind) the main reason for my trip.  By forgoing most of my sight-seeing plans for the day, I was able to spend more time with them…and it was well worth it.

Now I’m settled into my hotel, I’ve finished a couple of wine coolers, and it’s time to get some rest before tackling tomorrow’s schedule which includes two museums, two photo op visits, a scrapbook store, dinner with my cousin, and 6+ hours of driving. I wonder if tomorrow night’s hotel will have a hot tub?  A girl can hope.

Good night, all.  Happy trails!

Howdy, y’all!  For anyone who might be confused, that’s Texas-speak for “Greetings From the Road”.   Yes, I’m once again visiting the great state of Texas…but before any would-be robbers who might be reading this blog get any ideas: I left my roommate, a ferocious dog – with optimized hearing (well, for kibble being poured into his bowl, anyway), extraordinary (well, compared to most dogs) vision, and a keen sense of smell – plus a very mouthy cat to guard the house in my absence.

Even though I caught a plane to Texas, I truly have spent most of the day on the road!  I was up at 3 am to drive to Tampa for my flight, had a layover in Houston (where the folks from work tracked me down to help them trouble-shoot a small SNAFU that they managed to work around by the time I got to Dallas), rented a car, and headed out on my latest adventure.

For anyone who doesn’t know this about me: I’m a planner.  When I know that I’m going to visit someplace new, I make a list of all of the things I might like to see, how long I should allow for each of them, plot them on a map to optimize travel time, and rearrange them (bumping some things to alternate status) based on the days/times they (and I) are available.  I’m not married to this schedule…if I see something as I drive around that I didn’t know about, I can spontaneously change my plans…if traffic delays hit, I adjust by moving things around…but it gives me a good chance of seeing most of the things that I really want to see. 

I have a small bucket list; the first thing on it is visit all 50 states so this will probably be my last trip to Texas for a while…I have a lot more states to visit.  When I started traveling, I went to early Presidents’ homes and libraries; I decided this year to put that on my list as well…ok, mainly because it gave me a good excuse to go back to Austin…LOL!  (Side note on the presidents, I may or may not agree with their politics but they were our presidents, so I feel like the list should be all inclusive.  Enough said.)  Since this is my third trip to Texas (in my defense, it’s a REALLY big state and I still haven’t made it to western Texas where it might actually look like I had always imagined the state…you know, dry, brown, tumbleweeds…a lot like I imagine Arizona looks…the parts of Texas that I’ve seen so far definitely don’t look like that), I’m making a foray into Oklahoma (more driving! But it will let me check off another state as well as a presidential – Eisenhower - birthplace) on this trip.  But back to today.

Let’s start with the car…  Budget upgraded me just to be nice!  They mentioned more legroom, leather seats, and no additional charge so I happily headed for my space in the lot only to find a black (it’s as warm here as it is back home so “black vehicle” translates to “oven”) SUV.  Now some people might enjoy this type of vehicle but I’m used to driving a little car that gets pretty good gas mileage…so I’m not one of them.  When I got back to the counter to say “thanks, but no thanks” the agent had left the premises for lunch…did I mention that I’m on a schedule, here?  It took a bit of doing but I’m now the happy driver of a Ford Focus…if I could only figure out how to make all of the gadgets work…LOL!

I drove about an hour south of the airport for my first stop: lunch!  The place I had planned on has apparently gone out of business (unnoted by both Yelp and TripAdvisor) so I went to my alternate spot…only to discover that it’s a chain…a pretty good chain (which started in Nacogdoches, TX – tomorrow’s destination) and I was starving (breakfast at 3:30 am eastern time and lunch at 12:30 TX time means those meals were 10 hours apart…no, I didn’t think out the timing very well when constructing my schedule for today…silly me!) so I wolfed down enjoyed my take-out and headed to Corsicana’s Pioneer Village.

The Village is a fenced off area of a city park.  There are numerous old buildings in the compound that are stocked with period pieces (old-time merchandise in the store, animal skins in the trading post, antiques in the homes, tools in the smithy, photos/iron bars/old newspapers in the jail, and costumes/memorabilia in the Lefty Frizzel - a Western musician - building) and Plexiglas enclosures just inside the doors to keep people from touching the displays…I was the only person other than the curator that was there. It was interesting but you really don’t need to go here; this allowed me to make up a little of the lost time in my schedule.

The scrapbook store owner was a delight!  She had a very large shop (Scrappin Good Time) with a full retreat area (5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, and a stocked scrap room!) and helped me locate the TX-themed items I wanted.  When I asked about a small album (in the shape of TX…too cute) that was displayed, she explained that she had a die to cut the pieces, sold me the chipboard needed, and cut it (along with some paper to make covering it easier) while we chatted.  She also suggested a couple of stores that hadn’t made my list.  I spent a little more time and money than anticipated but it was fun and I wasn’t in the car…LOL!

Corsicana isn’t quite as quaint-looking as the name might suggest…don’t get me wrong, it has some lovely areas…I particularly enjoyed the Victorian house across the street from the Village that had a large landscaped star (in white flowers) showcasing a map of Texas (in bluebonnets) in their front yard; I can’t imagine how much work that took!...but it also has some rather sketchy neighborhoods that my GPS routed me through – repeatedly.  There was one particular corner where they are doing road construction (six lanes funnel into two) that I visited four times - on the way to the restaurant, while driving around the block back to the restaurant (ok, that one was my fault since I forgot to change the destination address…but, really, it couldn’t just say “you’re already here, foolish lady?”), going to the Village, and on the way to the scrapbook store) before hitting the highway again.

From Corsicana to Austin was almost three hours of driving.  Someday I’m going to be rich enough – I have no idea how or when – to stay in Austin for a whole week!  Other than the traffic, I love this town.  There is so much going on.  I dream of hitting the clubs for different kinds of live music, trying a number of different restaurants, seeing the capital building, and just plain sightseeing! By the time I made it to the LBJ Presidential Library I didn’t have much time before they closed but I saw the things I wanted to see (if not all of the films they presented), listened to a couple of recorded phone conversations (no, Nixon wasn’t the first one to tape everything!), and chatted with some other museum visitors who took my picture with LBJ’s statue.

Dinner was at the Moonshine Patio.  I ate here last year and have fond memories of their food…it lived up to the memories!  Luckily I got there early and was seated immediately; by the time I left there was a 90-minute wait for a table.  I have extras for lunch today (corn-dog shrimp, green chili grits, and bread pudding…YUM). 

I stopped at WalMart on my way out of town; all of my hotel rooms come with a fridge but each night is a different hotel and I’ll be spending hours each day in the car so a cooler and cold drinks are “must haves”.  I gave the ice that wouldn’t fit in the packed cooler to some people who were leaving and hopped back on the road although I was wishing that my day’s journey was over. 

Two and a half hours later (LOL!) I arrived at my hotel…after driving for what seemed like forever in the middle of nowhere with almost no one else on the roads.  Now, I know that the LBJ Library is located on the property of a university in Austin and that I am spending the night in College Station, TX so that I can start my day tomorrow by visiting the Bush (senior) Library but it never even occurred to me to wonder what college might be here.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I’d actually heard of the place on the signs I passed: Texas A&M…not sure what the “A” or the “M” stand for…I think they must have high rated sports teams but I couldn’t name them so I obviously don’t know the school well but I’ve heard of it.  I believe that it’s a pretty important university.

The hotel (Country Inn and Suites) upgraded me (for free) to a “Residence” (it’s like a little apartment…complete with a kitchen table!) and I’m relaxing in my “living room” while I write this…although I hear the bedroom calling my name since I’ve now been up for 22 hours.  I may sleep in tomorrow.  My schedule only includes 2 ½ hours of sightseeing, 4 hours of driving, and 4 hours of visiting with friends so a little extra shut-eye should be totally doable. Good night, all.

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