Austin, TX
Emma Long Metropolitan Park
Emma Long Metropolitan Park lies along the shores of Lake Austin, one of three Austin “lakes” formed by dams along the Colorado River (which is a different Colorado River than the one you’re probably thinking of). The park is 1,142 acres, and has a mile-long lake front and forests of oak, ash, and juniper.
This was where we camped for several days as we explored the city of Austin.
Texas has been enduring a long (60 plus days) heatwave this summer. During our time in Texas the temps have been at or above 100! We have been seeking out activities to get out of the heat when we can. Awe, air conditioned museums!!! Just the answer!
LBJ Presidential Library
If you have not visited a Presidential Library, 
you really should add one to your “must see” list. Several years ago we were quite impressed with the Nixon Library, which is a little less than an hour from our home, so we planned time to visit the Lyndon B. Johnson Library here in Austin. Presidential Libraries house archives of documents and records; at LBJ Library you see four floors of archives as you ascend the staircase. Presidential Libraries are also museums focused on the era and accomplishments of a President.
LBJ was the Vice President during JFK’s presidency. When John F Kennedy was assassinated, Johnson became the President. As the new President, he completed that final year of Kennedy’s term and then was elected to a full four year term. As we walked through the three floors of the Library we found a greater understanding of the history of the era during which Johnson served as President. Starting with Kennedy’s assassination, Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination, to Civil Rights unrest and riots, to the Cold War and the Vietnam War, to the space program and environmentalism, there was so much to take in.
We also learned about the President’s family life, raising two teen daughters in the White House, both getting married and having babies during the time they lived there with the President and First Lady. And speaking of the First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson was well represented in the library. Her personal history, passions and accomplishments both as First Lady, wife, mother and grandmother were showcased, as well as her work as an environmentalist, which encouraged the President to pass many bills to protect natural resources.
The Library was also the location Lady Bird’s actual office where she continued to work even after LBJ’s death. She helped to oversee the Library, as well as work on all kinds of conservation and environmental issues.
In addition to all the artifacts and displays of this bygone era, the LBJ Library houses a scaled replica of the Oval Office as it appeared during LBJ’s term. Since I probably will never be anywhere near the real Oval Office, it provided a great opportunity to feel like I was at the White House!
Though Steve and I both grew up in the 
Johnson Era, I think we left our time at LBJ Presidential Library with a greater understanding of the turbulent history of the sixties and seventies, as well as President Johnson’s personality, goals and accomplishments, and how those things are still impacting our lives today.
Texas State Capitol
Following our time at the Presidential Library we visited the State Capital Building. Built in 1882 and still housing the Texas state government, the building is open to visitors. As with most capital buildings we have seen, the grand architecture includes a rotunda, lots of marble flooring, well crafted woodwork and long hallways.
Strolling the park-like grounds around the Capitol, we stopped at several memorials and sculptures that filled in some state history for us.
This is just a small part of a sculpture about the history of Emancipation in the state of Texas.
Twilight Hour at Congress Street Bridge
In the heart of downtown Austin, a short distance down Congress Street from the Texas State Capital Building, crowds gather at dusk for an amazing natural phenomenon, countless bats streaming out from under the bridge to fly east over the Colorado River for their nightly foray for food! Tours bring viewers by boat; kayakers and boaters gather on Lady Bird Lake below the bridge. Expectant crowds slowly gathered along the pedestrian walkway on the bridge or along the edge of the water, all eagerly awaiting the spectacle of a million bats in flight! (Oh, did I mention the temps are still near 100 even at sunset and the humidity had us dripping!)
Did you know that the Texas State mammal is the Mexican Free Tail Bat? Did you even consider that a bat is a mammal and not a bird? A flying mammal! These are the same species of bat that we saw at Carlsbad Caverns, but this colony is estimated at 1.5 million Mexican free-tail bats. (The bats can be called either Brazilian or Mexican Free-tail bats.)
Just as the sun was setting, and the tour boats arrived, as if on cue the bats began to fill the sky as they poured out from under the bridge, first from under one span, then from another. Even though we experience the bat flight at Carlsbad Caverns we were just as mesmerized with this spectacle. The flight lasted long enough for us to reposition from our spot near the water, run up the stairs and down the street onto the bridge, where we saw still more bats exiting their daytime roost. From the bridge we also were able to take in the sunset and the Austin City skyline. Each vantage point had its own charms, and unlike at Carlsbad where we could not take photos or video, as you can see from the attachment, I got both video and photos! This is an Austin tourist destination well worth the effort to see!
Bullock Museum
Another great place that helped us to get out of the heat, this museum offered three floors of well presented displays that told the history of Texas, from revolution to statehood, to the present day.
In the adjacent IMAX movie we enjoyed a 3-D documentary: Flight of the Butterflies, which was a stunning presentation about one man’s 40 years of research to unlock the mysteries of the Migration of the Monarch Butterfly.
Exhibit: The Ship Wreck
In 1995, archaeologists found this 17th century French ship, La Belle, in about twelve feet of water. A massive watertight cofferdam enclosure was built around the wreck to allow archaeologists to pump out all the water surrounding the ship. Over years of careful preservation, they uncovered one-third of the ship's hull and more than 1.8 million artifacts preserved in the Matagorda Bay mud. The Museum has done an amazing job of reconstructing and displaying this shipwreck and the contents, revealing all that was needed for the transatlantic voyage to uncharted territories. While the voyage met with disaster, the recovered vessel speaks profoundly to visitors today of a bygone era.
Sweet Lemon Kitchen
A stop to enjoy breakfast and finalize a blog post turned into a conversation with our server, Elizabeth. She had recently relocated to Texas from the East. She told us about how she is drawing closer to the Lord and finding support from her newfound church experience here in Georgetown. Since coming here without any family or friends, she was feeling quite alone. A newly discovered faith in the Lord and the support of a local church have turned her life around in unexpected ways! We enjoyed this opportunity to hear her story and to encourage her!
BBQ-Texas Style
I did not really know what Texas BBQ was. Seems there are all kinds of styles of BBQ depending on where you are in the country! Here in Texas, you choose from an assortment of smoked meats such as brisket, sausage, ribs, or pork belly, cut before you on a butcher block and weighed on the scale. Add to that an assortment of hot or cold sides. Your meats and sides are placed on a 1/4 sheet pan lined with butcher paper which you carry to your table and dig in! While in Texas we tried several BBQ restaurants, Pinkertons in San Antonio, and here in Austin we tried Rudy’s and Interstellar BBQ.
While here in Austin we joined some friends, Sara and Miles, who have lived in Austin several years now, for dinner at the Original Blacks Barbecue, one of their favorite BBQ restaurants. We had a great time catching up over a delicious dinner!
Each barbecue venue was slightly different in its offerings, some make their own pickles, others their own sausage. Steve talked with a customer while in line at one restaurant, who seemed to know everything about all the BBQ joints. It seems Texans love their barbecue!
Next week our Adventures on the Road will take us to Waco, home of all things Magnolia and then on to the Dallas Fort Worth area to see some friends and family. Thanks for taking the time to follow our travels, and of course your prayers mean so much to us!
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