Lone Star State, Day Nine

 Swimming Holes

We considered several things to do today, but since there was a break in the heat with the cold front that came through last night, we decided on Krause Springs. Krause Springs, located 30 miles northwest of Austin, is 115 acre camping and swimming site with 32 natural springs. Two of them feed a swimming pool and swimming hole. Here are a few pictures from our outing today.

Guess what? We found more gardens here.
They weren't quite as manicured as the earlier ones we've seen on this trip, but we enjoyed them all the same. 

Some things were just budding, while other things were blooming.

Several of the trees had these large wind chimes in them. Their chiming
 was quite peaceful.

And speaking of trees, there were many large cypress trees in the area. We were impressed with the size of this trunk.

Some areas were difficult to maneuver around with the Cypress roots and rocks.

This is the spring-fed swimming hole. We had a good time people watching here.

We also enjoyed looking at the fossils in the rocks.

When I have more time, I will look these up, but they look like crinoids to me.

Our peanut butter sandwiches didn't quite fill us up, so guess what? Ward suggested we have more Texas BBQ on the way back to the hotel. They were out of ribs, so Ward had smoked chicken, and I had potato and pea salad sides. All were tasty.

Until next time...

Lone Star State, Day Eight

 Modern Art

San Antonio is a big city with lots to see and do, but the traffic and crowding were starting to get to us. So, we chose to visit the McNay Museum which is not in a main tourist area. It was also appealing because it was an indoor activity because temperatures were in the low 90s again.

Although the museum was recommended to us by friends, I was surprised that Ward wanted to go. The last time we visited a modern art museum was the Museum of Modern Art in Washington, D. C., and Ward was not impressed, especially with the abstract art. He didn't understand it or its purpose. But off we went without one disparaging remark from Ward. Below are pictures from our day. Today, get ready for lots of art pictures (with perhaps a picture or two of an animal).

The main part of museum is housed in Marion McNay's original Spanish style mansion.

Although the house was not a featured part of the museum, we enjoyed its architectural features.

The museum proper was full of school groups who were leaving soon, so we decided to start with the outdoor sculpture garden. Here and below are a few of the sculptures we saw.

This was supposed to represent a lizard. Later Ward told me he hated it.

They also had a lovely Japanese garden.

Neither Ward nor I have much of an art background, but we did recognize a few of the artists, like a Picasso that you see here.

and Georgia O'Keeffe

and Jackson Pollock

and Paul Gauguin

and Claude Monet

and Edward Hopper

And now it's time for our animals of the day with a sock monkey display...

And this little lizard that was peeking in the window.

After the museum, we were on the road again to Austin where we'll be for the next two nights. Friday afternoon traffic in two big cities was not fun, but we made it. For dinner, we went to a Brazilian steak house with one of Ward’s work friends. We spent three hours there catching up, and Ward enjoyed all the meat he could eat, while I enjoyed the extensive salad/cold bar.

Until next time...

Lone Star State, Day Seven

 Travel Day and Ice Cream and Rivers

Today, we traveled from Houston to San Antonio and because we were on vacation, we didn't hurry and made a few stops along the way. Below are some pictures from our day.

First stop was the Bluebell ice cream factory. Most people think their local ice cream is the best and Texans are no different. But I would agree that Bluebell ice cream is quite good.

I thought this little free library was cute. 

We love their motto.

Of course, we had to have some samples.

Although Bluebell has expanded their operations quite a bit, they haven't made it to Maryland yet. I was impressed when I learned that they still sell full 1/2 gallon cartons, not like the others who have reduced them 1 1/2 quarts. They are proud of that and print it on their box.

The area had a park with a statue of their logo, as well as a museum and observation deck where you could watch them making ice cream. They were making Christmas cookie ice cream when we were watching. No pictures were allowed in this area.

Even though we had just had ice cream, Ward asked about a good BBQ place for lunch. A most helpful lady steered us to Truth BBQ which was in the top 10 BBQ places in Texas in 2025. And believe me, there is a lot competition for that in Texas. Ward had ribs and I had a brisket sandwich. Both were quite good.

We were finally back on the road with only a few stops to take pictures of wildflowers.

 

At five o'clock, we finally arrived in San Antonio and checked into our hotel. Next up was the world famous River Walk. We had visited here years ago (are you getting tired of the "years ago" theme yet?😁) and this was something that Ward wanted to do again.

The River Walk sits below street level and is lined with sidewalks, shops, and landscaping. It is quite popular.

However, the San Antonio River was not as crowded as the sidewalks. We did a river tour on one of those little boats.

On our tour, we learned that they drain the river and clean it every couple of years. They had done it only a couple of months ago and found over 1000 cell phones among other things.

We headed back to our hotel a few blocks away. Luckily, it was starting to cool off. Earlier it was in the low 90s. However, it was not as humid as Houston, so it felt better.

Until next time...

Lone Star State, Day five and slx

 Friends and Gardens

The hotel we were staying in is under construction, and we decided there were too many noises and chemical smells to stay. Our plan was to book a room in the adjacent sister hotel. The staff bent over backwards to help with the move, and we got an upgrade for the same price. Now we have a little apartment with all of the amenities and are quite comfortable. We are not complaining. 😀

We had a fun time visiting with old friends.

Yesterday, we meet with old friends from our New Orleans days. We have kept in touch sporadically over the years, but have not met in person in 30 years. And you know what? We picked up right where we left off. It's great when it works out that way.

Today, we went to Mercer Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. This was another family favorite when we lived here. Many of the gardens were wiped out during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, but they have rebuilt them beautifully. Here are some pictures from our visit. Yesterday, you saw a lot of animals. Today, you'll see a lot of flowers (and maybe a few animals).

Mercer Botanical Gardens and Arboretum is named for Theresa Mercer and her husband. She was an avid gardener and started the garden on 14.5 acres. Today it is owned by Harris County and has over 300 acres.

Ward studying a map of the gardens. This koi pond was a favorite of Wally and Theo's back in the day.

Cypress swamp

Bluebonnets (Texas state flower)

We saw several people using the gardens for a photo shoot. I assume this is for a quinceañera.

This nice couple stopped their photo shoot and volunteered to take a picture of Ward and me.
Check out her outfit. Those are laced, leather pants with fur around the bottom. We don't have any pictures of the cheesecake bathing suit shoot that was going on.

On the other side of the park , there were a couple of miles of paved trails that Ward and I walked. I was getting hot near the end. The temperatures were only in the mid-high 80s, but it was very humid.

Then, it was back to the hotel to do some laundry. For dinner, we went to an In-n-Out Burger. I've heard about how great they were for years, but have never seen one before. Our opinion: They were pretty good for a fast food burger, but nothing to write home about.

Until next time...