REWIND II: FUN BACKTRACKING

April/May, 2021

So we’re on a mission to make our way from our wintering home in Mesa, Arizona driving a whole bunch of miles in order to hug a fair share of our grandkids after a year and a half of covid restricted estrangement. We’re having fun discovering that, for some things or places visiting once is not enough and, goodness knows, there’s stuff we missed the first time around that is calling our name in the here and now.

Lockhart is one of those places for which one visit is not enough, and although there’s really, really good (if not the best in the US) BBQ in Austin, for us a pilgrimage to the Capitol of Central Texas BBQ is mandatory. Since we were traveling to rather than from the Block kids we asked them if we ought to risk buying, freezing and transporting smoked meat across state lines? Surprisingly only Graham and Leigh took us up on the offer, and into the freezer went 10 pounds of Kreutz’s smoked sausage and, from Black’s, a 1.5 pound beef rib…oh yeah, the primary carnivore of the Texas Lundbom clan ended up with 5 pounds of sausage, too.

Rather than repeating our 2018 gorge fest and 48 hours of meat sweats by trying to consume BBQ from all of the restaurants in town we kept ourselves to meals at Black’s featuring brisket and chicken. Couldn’t be finer!

We reported on our visit to the grave of the victims of the Webster Massacre and to Dead Man’s Hole in the last blog. How about a macabre site just north of Llano – Baby Head Cemetery?

Sometime between the 1850s and 1870s, a group of Native Americans kidnapped a young girl from a local family in an effort to scare off the encroaching settlers. The girl was killed, and, according to legend, her head was placed on a stake at the foot of the local mountain resulting in the grim title that both the mountain and the town took on.  It’s the only thing remaining in the area that marks where a flourishing 19th-century town once stood.

We were just about back in our car and off to find our next unusual spot when Brian spied 2 armadillos. We’ve seen plenty of these creatures “sleeping” belly-up by the side of the road, but not alive and waiting for their picture to be taken!

Unlike Brian, Barbara’s not much of a fan of horror movies, but when you’re near the creepy gas station used in the movie “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” you just have to stop, no? Turns out the movie plot is not from a true story. BUT, the character Leatherface is based on the convicted serial killer, Edward Gein, who did indeed enjoy making articles of clothing from the skin of his victims.

The location is in Balstrop, and is now a BBQ joint rightly named “We Slaughter BBQ.”

Something a little less grisly, lurid and morbid. From the UMLAUF Sculpture Garden…

Brian had stopped at Buc-ee’s with Graham on their long drive transporting his family’s belongings from San Diego to their new home in Arlington, Virginia. It is an amazing place – 104 gas pumps and a 50,000 square foot mega-convenience store that includes stations for BBQ, jerky and meat sticks, fresh baked goods and fruit, a sandwich bar, burgers/dogs/hot sandwiches, and home-style meals in addition to the usual snack foods and drinks found in most other convenience stores. Gas prices are good – the food and convenience items may be a bit pricey, but the quality is top notch. Worth a stop!

Schulenburg, Texas is the “Official Home of the Painted Churches.”

In the 1840s, Catholic German and Czech immigrants, fleeing from religious persecution, began to arrive and settle in a 100-mile radius around Austin. The settlers endeavored to preserve their heritage, food and values, and formed civic societies to maintain their language and customs. It did not matter whether the population of the town was a few hundred or a few thousand – it was theirs, and they could worship without oppression.

The settlers sacrificed, saved and provided their own labor to build places of worship that reminded them of the churches of their homeland. They decorated the interior in the sumptuous colors and designs of what they had left behind in the “old country.” It did not matter that paint was used to achieve the effect of carvings, marble, and gold—the churches were theirs, and they were beautiful. The exterior might be unassuming, but once inside these “painted churches” were something to behold. Fortunately they have also been preserved.

These little rascals graced the outside of the churches – by the thousands!

The next question we asked ourselves, since we were close by anyhow, was whether or not San Antonio might just have anything of interest? Well, yeah!

Try on the world’s largest cowboy boots…

…or visit Frank’s giant hog sculpture – nobody’s quite sure why it was built or what use it served…

…or wander about the Quadrangle at Fort Sam Houston.

The Fort is an active military base and presently civilians were not permitted on grounds; however the following was confirmed by the enlisted man posted at the entrance to the instillation: “The Quadrangle was the original Fort at Sam Houston, and was designed without windows to better withstand attacks. We’re not sure why, but In 1886 deer, rabbits, peacocks, and other birds were introduced into the Quadrangle and since that day future generations of the animals continue walk freely in the grass and under the trees.”…

As we walked along the fencing we could hear the peacocks screams.

…But then again you never know what you’ll see or find by just taking your time and with your eyes wide open. As we were pulling away Barbara happened to notice a beautiful event venue (think weddings) with chandeliers hanging from the trees…

…And then there is Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo.

The Mission is the southern most of 4 encampments, each approximately 2.5 miles from the other. The northern most mission is the Alamo.

The Church and outbuildings are constructed of limestone, and the architecture of the Church itself, as is true of all 4 missions, is described as “extraordinary Spanish colonial Baroque.” The grounds were home to Franciscans as well as 350 Native Americans – the Franciscans’ quest for converts driving life within the Mission walls…

…Can’t leave out HemisFair Park and the Berlin Bear. HemisFair Park was built in1968 in honor of San Antonio’s 250th anniversary. It also served as the anchor for the 1968 World’s Fair, which was also held in the City.

The park is now a child’s dream with a water garden and splashpad, and a kid-designed wood and sand playground (which includes a castle and space tunnel). The highlight is the looming 750-foot tall Tower of the Americas.

The Berlin Bear is a bronze sculpture – the heraldic symbol of the city of Berlin – that was a gift from West Berlin to San Antonio for the World’s Fair. According to the website finding the bear would be an easy task, but we think we might have walked past it, around it and over it before actually having the chance to view the sculpture…

…We wanted to spend an afternoon wandering The McNutt Sculpture Garden at The Briscoe Western Art Museum, and be surrounded by bronze sculptures depicting iconic figures of the American West. However, the Sculpture Garden was closed for a private party. Not to be totally shut out we did get a chance to enjoy sculptures on display in front of the Briscoe Museum…

…And last, but not least, we ambled through the Alamo courtyard, in order to find the graves of – are you sitting down? – 2 cats! Yup, not defenders Jim Bowie or Davey Crockett, not Commandant Travis or any of the others who defended the Mission, but 2 cats. We were wondering if these felines died during the Battle of the Alamo, but nooooooooooooooooo…

Alas, our time in Austin had to end. Our adventures were varied – from live music and seeing Jon perform, to spending time with family, to good eats and a freezer full for the road, to sipping wine, to exploring the macabre and learning a new bit of history, to discovering that German and Czech immigrants took pride in their workmanship to build houses of worship that dazzle with their beauty to this day. We explored the unusual and commonplace – what a fine time!

Barbara and Brian