October-November, 2018

3 things we noticed about food in Austin.  There are literally thousands of food trucks and food truck corrals all around town offering every kind of cuisine you could desire or imagine pretty much 24/7, from breakfast through late night after the honky-tonk-need- some-grease-to-sober-up grub.  Secondly kolaches are a finger food trend that could sweep the country if anyone had a little chutzpah (Shark Tank anyone?).  Thirdly, tacos are the norm and insidious; everyone has their favorite taqueria.

Lockhart has been declared by the Texas legislature the “Barbecue Capital of Texas,” and for now it suffices to know that we accepted the mission to pay homage to the town with our appetites.  There’ll be more on this and on the holy throne of brisket a little later.  But there’s a couple of oddities near Lockhart that we just couldn’t resist.

Palmetto State Park is in Gonzales, Texas, just a bit southeast of Lockhart.  Any guesses how the park got its name?  Yeah, it’s because of the palmetto palm.  But the problem is that the palmetto palm is a tropical plant and the Park is at best and for only part of the year semi-tropical.  The geography and environment outside of the Park is arid for 6 months (late spring through early fall), but the Park is notable for its swampy and varied watery environments, which is more typical of lands to the east in Georgia and Florida not Central Texas.  Oddity #1, right?  No matter, we had a great time hiking through the Park.

On a lonely stretch of Highway 71 between Lockhart and Austin is the Berdoll Pecan Candy & Gift Company, and on a corner of the property facing the highway is Ms. Pearl.  Not only is she the world’s largest squirrel statue (standing 14 feet tall), but she clutches a pecan bigger than your head in her hand.  Atlas Obscura’s description was just enough to peak our interest, and, of course, we had to visit the store and sample their plentiful pecan variations.  Delicious, certainly oddity #2!

We decided one morning that it was time to see what all the food truck fuss was about and breakfast tacos would be our initiation.  Barbara did our homework and planned out our stops.  3 taco food trucks later we were no longer rookies, and we came to appreciate how absolutely delicious eggs and edible things freshly made and stuffed into a tortilla can be.  Our favorite breakfast taco was migas, a mixing of eggs and potato and cheese and crispy tortilla strips scrambled together.  When in Austin, Veracruz All Natural Food Truck on East Cesar Chavez is highly recommended.  Lots of recipes out there if you’d like, but Brian’s made migas using one of Marcus Samuelson’s recipes.  There were 2 food trucks parked at our last stop, and after getting our taco we noticed that the other truck was called Gourdough’s Big. Fat. Donuts.  It was like a siren’s call after the savory breakfast we had enjoyed.  These are no ordinary donuts.  Each is made fresh and each is the size of a small hubcap.  We shared the original which is a doughnut rolled in cinnamon sugar and served hot with honey butter.  Worth every calorie.

Kolaches are an iconic foodstuff in Central Texas, and they are based on historical Czech pastries.  Brian had always thought that kolaches were sweet pastries usually with a healthy serving of fruit jam nestled in the center.  Not just so in Texas.  There are the sweet kolaches, but the Central Texas version includes savory meats, meats and cheese, sausages, and breakfast combinations.  When we pulled up to the Kolache Factory there was a squad car in the parking lot.  Guess for the Austin police force it’s the equivalent of a donut shop anywhere else?

Taquerias are everywhere – restaurants and food trucks, sit down or delivery – and everyone has their favorite.  But don’t expect anything other than tasty fillings wrapped in your choice of corn or flour tortilla.  Salsa and/or hot sauce to taste, add some fresh chips and queso, and a tasty beverage and that’s pretty much it.  Hard for us looking for Tex-Mex platters with tacos, beans and rice to quite get our heads around until the first bite.  Thanks to nephew Jon and Lucy for introducing us to Torchy’s and Pueblo Viejo.

Texas is the home of beef, and smoked brisket is king.  Yeah – nearly everyone in the State does some version of smoked pork ribs, turkey breast and maybe pork/beef sausage, but pulled pork isn’t that often on the menu, and don’t forget a slice or 3 of brisket or maybe just to change it up once in awhile, chow on a 2-pound beef rib.  And, as in Memphis, smoke is the only sauce required; asking for Carolina or KC or Chicago-style sauce is just met with a look that implies you might just have your dinner taken away.

There is a method to getting your meal at a Central Texas Barbecue joint.  First stop is in the room with the smoker.  The smoker is a long metal cabinet set with an open wood fire at one end.  Racks and racks of meat are inside the cabinet and a flue draws the warm smoke over the meat doing its magic.  No fancy rubs, just salt and pepper rubbed on before being placed in the smoker.  At 90 degrees to the smoking cabinet is the holding cabinet.  We bellied up to the counter as the server placed pieces of butcher paper on the counter and asked “for here or to go?” and “what would you like?”  As we ordered meat the server relayed our order to the butcher who pulled the brisket (fatty or lean), beef shoulder, rack of ribs, turkey breast or sausage (original or jalapeno) from the holding cabinet and sliced it right there and then.  It gets immediately weighed since everything is by the pound, and then put on the butcher paper.  You have to decide if you want some good old-fashioned white bread or crackers with your meat.  Seems incongruous to me; so well and carefully-prepared meats and Wonder Bread on the same plate – oh well, when in Texas!  We paid for our meat and took our wrapped package into the dining room.  Then we had to belly up to the dining room counter and order our sides and beverage.

We enjoyed Texas Barbeque at Stubb’s in Austin when there for the Gospel Brunch, and in Lockhart at Smitty’s Market, Black’s Barbecue, and Kruez’s Market.  So here goes our review.  Stubb’s brisket is tender and soft and juicy, but the smoke ring was narrow and the smoke flavor not pronounced at all.

Smitty’s brisket is not as soft as Stubb’s, but the smoke ring is a good 1/4″ thick and the smoke flavor definitely present.  We tried the turkey, jalapeno sausage, and shoulder as well.  All good.

Black’s is the bomb.  Brisket and original sausage with a smoke ring holding the ticket to flavor town (thanks Guy Fieri).  Do not pass go, do not collect $200, just eat brisket and a beef rib at Black’s.  People stand in line for an hour or so at many barbeque joints all around Central Texas; at Black’s it’s worth it.

Kruetz’s was the first barbeque house in Lockhart.  Their brisket wasn’t too far off of the delight of Black’s, but their sausage was by far the best.  Along the way beans, slaw and corn muffins found their way into our bellies, but plain and simple, it was time for meat sweats.

And with that we bid goodbye to Central Texas…hell of a time!

Barbara and Brian

There are a few more places we enjoyed that more appropriately met the “Keep Austin Weird” definition alive and are here offered for your consideration. Can’t say we had had enough of Austin quite yet!

The Cathedral of Junk is a living sculpture that was started in 1989 in the backyard of the creator, artist, and curator.  It is always in flux as new features are added and other older features are edited out.  The Cathedral is not just a pile of rubbish, but rather a gigantic 60-ton sculpture made up of just about every kind of found object you can possibly think of: tools, dolls, toys, car parts, phones, cd players, toilets, building materials, signs, bicycles, baskets, tires, bells, cinder blocks, TVs, mannequins, beads, etc.  Weddings and other special events have occurred in the Cathedral; families get permission to picnic, and annually there are 11,000–14,000 visitors.

Get 50 people in the Ginny’s Little Longhorn Saloon and the place is over-crowded.  Then toss in a live musical group and this honky tonk truly comes alive with an energy that gets your feet tapping.  Come with your own chairs on Sundays to sit around in the parking lot with 100s of your newest closest friends, listen to some of that live good ole country music, drink a bucket full of Lone Stars, and between 4pm and 8pm play Chicken Shit Bingo.  Yup – that’s right.  4 games of bingo played in a very special way.  We got in the queue and purchased our $2 ticket, on which was a traditional bingo number and color. Once all of the tickets are sold we got as close as we could to watch with amazement as a live chicken is placed in a cage whose floor is a bingo board.  The floor of the cage is strewn with chicken food and as the chicken enjoys its snack, well, oops, chicken shit is inevitable.  Whatever number the excrement falls on is the winning number.  The winner is called up to the stage by the band, the winner’s name is announced to the crowd, a picture is taken, and the winner is given a cash prize.  The 4 games are played hourly, and on the night we were there each winner’s award was $105.  What a gas.

In keeping with the quirkiness that is Austin, Sparky Park is a grotto-like creation on the grounds of a former power substation in a north-side neighborhood. Artist Berthold Haas was engaged to construct a whimsical wall to obscure the new substation and to make the park a serene, inviting, and almost fairytale place.  He created the mosaics from stone, wood, glass, metals, karst stones, aggregates, mirror balls, slag glass, broken antique glass dishes, ammonites and other shells; painted stucco, petrified wood, molded cement frieze, marbles, and repurposed ceramic disk insulators.

Hope Outdoor Gallery is a community paint park which was officially launched in March 2011 with the help of contemporary artist Shepard Fairey.  It is the only paint park of its kind in the USA, and it was developed to provide muralists, street artists, arts education classes and community groups the opportunity to display large scale art pieces driven by their personal inspiration.  It has become an inspirational outlet and creative destination for artists and visitors alike.  There is lots and lots of outlaw art in Texas, and the Hope Outdoor Gallery is recognized as one of the Top 10 in the State.  But as happens with that which is good, the day we wandered around the Gallery was to be its last.  The Gallery was to be closed the day after we were there, and it was slated to be torn down for condominium development.  We asked one of the working artists whether or not the Gallery would be dismantled and re-located, and we were told no, but a new location out near the airport was planned.  When expressing our disappointment that all of the work would be lost the artist responded “I’ve just decided that the last 8 years of work were practice.”

Getting bored in Austin just wasn’t an option.

Barbara and Brian

 

 

 

 

 

October-November, 2018

Check out any of the “things to do in Central Texas” websites, and you’ll be directed to travel west from Austin into Hill Country.

The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region located at the crossroads of West Texas, Central Texas, and South Texas.  Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country lies between the American Southwest and Southeast.  The region is notable for its landscape which was formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum, and characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves and tall rugged hills of limestone or granite (karst topography).  Many of the hills rise to a height of 400-500 feet above the surrounding plains and valleys.  The Hill Country is home to the second largest granite dome in the United States: Enchanted Rock.  The terrain throughout the region is punctuated by a thin layer of topsoil and a large number of exposed rocks and boulders, making the region very dry and prone to flash flooding.  Native vegetation in the region includes various yucca, prickly pear cactus, desert spoon, and wildflowers in the Llano Uplift. The predominant trees in the region are ashe juniper and Texas live oak.  OK – ’nuff about all that stuff.  Fact is it is damn pretty in the Hill Country and well worth spending a day or so rambling about.

We mapped out our rambling about into 2 days.  Day 1 included stops at West Cave Preserve, Hamilton Pool Preserve, Luckenbach, Old Tunnel State Park, and a hike to the top of Enchanted Rock.  Day 2 was spent in pursuit of fossilized dinosaur tracks.  We drove through the wonderful towns of Dripping Springs, Round Mountain and Fredericksburg in addition to our stop in Luckenbach.  Yee Haw!

We found West Cave Preserve to be a truly unique experience, and one representative of 2 very, very different worlds.  We first took a hike through the “Upland” – an arid savannah in process of reclaiming itself after years and years of abuse by previous owners.  Our visit then took us through a limestone crevice into a sheltered canyon of lush plant life.  At the head of the canyon stands Westcave whose highlight is a stunning 40-foot waterfall.

Hamilton Pool Preserve is a natural pool and popular swimming spot that was created when the dome of an underground river collapsed due to massive erosion thousands of years ago.  Hamilton Pool Preserve consists of 232 acres of protected natural habitat featuring a jade green pool into which a 50-foot waterfall flows.  A short hike took us from the parking lot along a shaded tree-lined path with a river running along side – beautiful.  Then we crossed over a small land bridge which brought us to the cove and beach area.  Our breath was taken away by the magnificent beauty of  Hamilton Pool.  A circular walkway allowed us to walk fully around the pool and under the waterfall.

 

We drove off into the country and down a single-lane road, turned a corner, and there it was – Downtown Luckenbach!  Downtown in all its glory consists of three buildings: a ramshackle general store, a blacksmith shop and an old-time dirt floor dance hall.  We found out that the town’s reputation among music fans started growing on a summer night in 1973, when Jerry Jeff Walker and the Lost Gonzo Band recorded an album live in Luckenbach, called “Viva Terlingua,” that became a classic of the country/rock “outlaw” scene – the antithesis of a Nashville production.  Then in 1977, country outlaw idols Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson chiseled Luckenbach into music history with the song, “Back to the Basics of Love” with it’s famous chorus of: “Let’s go to Luckenbach, Texas. With Waylon and Willie and the boys.  This successful life we’re livin’. Got us feuding like the Hatfields and McCoys.  Between Hank Williams’ pain songs and Newberry’s train songs and Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain.  Out in Luckenbach, Texas ain’t nobody feelin’ no pain.”  The locals like to say that you can’t find a place more laid-back without being unconscious.

In the back of the general store centered on a wood burning heater is a small bar.  We had the chance to hear a couple of old timers regale their time on the road with country music stars, and they entertained us with a bunch of sing-along covers.  Rusty the Rooster wandered in to stay awhile, and he serenaded us with properly placed cock-a-doodle-doos!

Old Tunnel State Park is a long-vacated railroad tunnel of the Fredericksburg and Northern Railway which ceased operations in 1942.  The property came under the care of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and it was officially made a State Park in 2012. Why?  Well, since the shut down of the railway, the tunnel has become a bat cave, hosting over 3 million Mexican free-tailed bats and 3000 Cave myotis bats.  Unfortunately the bats had migrated a week or so before our arrival.  A short hike revealed this to be a pretty cool site with a decent history – even without a chance to see the bats.

Enchanted Rock is a pink granite mountain that covers approximately 640 acres and rises approximately 425 feet above the surrounding terrain to an elevation of 1,825 feet above sea level.  The rock is said to be “enchanted” because it “sings” at sundown – creaking and groaning caused when the granite cooks in the Texas heat all day, then cools rapidly after the sun dips below the horizon.

A hike to the top is no easy feat.  The first third is a medium climb with a 2-5 degree upward slope.  Now the next two-thirds of the “rock” is a test of determination and stubbornness, cardio-vascular exercise and a 12-15 degree slope on fairly smooth granite.  Keeping track?  That’s 142 feet pretty much ok and 283 feet of pretty much “gut check.”  Happy to report that both of us are as tuff as you knew we were!

 

We set out on Day 2 to see the dinosaur tracks at Canyon State Natural Area.  After an easy drive out into Hill Country we found the State Park and stopped at the ranger station to pay our entry fee.  The Ranger asked our business and after learning that we were after dinosaur tracks gave us a “no go”; he informed us that the tracks were under 3 feet of water due to the recent amount of rain that had fallen in the area.  Bummer!  But she said “Check out The Heritage Museum of the Texas Hill Country.”

The Heritage Museum of the Texas Hill Country, Canyon Lake has carefully protected its tracks by housing some under a pavilion.  While this museum houses fossils and footprints, you can also see other relics of the past of the Texas Hill Country.  From Native American artifacts to aged antiques, the Heritage Museum is one place to step back in time, whether you want to journey 50 years or 150 million years into the past.

There is a small entry fee for the museum and guided tour of the footprints and tracks.  The guide, the facility’s 16-year tenured curator, is exceptionally knowledgeable about his subject, and he is a wonderful educator.  We started indoors and heard a presentation that included a geological history and time line, a lesson about the dinosaur tracks and footprints we were about to see, and a look at fossils that had been found in the area.

Both of us had no idea why this area of the country was home to so many dinosaurs, let alone why so many tracks, footprints and fossils were to be found.  What we learned was that millions and millions of years ago central and western Texas was under water – an ocean.  Then the great tectonic upheavals that created the Rockies occurred and global warming made the news every night (did a ginormous meteor really hit earth and set off cataclysmic volcanic activity?) changed all that.  Texas became a land mass, and the dinosaurs were about to become extinct.  Dinosaurs inhabited the banks of and in those great oceans.  Tracks and footprints that had dried in the hardened cement-like ground were preserved by being filled in with “silt,” that in turned hardened – and repeat – over millions of years so that many layers protected the original tracks and footprints (or encased animal and plant remains – fossils).  The hardened “silt” washed away, and as erosion occurred, tracks and footprints were uncovered embedded in their concrete-like ground.  These tracks are from the early Cretaceous period approximately 110 million years old.

The 2 main dinosaurs that left footprints and tracks in this area are Iguanodon and Allosaurus.  Iguanodons were bulky quadruped herbivores.  The species is estimated to have weighed about 3.4 tons on average, and measured about 33 feet long as an adult.  These animals had large, tall but narrow skulls, with toothless beaks.  It’s footprint is thought to be a rounded heel with flat toes.  Allosaurus was a large bipedal predator.  Its skull was large and equipped with dozens of sharp, serrated teeth. It averaged 28 feet in length.  Relative to the large and powerful hindlimbs, its three-fingered forelimbs were small, and the body was balanced by a long and heavily muscled tail.  Allosaurus was on top of the food chain.  Its footprint is thought to be represented by 3 claw-like toes.

 

 

 

How cool is all of that!

Barbara and Brian

 

 

October-November, 2018

So many things to do and see in Austin.  We had enough time to enjoy the views from Mount Bonnell, play miniature golf with Peter Pan, eat some decent BBQ and participate in a gospel brunch; listen to any kind of music you can imagine at any kind of venue you can imagine, watch the estimated 1.5 million bats come out at sundown from the  Congress Street bridge and swarm miles away from the bridge before finding their evening meal; enjoy a movie at the ultracool Alamo Drafthouse Cinema; stroll through the UMLAUF Statue Garden and see the peacocks at Mayfield Park and Preserve, wander about the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the Zilker Park Botanical Garden, and visit the Treaty Oak.

Covert Park at Mount Bonnell is a prominent point alongside the Lake Austin portion of the Colorado River in Austin, Texas.  A short walk to the summit provides a vista for viewing the city of Austin, Lake Austin, and the surrounding hills.

 

Peter Pan Mini Golf has been open since 1948, and it features a big statue of Peter Pan as well as dinosaurs, a pig wearing a bow tie, a hook handed pirate and other fanciful creatures.  Situated smack dab among the increasingly metropolitan landscape of once-funky South Austin, Peter Pan stands as one of the last delightfully kitschy relics of a bygone era.  It has the added bonus of being BYOB.

Marty and Susanne, our friends from Pennsylvania, asked if we would like to join their party at Stubb’s BBQ Gospel Brunch.  The company of good friends and new friends and uplifting gospel music from The Spiritualettes, combined with a buffet of brisket (and more brisket!) and other southern and texmex brunch items was a great way to revive our body and soul.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin is the state botanical garden and arboretum of Texas.  The Center features more than 900 species of native Texas plants in both garden and natural settings.  The Center can be “rented” for special occasions, and as it turned out, one of the couples with us today had held their son’s wedding and reception here last year.  Being November, the prime season for wildflowers was well past, but the critters were more than happy to show off for us as we enjoyed walking off the post-brunch meat sweats (brisket and more brisket!), and we had a delightful stroll around the 284 acres of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

The Congress Avenue bridge spans Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin, and it is home to the largest urban bat colony in North America known as the Congress Bridge Bats.  This Mexican free-tail bat colony is estimated at 1.5 million.  Each night from around mid-March to early November, the Congress Bridge bats emerge from under the bridge to blanket the sky as they head up the Colorado River to forage for food.

The best film, food and drink all in one seat.  When you see a movie at Alamo Drafthouse, you get cold drinks, delicious meals and tasty local beers, brought to your seat by a server. Need a free refill on your popcorn or soda? Raise an order card and they’ll get it taken care of quickly.  To us, the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe can be just as worthy of attention and celebration as a foreign language drama.  Celebrating classic cinema is also something we take seriously.  Whether it’s an interactive Movie Party presentation of a timeless classic, a chef-inspired feast with a menu paired to a film, or a re-evaluation of a lost gem, we love sharing the movies we love with Alamo Drafthouse audiences of all ages.  And each seat is a thoroughly articulating, super cushy recliner.

The UMLAUF Sculpture Garden & Museum exhibits the work of Charles Umlauf, his influences, and other contemporary sculptors in a natural setting.

Mayfield Park and Preserve is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  This entire estate was presented to the city of Austin in 1971 by Mary Mayfield Gutsch for all Austinites.  Mayfield Park includes an historic cottage, 2 acres of colorful cottage gardens with towering palm trees, brilliant peacocks and delicate water lilies, all blending in beautiful harmony. Mayfield Preserve is the 21-acre natural area that surrounds the Park, containing walking trails and wildlife habitat.  You bet we took a hike, toured the grounds and gardens but the peacocks and peahens were the bomb!

The Zilker Park Botanical Garden is a 26-acre garden of varied topography located on the south bank of the Colorado River.  Other than this being a beautiful park with plenty for the whole family regardless of age, the highlights were the coy ponds and the site of finding dinosaur fossils.

 

The Treaty Oak is the last surviving member of the Council Oaks, a grove of 14 trees that served as a sacred meeting place for Comanche and Tonkawa tribes prior to European settlement of the area.  Foresters estimate the Treaty Oak to be about 500 years old.   According to popular local folklore, in the 1830s early Texas pioneer Stephen F. Austin met local Native Americans in the grove to negotiate and sign Texas’ first treaty ending hostilities.  Folklore also holds that Sam Houston rested beneath the Treaty Oak after his expulsion from the Governor’s office at the start of Texas’ involvement in the American Civil War.  Before its vandalism/poisoning in 1989, the tree’s branches had a spread of 127 feet.

We also took advantage of marvelous weather and rode our bikes along Lady Bird Lake, and we strolled along SoCo (South Congress) and South 1st Street taking in the funky stores and enjoying people watching.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are more than 100 murals in the City of Austin, and it feels like nearly every block has some giant expression of creativity blasted against its walls for the world to see.  Historically, most murals appear suddenly in places you wouldn’t expect: on a downtown high-rise, against the back side of a coffee shop, in an abandoned alleyway behind a dumpster.  It’s part of Austin’s murals’ mystique and glory.  No descriptions, no special lighting, and no rules against touching.

Murals are an interesting and beautiful artifact in many cities, both large and small.  We have seen them not only in downtown Philadelphia and Detroit, but on the buildings in remote small towns like Marfa, Texas and on the South Side of Bethlehem, PA.  Artists of all sorts are drawn to these larger-than-life blank canvases.  Skillful artists are moved to engage townies and the casual visitor in an emotional way by drawing attention to the structure they have transformed with their colorful images.  This self-expression is sometimes referred to as “street culture” because of the diversity of style and content these works embrace.  Some images commemorate the history of the city; others are whimsical or “in your face;” some pay homage to celebrities past and present.  As we explored Austin, we recalled the subways of New York City and the pop art and graffiti-like work of Keith Haring.

We started by googling a list of Austin murals, and as we began our search we soon discovered that some pieces no longer existed, the mural had been changed or had been replaced with something new.  What a great day spent looking at and photographing some amazing pieces of art!  Here’s what we found.

And if you think this was pretty cool, wait until we blog about the Hope Outdoor Gallery!

Barbara and Brian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October-November, 2018

I guess the place to start is to make sure that everyone knows ATX is shorthand for Austin.  Yup – “Keep Austin Weird” Austin.  Some believe that this slogan comes from Austin’s diversity, which, using per-capita measures is far, far, far beyond the rest of Texas.  Then there’s the absolutely-has-to-be truthful Wikipedia explanation (sic): “Keep Austin Weird is the slogan adopted by the Austin Independent Business Alliance to promote small businesses in Austin, Texas.”  In any case, and with the help of the 15 Best Things To Do in Austin, what the locals recommend a visitor see and do; the Crazy Tourist, and Atlas Obscura, there is lots and lots of weirdness we had the good chance to visit during our time here.

Austin is the capital of the U.S. State of Texas, and it is the 11th most populous city in the United States and the 4th most populous city in Texas.  It is also the fastest growing large city in the United States, the second most populous state capital after Phoenix, Arizona, and the southernmost state capital in the contiguous United States.  As of the U.S. Census Bureau’s August 1, 2018 estimate, Austin had a population of 967,629 up from 790,491 at the 2010 census; the Austin–Round Rock metropolitan statistical area had an estimated population of 2,056,405 as of July 1, 2016.  Austin is located in Central Texas and it is part of the greater Texas Hill Country.

We are gradually making our way to the Southwest and West Coast for the winter, and Austin was a perfect 4-5 hour drive from Livingston.  It also just happens to be our nephew’s home.  Jon, Lucy and their daughter Lily (now 5) left Brooklyn 4 years or so ago and moved to Austin.  Since the move, Bennett, who is now 3 years of age, came along.  We had never met Bennett, and it had been a long time since we had a good long visit with our Texas relatives.  We were looking forward to spending time with family!

Synchronicity played a part in our time in Austin as well.  Marty and Susanne, good friends from Pennsylvania, had been planning a visit to Austin to visit other friends, and it coincided with our time in the city.  Would we like to be included into their visit?  Boy -would we!  AND, Tom and Kelley, other close friends and University of Michigan football fanatics were going to be in San Antonio while we were in Austin, and since his work obligation carried into Friday night and they were staying for the weekend, would we care to get together for a Michigan football watching party on Saturday?  Boy – would we!

We pulled into Austin and set up camp.  Being a Saturday in the Fall, our first priority was to watch the Michigan game and then to find our way to Nephew Jon’s for a wonderful reunion.  On Sunday between Facetime with the Bullocks, Blocks and Umstattds and Barbara’s weekly evening phone call with her sisters, we continued catching up with Jon and Lucy.

Come Monday the weather in Austin was fairly dreary…perfect though to get familiar with Austin, to catch a workout or 2 and to enjoy indoor stuff like museums.

Time for a rant.  Brian’s driven in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx; Chicago, Washington, DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Houston (where are all of those people going at all hours of the day and night?); LA, Dallas/Ft Worth, Pittsburgh and Boston (just to name drop).  We’ve put up with the NJ Turnpike, the gd George Washington Bridge, the PA Turnpike on Thanksgiving weekend; the Capitol Beltway, driving in a blizzard between Chicago and Milwaukee, and seen more deer along the roadside and in the roadway than most hunters will see in a lifetime.  We’ve seen accidents including fatalities, stupid drivers, negligent police officers, and helicopters land on interstate highways and tollways.  I-35 through Austin compares to them all:   24/7/365 there is going to be a slow-down or traffic jam on I-35 somewhere in the 15-mile N/S stretch from South Austin to the North, and don’t even think about adding the stretch from North Austin through Round Rock.  Construction must be a full-time job and personal-time hobby for State and local highway workers.  Luckily there is a 2-lane, one-direction access road that runs parallel to I-35, and there are several N/S main arteries that allow the savvy traveler to avoid eternal damnation in traffic.  Otherwise, Austin is incredibly easy to navigate.  Thank you for your patience.

First stop on the dreary Monday was the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.  The building is on the University of Texas campus, just a short walk to Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium (capacity of 100,119).

Permanent displays and galleries allow the visitor to explore LBJ’s exemplary history of public service; includes the November 22, 1963 assassination of JFK and LBJ’s inauguration as the 36th President of the United States; LBJ’s handling of the Vietnam War, and the legislation passed under his name in the name of social justice.  Visitors can also view the President’s limousine, a 7/8 size replication of LBJ’s Oval Office, and exhibits of items collected during his White House years.

From our perspective the true highlight of the museum was touring the Legacy Gallery.  Walking into the museum, our version of LBJ’s legacy related to the Vietnam War, but we had truly forgotten the dynamic impact he had on America.  Consider the bills and programs that became law:   the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act, Affirmative Action Education and Work-Study Act; the War Against Poverty as well as legislation establishing Consumer Protection, Medicare, Public Broadcasting, Community Health Services, anti-Age Discrimination, the Highway Beautification Act, Clean Air Act, and the law requiring seat belts.  All of these laws and social movements and programs became part of the American landscape because of LBJ’s belief in The Great Society – what American could become.

“Get In The Game: The Fight For Equality In American Sports” was on exhibit during our visit as well, and it is designed to examine the intersection of social justice and sports in the United States. The exhibition celebrates athletes who have broken barriers and spoken out for equality.

Next stop: The Texas Capitol.  The Texas State Capitol is located in downtown Austin, and  houses the offices and chambers of the Texas State Legislature and the Governor of Texas.  The building was designed in 1881 and constructed from 1882 to 1888.  A $75 million underground extension was completed in 1993. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, and it was recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1986.  Our arrival timing was perfect as we were able to participate in a guided tour.

We had 3 more stops on our agenda for the downtown area, both recommended by Atlas Obscura and best things to do in the City.

We agree with the recommendation of making sure to visit Pinballz.  Pinballz is a 2-floor cornucopia of any and all pinball games you can imagine from about 1980 to the present.  Sure, there are other games there as well, and if pinball is not your thing you can spend time playing skeeball, shoot-em up, or other head-to-head electronic sports games.  Yeah – there’s the other “earn tickets for prizes” games to take your money…but for goodness sake – play pinball!

We don’t necessarily agree with visiting the Museum of The Weird.  It’s a schlocky accumulation of real (?) and reproduced oddities, and part of the admission fee includes a live show meant to amuse and/or shock the audience. 

Our last stop was to a true “throw back to yesteryear” indoor flea market.  Self-described as “your eccentric uncle’s attic on steroids”, Uncommon Objects is a 35,000 square-foot homage to everything your great grandparents, grandparents and parents threw away or gave away.  Established in 1991 as a small antique collective, it has matured over the years into a one-of-a-kind emporium of transcendent junk.

…and just to round out this first blog from our stay in Austin are a few more random pictures of statues (with apologies to Willie Nelson) from our time in town.

Barbara and Brian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October, 2018

After a brief stop in Campbell, Texas to catch out breath we pulled into Livingston, Texas.  Why Livingston?  To become Texans, of course!

There were several reasons we decided to no longer maintain our residence in the Keystone State.  We’d had 23 good years in Bethlehem, but Brian’s driver’s license was due for renewal in February, 2019 as was Barbara’s in March.  Amiee and the Jeep would be due for their annual inspections in April and May.  OK – that’s why we would have had to return to Pennsylvania, but we only want to return to the east coast for life cycle events and to spend time with family.  Therefore we had to find a new home.  After reading internet forums we found out that South Dakota, Florida and Texas were the most friendly States in which to reside as a full-time RVer.  Amongst the best reasons, there’s no personal income tax in any of the 3!

The process to establish a new residence for an RVer is described well in any number of forums, blogs and websites, but for my simple mind, here’s what I understood.  Secure your mailing address, insure your vehicles to your new address, register your vehicles, obtain your driver’s license, register to vote, do business in the local community which will then show evidence of your intent to live in the State you choose, and get back to your RV lifestyle.

So why Texas?  It’s October and we wanted to head southwest for the winter.  Although there are many companies offering mail service for RVers, the oldest and most experienced is the Escapees RV Club, and its national headquarters is in Livingston, Texas.  An advantage of putting this all together in Livingston is that Escapees was founded in this small community about an hour or so north of Houston in 1978, and it has the well-being of RVers in its DNA.

After a brief call to the National Headquarters to clarify particulars about Escapees, we followed up with a call to a recommended law firm that just happens to be on-site.  We spoke with Susie Adams, who would become our attorney.  Susie said we had the “to do” list accurate, and she added that a vehicle inspection report was required to register our vehicles.  She let us know the ways to do business in the local community included obtaining a library card, using a local bank, using local vendors for vehicle repair and maintenance, and engaging local professionals such as an insurance agent, accountant, physician and attorney.

According to Texas law, if we are Texans our wills need to be on file in the State.  Susie and her office staff would help guide us through the process, and they would draft and file our wills.  We wanted to get this done while in Livingston, and her office sent us an extensive on-line questionnaire to guide the development of our wills as well as power of attorney and medical power of attorney documents.  After a couple of phone consultations we were confident that we would complete all of the necessary paperwork while in town.  Her office would also file a statement of domicile with the Court further proving our intent to become citizens of Texas.

We pulled into Livingston in time to have our vehicles inspected on a Saturday afternoon.  The inspection was safety oriented and focused mainly on lights, the brakes, tire wear, etc.  Both Aimee and the Jeep passed easily.  The Texas DOT set price for the annual vehicle inspection is $7.00, regardless of where you have the work done or who does the inspection.  An added bonus of choosing Texas is that although an annual inspection is required, if you happen to not be in the state when the inspection is due, you’re forgiven until you return, at which point you have 3 months to have the inspection completed.  Nice to be able to do this on the Saturday we pulled into town.  It enabled us to then set up camp and not have to move Aimee again until we were leaving.

Livingston, Texas is the county seat of Polk County.  The population of 5,400 are hard- working, down-to-earth warm and welcoming people.  While it’s just 75 miles to Houston, Livingston has no big city pretense; it’s just a down-home easy-paced nice place to be.  Lake Livingston is a few miles out of town, and it is one of the largest recreational lakes in Texas.   If you’re not camping, boating, or fishing, it is a good place to spend a hot Summer day at the beach.  Don’t misunderstand me.  Livingston has all of what you’d expect of an exurb and county seat:  state governmental as well as local  public service offices, the usual compliment of stores for shopping, pharmacy chains and chain restaurants, local restaurants, auto repair, car dealerships, health clubs, and gas stations.

Come Monday morning bright and early we were at the Escapees RV Club National Headquarters and talking with Sarah, filling out our Escapees’ application, and applying for a mail service.  Within 25 minutes or so we became Escapees members, officially had a Texas address, and set up our mail service; we were given printed address cards and mailing labels.

Before setting out to the County Tax Assessor’s office to register our vehicles, we called our insurance agent in Pennsylvania with our change of address and waited a couple of hours for our new insurance cards.  We took our present vehicle titles, new insurance cards and inspection report with us to the County Tax Assessors office, completed the required applications, and walked out with our Texas license plates 45 minutes later (bring cash or check; no credit cards accepted).

Just down the road was the Texas Department of Public Safety and an hour or so after queueing-up and completing the application we had a paper copies of our Texas driver’s licenses.

Standing in line and completing applications ate up the most time in a rather easy process to become Texans.

When you apply for a driver’s license you can also register to vote.  The next day or so we visited a local branch of our bank and ordered checks with our new address, obtained a library card, had the Jeep’s oil changed, and filled a prescription for Barbara. I think we did admirably in showing our intent to live in Texas.

But that’s not all for our visit to this part of Texas.  The Saturday we pulled into Livingston our beloved Wolverines were playing the Wisconsin Badgers.  We found this dive bar on Lake Livingston that gave us our own corner with a big screen TV to watch the game while the rest of the bar watched the Astros playoff game and followed by a karaoke night.  You should have seen the waitress’s face when Barbara asked for the beer list!  We quickly ordered a couple of Shiner Bocks.

We went looking for somewhere to ride our bikes or hike, and while we did not find what we were looking for we did find an odd sculpture in a small town northeast of Livingston, a river overflowing from the recent rains carrying debris downstream, a strange looking duck, and a flock of white pelicans.

Livingston is just about an hour north of Houston, and Tomball is about a half hour west.  Our son-in-law Ben recommended stopping at Tejas Chocolate and BBQ in Tomball.  Brisket is the BBQ King in Texas, but what interested Ben was their chili relleno smoked sausage, and their expertise as a chocolate craftory.  A chocolate craftory practices a “bean to bar” process, selecting cocao beans from around the world, slow roasting the beans and then making hand-crafted chocolates.  Our bellies were happy indeed.

Atlas Obscura noted several places in Houston as “don’t miss.”  The Eclectic Menagerie Park, The Orange Show, Smither Park, and the David Adickes Studio were just crazy enough for our taste.

The Eclectic Menagerie Park is a private collection of massive steel monsters “guarding” the Texas Pipe Works property.  This collection of 26 titanic sculptures is the work of artist Ron Lee, who uses his on-site workshop to construct over-sized versions of animals and even a few machines from the company’s unused pipes and equipment.  The collection is on private property and only visible from the south side of Texas Highway 288 or the on-ramp to the highway.  Luckily, after bumbling around a while we found  construction on the shoulder of the on-ramp where we could park in order to take a few snapshots.

The Orange Show is a folk-art environment in Houston’s east end.  It was built single-handedly between 1956 and 1979, by the late Jefferson Davis McKissack, a Houston postal worker.   The outdoor 3,000-square-foot monument is maze-like in design and is constructed of concrete, brick, steel and found objects including gears, tiles, wagon wheels, mannequins, vividly painted iron statues, tractor seats, and statuettes that are colored orange.  Unfortunately it was not open the day we choose to visit, and we could not enter the attraction.

Smither Park is just down the block from The Orange Show and it is filled with vibrant mosaics created by more than 300 folk artists.  Many of the artists are self-taught, and use recycled materials like broken dishes and discarded glass in their creations.  It’s an ongoing, evolving project, so it’s still frequently filled with artists adding new works.

Giant heads occasionally litter the industrial Houston neighborhood where sculptor David Adickes has his studio.  David Adickes is known for large statues.  He sculpted a 67-foot replica of Sam Houston for the city of Huntsville, Texas.  In Lead, South Dakota, Adickes created 43 enormous busts of each American president for display at an educational museum.  Unfortunately, since moving to a new location the public is not invited into the studio, but we did manage to see many of the busts through the fence.

Turned out to be a very short, but very full week in Livingston, Texas.

Barbara and Brian

 

 

 

October, 2O18

It’s long been our goal to visit as many national parks as we can during this journey started so long ago. Leaving Memphis we are on our way to Livingston, Texas.  Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas just happens to be directly on the way.  Perfect!

Pop Quiz: What do major league baseball, gangsters, an old world hotel, luxury spas, the National Park Service, and the boyhood home of President William Jefferson Clinton have in common?  Give up?  The answer is Hot Springs, Arkansas.

I don’t know what images come to mind for you when asked to describe a national park, but for me it conjures images of vast acres of forest, mountains, rivers, lakes and streams, uncountable numbers and species of flora and fauna.  Throw in an occasional geyser, volcano, and frequent waterfall, add peaks so high they touch the sky, and canyons tens of thousands of years old cut deep by the might of a flowing river, guaranteed incredible vistas and sites you’ll only see once in lifetime.  Now toss most of that away and consider Hot Springs, Arkansas.

The city of Hot Springs is situated in a valley surrounded by the Ouachita Mountains, of which the National Park claims 5,500 acres.  Bathhouse Row, a quarter-mile long collection of eight bathhouses along the east side of Central Avenue in downtown Hot Springs is the most visited area within the park.  At the end of Bathhouse Row as an anchor for the downtown area is the Arlington Hotel.  The Arlington is an old-world full-service hotel with uniformed employees, bell staff and concierge; an open and bright lobby, underspoken front desk and lobby bar; 6 floors with long corridors leading to  each of the 120 luxury guest rooms; restaurant and 24-hour room service, 2 outdoor pools built into the mountain-side, a storied history and some fairly nefarious goings on clear back to the early part of the 20th century when the hotel was home to many major league baseball players as well as mobsters on holiday (isn’t THAT a curious phrase?).

To the East and all along Hot Springs Mountain there are driving and hiking paths as well as campgrounds that are open to the public.

Hot Springs, Arkansas is well known as a health and recreation resort that attracted the rich and famous in the late 1800s and well into the 20th century.  In its heyday the city had the finest hotels, liveliest nightclubs, a beautiful mountain setting, and the famous hot springs healing waters.  Hot Springs gets its name from the 47 thermal springs that flow out of the ground at an average temperature of 143 °F.  The hot springs produce almost one million gallons of water each day.  Drinking the hot springs water is perfectly normal, encouraged, and thought to have medicinal benefit.  The water is naturally good to drink when it arrives at the surface and requires no purification.   Throughout downtown and the National Park this natural resource is available to the general public in an unending and unaltered state, and the water can be immediately consumed or bottled and hauled home for consumption later.

It’s hard to tell exactly how long people have been visiting the springs.  Native Americans called this area “the Valley of the Vapors,” and it was said to have been a neutral territory where all tribes could enjoy its healing waters in peace.  Spanish and French settlers claimed the area in the mid-1500s.

The hot springs were such a coveted natural wonder that in 1832, President Andrew Jackson designed Hot Springs as the first federal reservation.  Hot Springs Reservation was essentially America’s first national park, predating Yellowstone National Park by 40 years.

In just a decade after receiving its federal reservation designation, the area changed from a rough frontier town to an elegant spa city centered on a row of attractive Victorian-style bathhouses, the last ones completed in 1888.  When Congress established the National Park Service, Hot Springs Reservation became Hot Springs National Park in 1921.

Bathhouse Row is a collection of bathhouse spas, associated buildings, and gardens located on the east side of the downtown area, along Hot Springs Creek, and each sits literally on top of a hot springs.  Initially Buckstaff, Fordyce, Hale, Lamar, Maurice, Ozark, Quapaw, and Superior bathhouses were independent, competing, commercial enterprises, each more luxurious than the others.  The bathhouses remain a collection of turn-of-the-century eclectic buildings in neoclassical, renaissance-revival, Spanish and Italianate styles aligned in a linear pattern with formal entrances, outdoor fountains, promenades and other landscape-architectural features.  In 1832 the bathhouses were included when the Federal Government took over four parcels of land in order to preserve 47 natural hot springs.  Their mineral waters (which lack the sulphur odor of most hot springs), and their area of origin are located on the lower slopes of Hot Springs Mountain.  Today, the existing bathhouses are the third and fourth generations of the originals.

From the late-1800s through the mid-1900s (especially in the 1930s) Hot Springs was a popular hangout for Al Capone, Frank Costello, Bugs Moran, Lucky Luciano, Owney “The Killer” Madden and other infamous mobsters.  The city was known as a safe haven and neutral territory, and the safe, secluded scenic location made Hot Springs an ideal hideout.  Hot Springs was also a wide-open town and a safe haven for gambling, prostitution and bootlegging.  The Ohio Club became the spot for nightlife.  Gangster activity in Hot Springs came to an end in the 1960s, due to a federal crackdown on what the government called “the site of the largest illegal gambling operation in the U.S.”

In 1886, Cap Anson first brought his Chicago White Stockings (now the Cubs) to Hot Springs for spring training and to take in the famous mineral baths in preparation for the upcoming season.  In time, five fields were built, and each spring as many as 250 players, including many legends of the game came to the City to train.  That list includes Hall of Famers: Hank Aaron, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Cap Anson, Frank “Home Run” Baker, Cool Papa Bell, Yogi Berra, Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown, Roy Campanella, Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, Frank Chance, Commissioner Happy Chandler, Mickey Cochrane, Charlie Comiskey, “Dizzy” Dean, Bill Dickey, Joe DiMaggio, Leo Durocher, Bob Feller, Rube Foster, Jimmie Foxx, Josh Gibson, Hank Greenberg, Robert “Lefty” Grove, Rogers Hornsby, Carl Hubbell, Miller Huggins, Walter “Big Train” Johnson, “Wee” Willie Keeler, Commissioner Kenesaw “Mountain” Landis, Al Lopez, Connie Mack, Larry MacPhail, Mickey Mantle, John McGraw, Johnny Mize, Stan “Stan the Man” Musial, Mel Ott, Satchel Paige, Branch Rickey, Brooks Robinson, Jackie Robinson, Red Ruffing, Babe Ruth, George Sisler, Tris Speaker, Casey Stengel, Bill Terry, Pie Traynor, Honus Wagner, Hack Wilson, and Cy Young.  Not a modern list by any means, but “back in the day…”

The recommended ideal visit to the Park includes a tour of the Fordyce Bathhouse and a walk around downtown, taking in the Arlington Hotel and the Ohio Club, and any number of days hiking followed by a pampering soak and massage.  Who were we to not follow those recommendations?

The Fordyce Bathhouse is the Park’s Visitor Center and a museum telling the history of Hot Springs as America’s First Resort.  Visitors can watch a 9-minute video about the bath routine, view the changing rooms, the “treatment” areas and equipment, the music room complete with a grand piano, and the gymnasium, a forerunner of the modern fitness club.  Visitors can also head down to the basement and see the Fordyce spring, which supplied the bathhouse with its waters.  The displays clearly showed the development of the town, explained the beliefs about the healing properties of the waters, and gave a sense of the different amenities available for the visitors in the late 1880s and early 1900s.  It definitely was a journey back to yesteryear.

Fans of hiking be forewarned as the trails around Hot Springs start with serious uphill treks, and depending on which trail you choose may or may not level off for any substantial distance.  Then there is the return to the trailhead which will be downhill.  We think of it as cardio on the upslope and knees on the downslope.  Maybe that’s why the recommendation was to have a soak and massage following hiking?  There are wonderful vistas to view when you make it to the top of your hike.

Following 2 days of hiking we were more than ready for our spa experience and scheduled a couple’s soak and a massage for Barbara.  The Quapaw Bathhouse was recommended and it did not disappoint.  The staff provides friendly and gracious old-world hospitality and service, and to a person, they go out of their way to make your experience a treat indeed.  You’re escorted into a waiting area as your bath is being prepared; the proper temperature of the water is set and the bath salts chosen are added to the water.  Once in your private room there’s nothing to do but immerse yourself, lay back and enjoy.  Afterwards it was hydrate and avail yourself of a snack if desired, and then off to the massage room.  Barbara was totally pleased with “one of the finest” massages she has ever had.

There was one additional option we’d recommend, and we should have done it ourselves.  Should you find yourself in the Hot Springs neighborhood, purchase a day pass to the Quapaw public baths.  There are 3 baths of varying temperatures available, surrounded by a broad deck with chairs and chaise lounges.  A  bathing suit is required at all times.  Lunch and beverages are available.  There is no time limit other than the hours of operation, so bring a book and spend a part of a day just relaxing.

Barbara and Brian

October, 2018

Often called “home of the blues, soul, and rock ‘n’ roll”, Memphis more than lived up to the hype.  This city eats, breathes and screams music unlike any other city we have visited so far on this journey started so long ago.  The music heritage of Memphis begins with sitting on the porches of Mississippi sharecroppers who “come up north” to country to blues, to rock-a-billy and rock ‘n’ roll.  This eclectic city is proudly home to all.  Barbara did a great job of researching all of the things to do in the Home of The Blues, and as a result we decided to stay a week.  We wanted to hear and see it all!  But where to begin?

When in Memphis you have to pay homage to Elvis – or at least find Graceland and take a look.  The entry price for the museum and house is $50 plus parking; steep.  We were not interested to say any more than we came and we saw so our Elvis experience was just that.  Curious that Graceland is in a rather plain, if not run down neighborhood south of the downtown area.

Despite the calendar, October in Memphis was incredibly hot – 90-95 most days – with no relief. With incredibly meaningful (and air-conditioned) museums to visit the heat didn’t deter us.

Our first stop was the Blues Hall of Fame.  In the lobby of the museum is a gallery of contemporary art that greets visitors.  These colorful and lively portraits depict artists who have made significant contributions to the Blues.

The Blues Hall of Fame is a small museum dedicated to icons like Bessie Smith, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, B. B. King, and Memphis Minnie, just to name a few.  You can take all the time you want to put on any of multiple headsets and hear original recordings by early honorees; nostalgic sounds; clear and soulful voices.  Some artists recorded as early as 1920, and these now re-mastered scratchy renditions still make your foot tap and your body sway.  Family members and friends of the artists have generously shared memorabilia that is on display and complement the stories and available music. The museum staff are passionate about this place, and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

Next we headed to the famous Beale Street and the Memphis Music Hall of Fame. The Memphis Music Hall of Fame is a small museum, but one that featured the works of over 70 Memphis artists and groups.  The most recent inductees included the Memphis hometown Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin who died in September.  Miss Aretha may be more famously associated with Detroit, but the City believes that her heart belonged to Memphis.  From rock ‘n’ roll to gospel and soul, inductees have included solo artists as well as groups like the Box Tops and rap star 8 Ball & MJG.  This museum is home to an eclectic collection of music and memorabilia, including Jerry Lee Lewis’ car – well half of it anyway! Some critics say other Memphis museums outshine this one and we tended to agree.

It was lunch time, and although locals recommended Central Barbecue, we asked the receptionist at the Memphis Music Hall of Fame for her favorite barbecue place; she said the Blues City Cafe.  We checked it out on line, and it had 4.5 stars so we headed across the street for lunch.  The restaurant was filthy.  The wait staff were totally uninterested in their customers.  The food tasted like it had been cooked earlier in the day and had been sitting for hours under heat lamps.  The dry, flavorless ribs were smothered in barbecue sauce, and the French fries were soggy and barely warm.  Brian was so disgusted that he gave a “don’t bother” review on Yelp.

Locals had recommended strolling Beale Street during the day and suggested other places to go at night for music, so we headed down Beale Street, rich in history and “the Home of the Blues” where many famous musicians mingled and shared their love of music.  We were looking forward to hearing some live music. It was a hot Tuesday afternoon, and perhaps that was one of the reasons we found the three blocks of shops, restaurants and bars so empty or closed.  But more than that we felt the disdain and cavalier attitude projected by the citizens of this great city toward its guests.  There were many homeless people looking for a handout, and it lacked the southern hospitality we had experienced other places.  Perhaps we would have had a different experience on Beale Street had we ventured back at night, but nothing enticed us to even remotely consider returning to this over-rated, tourist trap.

The next morning we found our way to Stax Records.  Home to southern soul, Memphis soul, gospel, funk and blues recordings, this eclectic museum was founded in 1957 by two siblings: Jim Stewart and his sister, Estelle Axton (STewart/AXton = STAX).  The artists in the videos of the early days of Stax Records speak proudly of the cultural diversity of the ethnically and racially integrated mix of artists and management that drew so many musicians to its doors.  Jim Stewart says the emphasis was on creating the distinctive southern soul sound that became the hallmark of Stax Records.  The people at Stax Records were blind to race and ethnicity.  Musicians flocked to the single recording studio with only one basic set of equipment and a small band of songwriters.  Together they helped to create and establish the careers of Booker T. and the MG’s, Otis Redding, Brenda Holloway, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, Charlie Musselwhite, Mavis Staples and The Staples Singers, Sam & Dave, and Melissa Ethridge, just to name a few.  The death of Otis Reading in 1967, the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in 1968, the change of leadership at Stax Records and increased competition from Motown Records and other recording companies lead to the insolvency and unfortunate closing of Stax Records in 1975.  The bounty of material and recordings in this fabulous museum was a nostalgic reminder of our teenage years spent watching American Bandstand on Saturday mornings or Friday night dances at the high school after a football game. A great trip down memory lane!

We decided to find some lunch at Central Barbecue before we went to the National Civil Rights Museum.  Located just a block away from the Museum, we had to wait in line for a seat – a good sign that awesome barbecue was about to happen!  As you wait in line, you can preview the menu so you’re ready when it’s your turn to order.  We had a pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw and two sides; ribs and smoked wings.  OMG!  Fabulous food, terrific wait staff and the place was packed despite the fact that it was the middle of the week.  Can’t say enough good things about this small barbecue joint.

 

The National Civil Rights Museum and historic buildings were dedicated on July 4, 1991. The Lorraine Motel, the site of Dr. King’s assassination 50 years ago in April 2018 is the foundation for the museum.  The memory of Dr. King and his premature death caused us to pause and to remember where we were 50 years ago.  The motel and museum is part of a complex of buildings that includes the Young and Morrow building, the site where escaped convict James Earl Ray fired the fatal shot.  There has been a lot of controversy over the years about what the Museum should be: Should it just be a historical collection of events and memorabilia? Should it inspire activism?

The Museum closed in November 2012 for renovation, and the Board invited a group of recognized civil rights scholars to help in recreating the Museum visitors see today.  The Museum reopened in 2014.  Walking into this place felt like treading on sacred ground, and it evoked strong emotions for both of us.  The self-guided tour is the remarkable journey of black Americans from enslavement and abuse at the hands of rich white landowners; civil disobedience, and the peaceful and unrelenting demand for freedom and justice.  The story culminates in today’s controversial headlines of violence and injustices still prevalent on the streets of America in 2018.  One reviewer described the renovated Museum: “The powerful, visceral exhibits set the tone for an evocative, newly immersive museum experience that chronicles the history of the civil rights struggle in America.”

The exhibits also pay honor to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement and so much more. This was such an emotional experience that we didn’t realize we had spent 4.5 hours in the museum.  It was a draining experience as well as we relived in graphic uncensored detail the unthinkable torment, affliction, bodily harm and mental suffering Black Americans have had to endure to claim their dignity and full entitlement as citizens of the United States.  Without their soul-wrenching, back-breaking, life-draining labor in the cotton and tobacco fields of the South, this country would not be what it became.  From the brutality of enslaving human beings to create this country, to the torture, rape and dehumanizing treatment of generation after generation of Black Americans, the totality of the human suffering that has been our disgraceful legacy for over four hundred years is one we should all be ashamed of.  For any of us to point racist fingers at plantation owners or staunchly proud, greedy, self-serving and ignorant segregationists and to somehow feel exonerated because we didn’t do any of “that” is no comfort once you come face-to-face with the daily violence and terror inflicted on those who dared to speak truth to power.  Despite a commitment to non-violence on the part of courageous people who marched and rode busses, many were willing to give their lives for their rightful place in this country that boasts freedom, liberty and justice for all. Voting rights, freedom from daily oppression, securing civil rights for all continue to make the news in 2018.  Black lives matter.  Some say all lives matter.  I say all lives will matter when Black lives matter.

A sunny morning greeted us the next day as we drove to Shelby Farms Park for a much-needed bike ride.  This park spans 4500 acres and is one of the largest urban parks in the country.  Among the best places for biking in Memphis, the park is incredible and has many paved pedestrian and biking trails.  If you don’t have a bike, the park will rent one to you.  And the park is home to a bison herd!  We had a casual ride around the lake and even saw an egret or two.  After a brief stop at the Visitors Center, we headed out to find the bison.  What a beautifully wooded, peaceful landscape.  It was wonderful to see so many moms with little ones in jogging strollers, walkers of every age, and families on bikes with kids and/or dogs in tow.  The park also offers a ropes course and visitors can rent kayaks, canoes, pedal boats, and stand-up paddle boards.  There is a playground and so much more.  In one far off corner of the park, bandstands were being erected for a weekend concert.

On Friday we met our friends, Carole and Art in the lobby of the legendary Peabody Hotel.  A city-block long, the hotel was built in 1924, and it has maintained the old-world charm of a bygone era when hotels catered to the wealthy and affluent. Even if you choose not to stay at The Peabody, it’s worth a visit to experience what it must have been like in the hotel’s heyday.  The most recognizable features are large red neon “The Peabody” signs atop the Skyway ballroom and the central elevator shaft.  Be aware that if you decide to take the elevator to the top floor of The Peabody to look out over the city of Memphis, you will push the button marked “S” instead of 13

The beautifully and ornately crafted interior favors the Renaissance revival style of architecture with its rich dark woods, arched doorways, and magnificent ceilings of stained glass.  You often see this style of architecture in turn-of-the-century university or public buildings like the State Capitol building in Austin, Texas.

By far the most popular attraction was the ducks in The Peabody fountain! What began as a gag In 1930 has now become a daily tradition enjoyed by visitors from all over the world. Every morning at 11:00, the ducks promptly arrive from their roof-top home via the elevator, and they are marched on a red carpet into the lobby fountain where they spend the day to the delight of everyone. At 5:00, the ducks are marched back to their home on the rooftop. It was so much fun to watch the excitement build as the hour of the arrival of the ducks grew closer and closer. Children squealed with delight and cameras flashed. What a unique and fun event.

We left The Peabody and walked the short distance to the Memphis Rock and Soul Museum.  It was a pretty muggy day, but we were soon inside.  The tour begins with a short film that tells the critical story of the musical pioneers “who overcame racial and socio-economic obstacles to create the music that changed the cultural complexion of the world.”  This museum includes some of the same information as is found in other museums we visited, but it went so much further.  Following a short film, the museum staff hand you an audio guide that allows you to walk and listen at your leisure as you stroll through the seven galleries that feature a comprehensive collection of rock and roll history.  Displays include a front porch from a sharecropper’s home, juke boxes, period clothing and household items, and various and other items associated with each period. From the sharecroppers who created the soulful tunes and the beat and rhythms played on primitive instruments in the cotton fields and tobacco fields to porch music and then to the urban streets of Memphis and Stax Records in the 50s, 60s and beyond, we were totally immersed as we listened to the evolution of some incredible music.  We spent a couple of hours listing to familiar and not-so-familiar recordings made in and around Memphis from 1930-1970.  It wasn’t possible to hear everything that was available, but we walked away totally satisfied.

Hungry for some lunch, we headed to Charles Vergos’ Rendezvous, a Memphis dry-rub, barbecue restaurant where ribs are cooked over charcoal; a tradition dating back to 1940.  The Rendezvous has been in its current location since 1968.  We could smell the restaurant before we got there!  We were directed down an alleyway to a big red and green-striped awning then headed down the stairs to the large dining room where we were totally transported back in time.  We learned that some of the wait staff have been proudly taking care of customers for over 30 years.  We opted for ribs and brisket baskets with cole slaw that had a vinegar base.  Our appetizer was a small dish of red beans and rice – delicious!  The pork ribs are more grilled than smoked, and they have a chewy texture with delicious bits of pit-charred flavor.  The meal was outstanding!

We bid our friends farewell. They had a three-hour ride back to Madison, Mississippi where Art had an early morning “up” with other volunteers at a Habitat for Humanity build.  It was wonderful to see our friends, and we hope to stay in touch with them throughout our time on the road.  We spent the rest of the day on a drive-by of Sun Records, relaxing and getting ready to go to a free concert at Overton Park and the Levitt Shell to hear one of our new favorite bands: Squirrel Nut Zippers.  What a wonderful way to end our week in Memphis, under the stars in a beautiful park surrounded by people who appreciate the bawdy, playful, energetic music of a group of musicians who totally enjoy entertaining a crowd.

Saturday found us taking a couple of early morning bicycle rides.  The first ride is called the Big River Crossing – yup – started in Tennessee and ended-up in Arkansas!  The second to Mud Island, a small body of land connected to Memphis by a pedestrian bridge that allowed bicycles.  We hurried home to get decked out in our Michigan gear, ready for the big homecoming game between Maryland and Michigan. It was a bit of a rocky start, but the final score was Michigan 42, Maryland 21.

There was one more place on our agenda.  Stax recording artist Al Green was one of the best soul singers of the early 1970s.  In 1976 he left the music business to become an ordained minister.  His church is in Memphis and we were determined to visit.

Nothing left to do but to say goodbye to Memphis and continue our trek south.  Next stop: Hot Springs, Arkansas!

Barbara and Brian

September, 2018

Breaking camp in Michigan was not really that difficult.  We had accomplished the goals of taking a break from the frenetic pace we had set the first 2 months of our journey, and we attended 3 home University of Michigan football games.  We had figured out our wintering plans, and we had made campground reservations (the highly-rated campgrounds fill up for November – February by Labor Day); we decided to buy bikes, and we enjoyed a fair share of trail/road rides; we found a delightful congregation in East Lansing for worship on Shabbat and the High Holy Days.  We enjoyed visits from 2 of our friends in Pennsylvania, and spent time with children and their families.  We enjoyed our time in Michigan and it did go by quickly, but we also agreed that it was time to move on.

We planned to go south then stay southwest and west for the winter.  Our penultimate goal is to stay warm and not have to deal with snow; we’ll face the ultimate “how hot is hot in summertime” when we get there next year.  Our preparation for a wintering route would take us from Marshall, Michigan through Yellow Springs and Bloomington and include brief visits with children and grandkids, to Nashville and Memphis, into Hot Springs National Park, and a layover stop in Campbell/Greenville, Texas before pulling into Livingston, Texas to become Texas residents (more on becoming Texans in another blog), and then into Austin for a month .  Nephew Jon and family moved to Austin about 4 years ago, and while he has been so kind as to stop by when he’s been in the northeast, we had not seen Lucy or Lily in those 4 years, and we had never met Bennett, who is now 3 years old.

Before we move onto Nashville here’s a few snapshots of the assorted critters we  lovingly call family.

 

We pulled into Nashville and set up camp in an RV “Resort” in a section of town known as Music Valley.  We were excited to be here, not just to see the sights, but because Barbara’s sister Joy and her husband of 49 years were driving up from Atlanta to spend the weekend with us.  What is there to do in Nashville?  Well, to experience a country and western music review has to be second to seeing a show at the Grand Ole Opry, and lucky us, just around the corner was one such “highly”-rated dinner show (of about 100 highly-rated shoes, but it was in the neighborhood!).  The star of the show was the fiddler, a truly gifted musician who did a rousing version of Charlie Daniels’ “The Devil Went Down To Georgia,” and “The Orange Blossom Special.”  What a fun evening.

Unfortunately our activities planned for the next day were curtailed as one of us was feeling more than a bit under the weather.  We did get out in the afternoon to see the new Grand Ole Opry venue and play some putt-putt golf.  Barbara was channeling the best pro putter from the PGA tour, and easily beat all comers with her score.  Afterwards we were riveted to the TV screen watching our beloved Michigan Wolverines come back in the second half and beat Northwestern.

We rode one of the hop-on/hop-off guided tour trolleys around town our last day in Nashville.  Nashville is a very attractive place, and outside of the Broadway honkey-tonk district there are plenty of beautiful greenspaces enjoyed by the locals.  As we rode along Music Row we were amazed at the number of recording studios in town as well as the tremendous amount of music produced in this city.  We really didn’t realize that the superstars who have recorded in Nashville goes way beyond country and western.

We also learned to appreciate how many of the stars have given back to the community.  For example the Sarah Cannon Cancer Center only exists because of the generosity of its namesake, who by the way assumed the name Minnie Pearl during her professional life.

When in Nashville a stop at Prince’s or HattieB’s for Hot Chicken is a must.  It is believed that hot chicken was originally conceived as a punishment for Thornton Prince, known for his womanizing back in the 1930s.  As the story goes, he stepped out on his lady one Saturday night so on Sunday morning she doused his fried chicken with a heap of hot pepper.  But there was a snag.  He liked his punishment, shared the chicken with friends and the word spread.  It was so popular, he opened a chicken shack, and the rest, as it is said is history.  Barbara had mild and Brian hot (not that spicy at all) and both agreed about the deliciousness of Hot Chicken.

No visit to Nashville would be complete without a walk down Broadway listening to music coming from the honkey-tonks, and perhaps even stopping in to a joint or 2 to enjoy an adult beverage and the band.  Turns out that the Titans were playing the Eagles the Sunday we were strolling up and down the boulevard, and there’s a bridge that connects the stadium to the Broadway honkey-tonk scene.  We happened to be on the street as 50,000 of our closest friends descended on Broadway, most ready to celebrate the Titans overtime victory.

Not sure why, but many of the more popular venues such as the Ryman Auditorium, Hatch Printing Company and the Country Music Hall of Fame close on Sunday at 4pm.  Unfortunately we missed the opportunity this visit to see many popular sites.   It just might be that another trip to Nashville will be in the cards in the future!