Austin - Lots Of Traffic

We ended up spending more time in Austin than we planned. Our plan was for Dad to take his test and for the folks to visit LBJ Museum. We wanted to then head to Dallas, but the snowy weather there kept us in Austin. The folks were able to visit the LBJ Ranch which they totally enjoyed.

The campground we stayed in was convenient as it was right off the highway, but the traffic was terrible.  Houston, Dallas and Austin all have heavy traffic.  Mom still doesn't like the feeder roads in Texas.  An example is this campground.  You have to double back on a feeder road to get to it.  All the sites were pull-thrus.  It looks like it used to be a KOA. 

One of the couples that works in the office at this campground loves greyhounds.  They invited us into the office to get some loving.

Here are some photos of the campground:

Our site.

The dog park.

 

Here we are leaving Austin.  The traffic is heavy.  Mom said it was worse on Sunday night.  They had a heck of a time just getting out of the campground.

Our trip to Dallas was uneventful until we stopped to get gas.  We normally go to the truck area, but there was a long line.  We decided to use the RV fuel lines.  We were waiting behind an RV that was trying to get propone. The RV discovered they needed to turn around to get their propane filled.  While they were turning around, a tractor trailer decided he was going to get in front of us.  It took him forever to fill up because the RV pumps do not fill fast like the truck pumps do.  So, we had to wait.  Well, in the meantime, the RV wanting to fill up couldn't get to the propane because of the tractor trailer.  We all had to wait.  The attendant asked us to back up.  Dad told him we couldn't with the car attached. When the tractor trailer finished, Dad went through the lane to get out of the way of the RV because he needed to get to the propane tank which is where we were and our rig would block him if we got gas.  Well, the RV couldn't make the turn with his car attached, so he ended up having to unhook his car.  He was not happy.  Mom decided to run across to Burger King and get us some lunch while this was going on.  Finally, the RV got out of our way and we filled our tank.  Luckily, we were not in a hurry because this stop took us 45 minutes.

This truck full of cattle were in front of us at the gas station. They started backing up and Dad had to blow our air horns to let them know we were there. 

As we pulled out of the gas station, Dad ran up on the curb.  Our kitchen cabinet flew open and our plates and bowls spilled out.  Our printer flew off the cabinet in the bedroom.  It was a mess.

We finally arrived in Dallas.  Actually, we are to the South of Fort Worth.  We have had terrible weather since we arrived last Thursday.  We have had ice, snow, cold, wind, heavy rain and another bout of snow last night. Mom has been sick with a cold. We have not had fun while here.  Our plan was to buy a new RV, but the weather has played havoc on our plans.  We should be in it right now, but the darn weather delayed things.  As it stands right now, we are going to miss Escapade in AZ.  Yep, all of our plans have changed.  Anyway, we are supposed to move in on Monday.  Will it happen?  Stay tuned!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Not Sure About This New RV

The Texas White House

Lyndon B. Johnson's ranch is located in Stonewall, TX.  It is about 60 miles from Austin.  The folks decided to drive there and see the ranch which is also known as The Texas White House because Johnson spent a great deal of time there while President.  The ranch has an airfield, so it was easy for him to fly home as well as have many visitors.

The home is now part of the National Park Service.  When you arrive, you need to get a driving permit from the visitor's center.  It is free.  Mom is not sure why you really need one.  The folks watched a half hour video on the ranch before they drove through it.

The one thing that the video showed and the folks thought was neat was a dam that Johnson would drive on.  It looked like he was disappearing in the water. The folks were able to take photos of it, but it is more impressive in the video when you see Johnson driving on it.




See how it looks like the road goes into the water?

This is it from the other side.

School house that Johnson attended.

The family cemetery is on site.  Lady Bird is on the right and LBJ is on the left.
 

It is still a working ranch.

This is where the secret service worked.

House where the Secret Service lived. It is close to the President's house.

Wagon that was used to serve Chuck Wagon dinners to guests.

An attempt at a photo of the house.

It was difficult to get a good picture of the house and this lady didn't help.

 

 Photos were not allowed inside the house.  The President's office was quite high tech for its' time period.  He had two secretaries desks along with his desk and several phones.  LBJ had three TVs in the living room of the house.  They were for the news of ABC, CBS and NBC.  He loved the Presidential seal and had it on his recliner and even had it on his bathroom towels.  Phones were all over the house and he even had one on the leg of the dining room table.  His chair at that table had a view of the TV in the living rooms.  He was very big into multi-tasking.  Can you imagine what he would do with the technology we have today?

The kitchen has a pecan pie on the stove. The pie was being made for Mrs. Kennedy who had never had pecan pie.  The Kennedy's were supposed to have dinner there but never made it because JFK was killed that day. The cook had the TV on in the kitchen on and learned of the shooting of JFK while making the pie. 

Visitors are allowed to tour the bedrooms of  LBJ and Lady Bird.  LBJ died in his bedroom at the age of 64. He called the Secret Service for help, but he could not be saved.  He had heart problems.  He died just ten years after Kennedy.

This the view from the house of the river.  It is beautiful!

See the Presidential seal?  It was used for parties.

Presidential plane

Guests were asked to put their names in concrete when they visited the ranch.

 The folks really enjoyed visiting the ranch and highly recommend it.  The tour of the house was just $3 a person and it was really interesting.  Mom wishes pictures were allowed because she really wanted to share them with everyone.  The ranch itself is in a beautiful setting and it is easy to see why the family chose to live there.

A view of the house from across the river.



Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Your Tour Guide Once Again

Learning About LBJ

As you may remember, the folks are trying to visit all of the Presidential Libraries.  Lyndon B. Johnson's library is in Austin, so they visited it last week.  Mom said it was interesting.  He actually accomplished quite a bit while in office.  One accomplishment was Medicare.  He was very intimidating to people.  He would stand over them and poke at them. He was 6'3.  The folks also visited his ranch and were shown a room where he shut all the doors and wouldn't let the person he was speaking to out until they agreed with him. (We will tell you about the ranch in our next post.)  He loved dogs and his known for his beagles.  They were named Him and Her.  He once lifted one of them by their ears for photographers.  That was not nice, Mr. President.

Here are some photos from the museum:

Life like statue of LBJ that told stories.

Replica of LBJ's Oval Office

Him and Her

LBJ and one of his daughters.  The name was not listed under the photo.

Lady Bird's Office.  Her real name was Claudia Alta Taylor.  She was given the name Lady Bird as an infant by her nurse maid and it stuck.

Lady Bird went on her own campaign trail when LBJ ran for re-election.

Life-sized statue of LBJ.

Mom said she finds visiting the museums interesting because you learn about the Presidents as people and not just as politicians.  They become more human.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Thinks There Is Too Much Traffic In Austin