By the numbers ...

I quote from a recent missive received from Dan Flaherty, S.J., "the end is near...". Of course that is totally out of context for this blog but it is fitting.

This will be my last entry from this adventure. Being a bean counter it only seems appropriate that it would be concluded with some statistics. So here we go ...

• Total sabbatical days - 59
• Nights away from home - 46
• National Park Passport cancellation stamps - 39
• Number of blog posts - 50
• Shower caps collected - 14
• Total miles driven - 8,280
• Total traffic tickets - 0 (yes, zero)
• Number of pictures taken - 2,064
• Number of states visited - 8
• Number of times talked to self - infinite
• Number of times answered myself - about half of those
• March Madness pool correct picks - 45 of 63
• Hospitals visited - 1
• Shit on by birds - 0 (yes, there is a story to this. More than once on vacation I have been the recipient of a special present from pigeons and/or seagulls)
• Margaritas drunk - 26 (est.)
• Lone Star Beers - not enough!
• Number of buttons collected - 36
• Days with more than 3.25 inches of rain - 1
• New friends - too many to count
• New enemies - yes, a few of them too

So that pretty well wraps it up. I want to express a special thank you to John Whitney, S.J. who allowed me this time away. I promised him I would come back and even though tempted, I am once again back at my post. Also, thanks to Pam who picked up all the chores while I was away, not a minor task.

So cheers, I hope you enjoyed some of the journey with me.

Road Trip

OK, this was a for real ROAD TRIP! During the trip I put on over 8,000 miles. That is a lot of hours staring through a windshield. So what does one do to while away the time? Of course, you start gawking. When you gawk what happens? You begin to see neat stuff, ignore road safety and want to drive faster. All the while, steering the car with your elbows and taking pictures at 65 mph to show the folks at home. I mean, what good is seeing all this stuff if you can't share it. And...

Without something to keep your mind occupied besides Anna Nicole Smith on Court TV radio, it could get rather boring.

So I share the results with you, click here! My only ground rule was that I had to have my butt planted in the seat of my car.

Now, you only have one more of these blasted posts to read. See you tomorrow!

Austin, Day 2

Today's post is dedicated to that jugernaut of a political animal among us, Chuck Duffy. I need to share a few images of places that have been influenced by "the decider" Pres. George W. Primarily the Texas State Capital in Austin, proudly hanging a picture of its prior Governator. All who enter these hallowed halls must pause, bow and pay their respects to President George W. who continues his legacy of sound politics and good governance from a new address on Pennsylvania Ave.

The Capital is full of Texas history from the days ruled by the Spanish and Mexico to its independence and finally statehood. Why is this so interesting when we haven't even visited our own capital in Salem?

Having completed our tour, with the obligatory display of reverence to Mr. Bush's picture, we visited the Senate and the House, both of which were in session.

After our brief dose of legislative whoo ha, our closest exposure to an armadillo took place; we caught a "dillo" (free bus ride) back to the hotel for a nap.

Our adventure continued that evening at two stops. First, Guero's Taco Bar. Why is this a highlight? How many restaurants have you visited lately that the police put up traffic cones and directed pedestrian traffic back and forth across the street to and from a restaurant? And, the food was good too.

Our second stop was not quite as successful. Mostly because Bill did not communicate clearly with Pam (ouch!). We were looking for a down home country and western bar for some music and entertainment to finish our Texas journey. And we found it, the Broken Spoke.

Only thing was, when we arrived they were having Texas Two Step lessons. Pam's not a dancer so I assumed we should just head on. Some time later after our departure, Pam disagreed with my assumption and said she would have liked trying a lesson but she thought I would not be interested. Damn! In any case, wandering through the Spoke was an adventure.

Click here for a few final pictures.

Austin, Day 1

We arrive in Austin knowing very little of what to expect. But of course it is Texas and must have some good BBQ so we will search that out. And there must be something unique about this town that they can be proud of? Of course, Congress Ave. Bridge.

Before heading on with this, we must give credit where credit is due. This is the evening before Pam's birthday (March 29) and she has agreed to tag along to whatever I choose.

YES! Bring on the BBQ. Remember, she is mostly vegetarian so this is quite a show of love. Off we head to Iron Works. In addition to the meat menu we had experienced previously, this one had a salad bar, so she was all set. We sit at the outside porch with checkered table cloths after checking all the signed photographs hung on the walls. All over again, good barbeque!

Perhaps my biggest dissapointment to date is that we have not experienced an armadillo. I know they exist but we sure haven't seen one and it is unlikely now that we are back in the city. There are many Texas stories about them, some of which you will read if you click here. Mostly though they are rodents that jump straight up in the air when they are startled. About bumper high. So they cross the roads at night, cars roar up on them, they jump in the air and become flat dillos. Of course, we didn't see any of those either.

OK, Ok, I am stalling waiting for it to get dark. We are headed to the Congress Ave. bridge. Many of you have experienced the swifts arriving and roosting in the chimney of Chapman School. Crowds of people gather to watch the spectacle. Well Austin has a similar experience.

Except it is bats. Hundreds of thousands of bats. In fact, it exceeds 1.5 million bats at the height of the season, July and August. And people flock here to watch them leave each evening. Standing on the bridge, sitting in the bars and parks along the river, and riding tour boats.

In Pam's mind, bats are right there with eating raw banana slugs. But she did this for me. The pictures are rough but have a look.

Marble Falls to Austin

We head out from Marble Falls to Johnson City. Yes, this is the growing up home of LBJ. A short stop, a tour of the family residence and we are off again to the LBJ ranch. We are returning to see if it looks any different on a dry day versus the rainy adventure we had earlier.

Nope, looked like the same place, only dryer.

So we point east toward Austin with a brief detour to Pedernales Falls State Park. Five bucks a head to get in, it better be good! Interesting but the river still showed the effects of the earlier flash floods, very high and muddy.

The rest of the journey was uneventful but very green and pretty. We spotted a couple interesting buildings in Johnson City and some odd birds along the roadside.

Click here to have a look.

The End is Near

Well, the end of my break is approaching. But, having re-caught the crud that sent me to the hospital earlier on this adventure, this last week I'm laying low. I considered calling in sick on my sabbatical so I could extend it a week, but then thought better of that. So how many more of these posts do you need to negotiate?

Here is the plan:

1. This one, a catch up of interesting stuff that hasn't fit in other places.
2. Travel from Marble Falls to Austin.
3. Two days in Austin each worthy of its own posting.
4. Sabbatical by the numbers (what else would you expect from a beancounter?).
5. Finally - this is a road trip!

Both Pam and I were amazed the the Texas pride reflected throughout our trip. Everyone flys the Lone Star. Many of the ranch gates reflect it. And there is much more wildlife than I anticipated. A couple new sitings are attached including, yes, vultures!

But, just like any other adventure you might head out on, you must be careful what types of wild animals pop up.

Click here and have a look see!

My friend the prickly pear...

This is my friend the prickly pear. I feel I must tell you how we met. While driving the Apache Trail I pulled off at a lake overlook. Another car had pulled over with two older couples and we chatted. They were quite impressed with my camera and what I was doing. So I was all puffed up about that.

Well I go down the embankment to get the perfect picture with that impressive camera. The ground is mostly small lava chunks and dust. So I squat to get the right angle for the picture, the whole time knowing that the folks I had visited with were watching from above.

Well I slipped in the cinders, went to my knees and slid down the hill a couple feet right into Mr. Prickly Pear. Of course my first look was up the hill to see if they were watching this very professional exercise. And, yes they were so I had to make it look like it was all in the plan. So I stuck there (literally) and continued taking pictures.

Finally they left and I could begin to dis-entangle myself from the cactus. As I backed away, I realized that from neck to knees, I was bringing most of Mr. Prickly Pear's needles with me. I sneak back to the car, get in, close the doors so no one else can witness this and begin to extract what seemed like an infinite number of needles.

Finally after an hour of picking, I was ready to proceed. However, remnants of Mr. Prickly Pear stuck with me for three of four more days as I continued to find more.

So much for the great photographer!

Atkinson Farm

When we arrived in Marble Falls we passed this old, old farmhouse surrounded by Texas Bluebonnets. We made a mental note to return when the light was right.

So later that day after a walk and fine dining at the Bluebonnet Cafe we return to what we knew as the old farm. When parked along the highway attempting a picture, a gentleman came out of the shadow of the house and waived us over. So we went to join him, knowing Texas hospitality and all. Of course Pam was not convinced that this was the thing to do. But since I was driving, we did it.

Once through the gate, we introduced ourselves. He asked if I would mind helping him lift a wheel onto an antique piece of farm equipment. I said sure. When we were done I asked him about pictures. Sure, he said, what ever you like.

In the process we learned the story of the house. It was built prior to Texas becoming independent of Mexico, i.e. really really old. They had actually found some of the original issue auto license plates in the house. They were round and made of wood.

Finally, as we were walking long an old rock wall, Bill Atkinson came into the field in his car blowing his horn. Well we were already a bit wary of the situation, this horn business sent us on our way to our car. As we pass Bill in his car and say goodbye, he is quite disappointed that we won't stay to see his cows who come running to the car horn. And yes they did come running. And no we did not see any need to stay longer.

Check out some more pictures of the Atkinson Farm.

OK, enough April Fools ...

Well you have all seen the previous post of the colorful wildflowers. I guess it is time to post them for real. Texas Hill Country is known for its Bluebonnet Trail and annual wildflower bloom. At the height of the season Texans flock to the area to witness the spectacle. We were initially worried that we had arrived too early but over our three days the flowers began to bloom in front of our eyes. I can only imagine how it would look at full bloom.

Enjoy the pictures in true living color.

Coopers Bar-B-Que

Flashing sign - Trip Highlight! Trip Highlight! Trip Highlight! Being a fan of Kansas City Bar-B-Que, I was on a search for some good down home Texas style Bar-B-Que. Pam, who I will remind you grew up vegetarian, and still leans that way spotted a recommendation in a travel book. "Best Bar-B-Que on the Bluebonnet Trail" it said. So we plan our stop in the metropolis of Llano Texas.

I hear you asking; what does a vegetarian do at a Bar-B-Que joint? She has learned to skip the meat (which draws plenty of strange looks here in Texas) and order a bunch of side dishes, i.e. cornbread, green beans, corn on the cob, baked beans, salad, cole slaw, etc., etc. There is lots there if you really look. So being a good sport, we pull into Coopers.

As we drive up the smokers are aglow.

The sauce is bubbling.

The tables are ready.

The meat seems done.



It's time to eat. Oh how I wish I had a camera ready when we walked up to the smoker. Pam was asked "Mame, sausage, chicken, pork, brisket or ribs?" She calmly asked for the pork and he chops off a chunk. Next question "Mame would you like some sauce on that?" Pam graciously says yes please. He stabs her chunk of pork, dips it in the pot of bubbling sauce, and slaps it on the red tray. Yes that is a tray like you get at a super buffet. Same questions and drill for me except I get the brisket. Once dipped, he slaps it on the tray and points us inside.

Once inside, the staff takes our tray and slices our meat choices. Sides you ask? Well beer of course! Oh, you mean food? Well there's potato salad and cole slaw and berry crisp. "On the table are beans and jalapenos" she says. So much for the vegetarian ordering sides.

They weigh our meat, slap down a couple pieces of butcher paper (plates she says), get our crisp, and send us on our way. She was right, there were beans in the picnic table room and jalapenos. Finally our table is set:


So in we dove. I must say, Pam did quite a job on that chunk of pork but admitted that next time she wanted some of my briskett. She was particularly impressed with the loaves of bread scattered around the tables for folks to eat out of. The only real flaw was the lack of Lone Star beer. The only thing to really wash down Texas bar-b-que.

This one we will remember.

Texas Wild Flowers

Several people have asked us "why do you want to go to Texas?" and "why now?" Well, this is wild flower time. It is expected that this will be a banner year since they have had sufficient rain. Apparently last year was a dud as a result of the very dry winter.

Off we head to Hill Country. Our route is along the Bluebonnet Trail. Photo previews have shown the fields blanketed with the blue of bluebonnets, red of indian paintbrush, yellow coreopsis, purple verbenas, white prickly poppies, purple Texas mountain laurel, pink phlox, maroon spiderwort, and blue eyed grass. The colors are magnificent!

As we wandered the trail we saw each of these in full bloom blanketing roadsides and fields. They seemed to be blooming as we watched after the prior days rains.

Around every turn was another beautiful splash of color. I took far too many pictures of this. It was difficult to whittle them down to a number that will hold your interest. So if you like beautiful flowers, check them out. If you are not a flower fan, it is worth a visit anyway, just be patient.

Click here for true spring flowers.