Texas- Austin

Day 4

Our last full day in Texas had arrived.  After stopping off at Starbucks for some halfway decent coffee, we headed north again (though this time, slightly to the right).  I had heard about a new toll road that had just opened that had the speed limit of 85.  I was hoping to try it out but I had forgotten to write down its name and to be honest, I’m pretty sure our car would have imploded if Tiffany attempted to push that far down on the accelerator.  Traffic was wonderfully light and Tiffany was pretty confident she knew why; “everyone is on their way to church…except for us!” 

LBJ All the Way

Austin was like a ghost town when we rolled in just before 9:00am.  I guess that shouldn’t be too much of a surprise since it’s a university city AND our first stop was said university.  The Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library is on the University of Texas at Austin campus.  I should probably admit that I don’t know a lot about ol’ LBJ but in general I leaned towards that he isn’t one of my favorites.  I think it was the combination of Vietnam and that he made his whole family have names that used his initials (Lady Bird Johnson, Lynda Bird Johnson, Luci Baines Johnson).  So needless to say, I didn’t have a lot of expectations going into this visit but since I’ve been knocking out presidential libraries I wasn’t going to turn it down.  Fun fact: There are only 13 official presidential libraries which are run by the National Archives.  The first is Herbert Hoover’s in West Branch, Iowa (shout out to my Iowans).  There are other libraries out the, like Lincoln’s, but they are private.  There was a statue of LBJ that greeted visitors at the entrance.  Even though it was kinda creepy and not even made out of metal, we paused for a photo op.  According to the website, the library had just started charging an entrance fee but the travel gods were shining on us and we got in for free because the system wasn’t working yet, sweet!  The library also recently had an overhaul and the exhibits were updated.  I’m all for updating and using new technology but the animatronic LBJ was just creepy!  I mean, I’m still having nightmares. 

Weird robot president aside, I really enjoyed the library.  I learned a lot about LBJ.  Of course no presidential library is going to focus on the not-so-popular parts of their presidency but I definitely learned about all the positive things that he did: Civil Rights, creation of PBS, creation of NPR, Pell grants, the Kennedy Center, Medicare, Anti-Poverty programs, Water Pollution Control, International Education and Fair Housing to name a few.  It shows that the job of president is a complex one and how that complexity is viewed by the regular citizen will paint how you are remembered.  In Johnson’s case, it was made even more difficult when assuming the position in the wake of a national tragedy. 

The Capitol in Austin

 We left LBJ behind and headed over to the Texas State Capitol.  It turns out that there was a marathon going on in Austin today.  Talk about perfect timing!  Thankfully we were able to park somewhat close but we did have to rush across the end of the marathon course, dodging runners.  But hey, now I can say that I’ve ran a marathon (I never said I completed it).  I don’t know what everyone is complaining about the last .2 miles about, seemed pretty easy to me!  The state capitol building lives up to Texas’ favorite motto: everything is bigger in Texas.  The building is the largest state capitol in the country.  The national capitol in D.C. is biggest but the Texas building is 15 feet higher.  Talk about competitive!  The building, completed in 1888, also stands out because it is built of granite, giving it a lovely mauve hue.  Apparently there is a state law that prohibits the view of the capitol from being obscured, good to know.  On the inside, the capitol is much like any other: dome, Senate room, House of Representatives room, supreme court.  Thankfully, in case you forget which capitol you are in, a literal representation of the famed Lone Star is everywhere.  And it turns out not to be limited to just inside the state capitol.  It was definitely time to get that fake, dead cat out and start swinging because there were stars on buildings, on street signs, on sidewalks, bronze ones in front of buildings…you get the idea. 

Bullock Texas State History Museum

After a quick stop at the visitor’s center gift shop, we walked over to the Bullock Texas State History Museum.  Seems like an odd name for a museum, especially when it’s so similar to an unsavory British slang word, but it’s named after Bill Bullock a former lieutenant governor who pushed for the creation of the museum.  The museum is one of those that the ticket price depends on the options you pick.  We went with the general exhibit and The Star of Destiny 4D movie (I told you they love their stars).  I’m always up for a 4D experience even though inevitably they are a bit disappointing and, in this case, incredibly cheesy.  We learned that we all have the star of destiny in us and we all have a little bit of Texas in us.  I learned that Tiffany, and other audience members, don’t enjoy getting the 4D experience of being poked by a rattlesnake.  I found it rather hilarious but then again, I’m that kind of friend!  So yes, the movie was schmaltzy but the museum was pretty good.  It was a timeline of Texas from the American Indians and the arrival of the Spanish to the 1970s and the heyday of NASA.  I did think they were a bit heavy on the ‘we love oil’ sections but I do understand that that is a big part of the Texas story and the economy of the state.  Of course, it shouldn’t of come as a big surprise that on the list of big donors Big Oil was strongly represented.  In the gift shop you could buy any manner of Texas mottos emblazoned on magnets, coffee cups and t shirts: Don’t Mess With Texas, Everything’s Bigger In Texas, You Can Go To Hell And I Will Go To Texas (I still don’t know if that’s a compliment), Come and Take It (another Alamo motto), God Bless Texas and I Shall Never Surrender Or Retreat, Victory Or Death.  Though I was disappointed by the lack of Houston We Have A Problem knick knacks.

Granny's Pie- graham cracker, pecans
& caramel

Dosa

With all that history out of the way, we headed across the Colorado River (which I only know now that I have googled it) and headed for the funky side of Austin. South Congress Street was the place to be with its hip shops and plentiful food trucks.  I've never done the food truck thing before and I was determined to get the full experience in Austin.  The trucks, usually a couple to a half dozen, are set up in vacant lots and there are local artists and vendors selling their wears.  So many options; there were cupcakes, snowballs, Creole, Indian, subs, Thai and fried goodies.  I decided on some Indian dosa from Nomad Dosa, which is a lentil pancake with your choice of spicy goodness inside.   Another stop found us at Gourdoughs, which lives by their tag line "Big. Fat. Donuts."  I will just say that there is no reason that any person needs that much dough, but darn if it wasn't yummy!  But since we had barbecue to taste on the way home, we got the dough to go.  

The Salt Lick

Pork Ribs

We had done the Tex Mex cuisine proud but we couldn't leave the Lone Star State without trying its BBQ.  We were headed for Driftwood, Texas and to get from Austin to there you went through a veritable wasteland of nothingness.  Out of the darkness we saw the famed Salt Lick.  It was hard to miss!  I'm not exaggerating when I say that it was like a small city.  The parking lot was about the average size of a mall parking lot.  Not only were there at least four buildings for the restaurant but there was also a winery attached and a grotto featuring live music.  With all this going on, it wasn't too surprising that the wait was 90 minutes.  Needless to say we opted for the 15 minute wait and went for to go.  With our BBQ joining our dough, we headed back to San Antonio (hehe, that rhymed).  The smell permeated our little Chevy and with an hour still to go, I was a bit worried that Tiffany was going to veer off the road from hunger.  It was nearing 8 o'clock so when we finally saw the lights of civilization (AKA Kyle, Texas) we pulled in to eat.  There's really nothing like the ambiance that a Walgreen's parking lot offers when eating barbeque.  I'm just glad the Walgreen's wasn't busy that night and we didn't have random people walk by while we were devouring meat in the front seat (there I go again).  I'm not a huge fan of pork ribs, I'm more of a pulled pork kinda gal, but The Salt Lick ribs were very good.  Once our ravenous hunger was sated, we continued on our journey.  

It had been a long but eventful day and when we finally got to our La Quinta, we were ready to relax.  My first visit to Texas was coming to an end.  Tomorrow Tiffany and I would fly back to our respective frozen tundras.