Today I drove 202.3 miles traveling from Waco, Texas to Austin, Texas.
I am spending the night at the Hampton Inn in downtown Austin, Texas.
I have a spectacular corner studio suite with a huge balcony.
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Hello folks, I had kind of a frustrating start to my Tuesday. The first thing on the schedule for today was a ninety mile drive to College Station. I had a timed entry ticket for 9:45am in College Station. So I left my hotel shortly before 8:00 since it is less than a two hour drive down there. But thanks to every road in Waco being torn up and closed, my navigation kept sending me to roads that were closed. It took forever to get out of town. Then when I got to College Station there was this small bit of construction at a traffic light. It took 45 minutes to get through that light. I didn't get to the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum until 10:30.  The museum wasn't very busy. I practically had the place to myself. As was the case at Clinton's Library, the first exhibit was his presidential limousine.  There was an exhibit of the Oval Office. HW did not use the Resolute desk. He chose to use the C&O desk due to a perceived tradition.  The painting below is off the Rotunda of the Bush Library and shows the president's closest advisors assembled in the Oval Office: Dick Cheney (left), Jim Baker, Brent Scowcroft, and Colin Powell.  If you want to see more of the library watch the video on my web site. It's worth a watch. The grounds of the library are beautiful. Below is a picture of the Presidential Pond. That's the Barbara Bush Rose Garden on the other side of the pond.  The Bush Family Gravesite is quietly nestled behind the Presidential Pond creating a tranquil space for honoring and remembering the life of President George H.W. Bush; First Lady Barbara Bush; and their daughter, Pauline Robinson “Robin" Bush.  The iron gates surrounding the gravesite are finished with golden stars, while the court entrance exudes distinction with the Seal of the President of the United States.  The maintenance guy just mowed the lawn at the grave site just before I got there. I went through the gate and started taking pictures of the graves when I arrived. As I was leaving the gardener told me that the gate is usually locked. He just hadn't had a chance to lock it yet. So the picture below is a limited edition. Even though I'm sure I could have gotten almost the same photo by poking my camera through the fence.  George's grave is in the center, Barbara is on the right and Robin on the left. I enjoyed my visit to the library very much. It was well worth the ninety miles out of my way. After leaving the library is was just over a 100 mile drive to Austin. The first thing I did was check into the Hampton Inn in downtown Austin. I have a very nice studio suite with an enormous balcony.  The Texas State Capitol is only a couple blocks from my hotel. That's the first place I visited after I got settled. Below is the north side of the capitol building.  And below is the south side of the beautiful Texas State Capitol.  I went inside and explored the capitol rotunda. It's impossible to take a picture of that. But of course I did anyway. Below is the result.  A few blocks north of my hotel is the University of Texas at Austin. That is where I went next. I felt a little silly driving around the campus in my mobility scooter among all the college kids. But I'll do almost anything to get the picture I want. Below is the Littlefield Fountain in front of the UT Tower.  Below is a little closer look at the tower. You can see a few college kids studying on the lawn. That's a statue of George Washington in front of the tower.  The picture below was taken behind the Littlefield Fountain. That is the University Christian Church across the street and the Texas State Capitol dome in the distance.  I headed back to the hotel next. I passed a Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers on the way and picked up my dinner.  Sorry, no blue skies in the pictures today. It was cloudy all day but it never rained. We're supposed to get some heavy thunderstorms overnight but tomorrow is supposed to be nice and sunny again. Until tomorrow, Tim |
Covers 197 miles from Waco, Texas to Austin, Texas. |
Click on the arrow above for tomorrow's adventures.
| TIM'S HOME PAGE SITE INDEX | |||
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