Tour de Texas Day Trip #1

So LW and I decided we needed to explore Texas.  We have dubbed these travels as "Tour de Texas."  We went on a day trip recently.

We began by checking our the Chapel Dulcinea near Driftwood.  This chapel can be used free of charge for weddings.

Other sights near the Chapel.

Then we headed to Wimberley to The Blue Hole.  We did not get in the water but we did take a short hike around the area.  Here are a few things we spotted.

Afterwards we grabbed a bite to eat and headed to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch.  This was the highlight of our day.  You drive through the ranch in your car.  You get a bag of animal food with admission.  Here are my favorite pictures and videos from the drive.

Check out this giraffe's tongue!

I see you in there.

This zebra stuck his whole head in the car window and pulled out the bag of animal food.  Unfortunately I stopped the video before the bag came out.

Look at that face.

LW made a new friend.

Hee haw

Not sure what this guy is trying to tell me.

We also made a quick stop in downtown New Braunfels at Naegelins's Bakery, the oldest in Texas.

Here is the Comal County courthouse.

Then we drove to Lockhart to check out Flash Candy & Toys, the Caldwell County courthouse, and have BBQ for dinner.  We decided to try Smitty's.  It did not disappoint.

Stayed tuned for more adventures on our Tour de Texas.

Waxahachie Day trip

Last week I was in Duncanville to go with Lauren to a baby shower for a friend who is having twins!
Here is the beautiful mama-to-be and us.

On our way home, it rained and then we saw this beautiful rainbow.  At one point the right hand side looked like it was leading straight into the top of the Pinnacle Bank in Arlington.  I told Lauren it was leading us to the treasure!

On the way home to Austin, LW and I swung through Waxahachie and took a few photos.  Here is the Ellis County Courthouse.  Folklore has it that the man in charge of designing the courthouse, added carvings of his love.  When she spurned his love, the carvings changed in appearance to reflect how he felt about her.  Here are three examples.

We also drove past the Munster Mansion.  Supposedly this couple watched and watched and watched  The Munsters in order to create floor plans for their home. Picture is not that great.  People were home and I was trying to be sneaky taking the photo. People are crazy!

Choose My Adventure Series #1

So today the J and L Roadshow reviewed the results of our first poll in our Choose My Adventure series.  The results were:

Since it was a tie, I let the "L" in the J and L Roadshow make the deciding vote.  He chose the Blanton.
So off we went.  Here are few of my favorite things from our visit.

Cildo Meireles installation called "Missoes."

Explanation for the installation

2000 cattle bones

600, 000 pennies

800 Communion wafers

Two things I LOVE are oil paintings from centuries ago and marble sculptures of kids.  You can imagine I was in heaven in Italy.

Holy Family by Mattia Preti in 1653

Madonna & Child by Giuseppe Cades in 1790

By Jean Charlot in 1937 entitled Primero Pasos

The Truant by Randoph Rogers in 1857

Tavares Strachan in 2012

We also viewed Ellsworth Kelly's permanent installation called "Austin."

Tumbling Squares

Color Grid

Starburst

The Totem-18 ft tall made of redwood logged in the 19th century and found at the bottom of a riverbed.

Great day at the Blanton Museum of Art here in Austin.  Watch for next week's "Choose My Adventure" poll.