Austin- Texas

Recently we spent a couple of days visiting Austin which is the capital of the State of Texas.  It has a population of 820,611 and was settled in the 1830's.

The State Capitol building was built in the 19th centuary.

Austin is now considered the music capital of Texas and much of this live entertainment is found in 6th street.  This nine-block historic district has been an epicentre of activity since the realy 1900's when it was developed as a centre of commerce.  

There are a number of grand buildings to be found in the city centre of Austin such as the elegant Driskill Hotel which was built by cattle baron Jesse Driskill in 1889.  At a cost of $400.000.  Jesse funded this build from the monies he had accrued from selling cattle to the Confederate Army during the Civil War.    

There is still a grand old car still parked in front of this hotel.  During his presidency Lyndon Baines Johnson the 36th President of the United States kept a suite at this hotel.

Today his second daughter Luci Baines still resides in the penthouse of this building which is located in the city center.

As the music capital of Texas it is no wonder that Willie Nelson spent some time in this city.

The city has erected a statue and named a street in his honour.

As you now everything in Texas is big.  Even the pot plant containers.

Austin has lots to do and many things to see so we are planning to return for another visit.

Best wishes to all,

Bev and Ross

Houston and Galveston

Late last month we paid a quick visit to Houston and Galveston mostly to visit the Houston Space Centre as Ross had not been there. Houston is the largest city in Texas with 2.1 million people making it the fourth largest city in the USA. It has a spectacular skyline and we found it fairly easy to navigate our way around.

Because we had come specifically to visit the space centre we stayed south of the city at the holiday inn at Hobby Airport.

Our visit to the centre was interrupted by a very solid storm and the tours were cancelled for a time because of lightning strikes in the area.

The highlight for us was the visit to the central control room (unfortunately no photos) we have all seen on the news and in movies. During our time there they had a real time link to the international space station and we were able to watch the astronauts go about their daily business. There is so much more to see I am sure we will return.

Please visit http://www.spacecenter.org/

After Houston we made the short trip south to the gulf coast for a quick visit to Galveston. It is similar to many seaside tourist resort towns but has the added bonus of being a major start point for many Carribean Cruises. On the day we were there there was a hurricane forming well to the south but it quickly affected the local weather.

Because of the bad weather we decided not to stay but headed back to San Antonio (about 4 hours drive). We plan to visit again in the cooler months and non hurricane season.

Cheers

Ross and Bev

Eating Around San Antonio

Over the last few weeks we have done a little local travel as well as have our great friend Annette come to visit from Australia via Canada. And as we do when we have visitors (and when we don't) we tend to patronise our local restaurants.

One of our favourites is the  Fish City Grill. The grill has a Cajun influence and serves everything from gumbo to fish tacos to crawfish in season.

The plain grilled fish (in this case Tilapia) is outstanding and on Saturdays they have all you can eat snow crab.

It also has an oyster bar that is not afraid to mix fresh seafood with Tex/Mex cuisine.

The daily specials are on a chalkboard over the door before you enter.

For something totally different and close to home we have a traditional Texas Bar-B-Q and as you can see the prices are more than reasonable. The fare ranges from ribs, sausage and brisket to cornbread and pecan pie.

And they throw in live music.

Another place we have eaten on a number of occasions is the restaurant in the Bass Pro Shop but because the restaurant (again seafood oriented) is similar to many others I thought I would show several shots of the shop itself.

For those of you who have not been to a Bass store it is an amazing spectacle. On site they sell everything in the way of sporting goods from boats to duck whistles and the array of stuffed animals is like nothing I have ever seen.

If you get the chance to visit one you should take it and visit the onsite restaurant.

More to follow.

Cheers 

Ross and Bev

BBQ with friends

We are so fortunate to have great friends as our neighbours and recently we decided to have a get together.  As it looked like it was going to rain ( not a very familiar event in San Antonio) we decided to have it in our garage.  Keith cooked all of the meat in his BBQ which you can see and Ross cooked the salmon out the back on our BBQ.  We had a great time.    

As you can see there was no shortage of food.  All together there were 6 children who all had a good time.  Kaci was playing "mum" to them all.

 To help run off some of their energy they took to the street.

Even Princess the cat came for a visit.

Impromptu get togethers are always fun and we plan to do this on a more regular basis.

Best wishes,

Bev and Ross

Hawaii

Aloha from Hawaii.  I have just returned from Honolulu having attended the ICRC HELP course at the University of Hawaii.  We were warmly welcomed with a lae.

The University has a number of interesting statues on its grounds and this is a professor with some of his students.

There were 32 students undertaking the course which consisted of military and civilian personnel.  On day one we were introduced to the national dance of Hawaii and as you can see most of the class got into the swing of things.

 While the course was rather intensive we did have the opportunity to enjoy some off time.  One evening we did a dinner cruise and the band played some great music.

 We were also provided the opportunity to enjoy professional dances from surrounding countries.

 The views from the ship were spectacular and Diamond Head is always welcoming.

 It was also an opportunity to catch up with old friends.  I met Art Wallace some years ago when we were both in the Army.  Art was a Colonel in the US Army Nurse Corps.  Jenny his lovely wife, Art and I enjoyed a great lunch looking over the blue waters off Waikiki Beach. 

On the second last day of the course Sass, Clarissa, Sarah and I took the opportunity to dine at a fine restaurant right on Waikiki.  Great food and good company.

The time went by rather quickly and it was time to think about returning to San Antonio.  There is nothing like an Hawaiian sunset as I departed back home.

The only thing missing was that Ross was not able to join me as he was baby sitting Dennis' dogs and fish.

Best wishes,
Beverley

Pasta night

Each weekend the extended family take it in turn to invite and entertain the clan.  Last Saturday evening it was at Steve and Theresa's home and we had decided that we would give Theresa's pasta maker a go.  So Ross took charge of the dough making.  

He was ably assisted by Theresa.

 When it looked like the home made pasta was not going to be a success Theresa quickly turned her hand to pizza making.  It was a great pizza.

The Italian community has nothing to be concerned about. We were pathetic pasta makers.

Happy days.

Bev and Ross

4July 2012

Over the many years we have been coming to America this was only the second time we have been in the USA on the 4th of July.  So it was with great pleasure that we were able to fly the US flag from our home.

We were also given a "Yellow rose of Texas" by our friends.

Our lovely neighbours Kaci, Keith, Mary Alice and Albert (not in the photo as he had taken the boys home) joined us for lunch and we had a great day.  The Aussies wore the US shirts.

A couple of days later we all went around to Dennis's home where the children really enjoyed the pool.

We were also able to celebrate Cameron's 6 th birthday. 

It was a great evening.

Best wishes,

Bev and Ross