May 30th: Visiting with more friends in Tucson

We stayed three nights in Tucson as guest of Matt and Virginia Johns.  Here we are outside their  home in the morning light.  We became friends with Matt and Virginia back in 1975 when they rented an apartment next to ours while I we were going to the U of A.  Matt came to Tucson after completing his PHD at Dartmouth to manage a telescope up on Kitt Peak just west of Tucson.  

 We met up with another of our friends, Jeannie and Tom Baxter.  Jean and Elaine went to high school together and Jean went to the U of A graduate school at the same time we were in Tucson.  They gave us a great tour of revitalized downtown Tucson.  Jean is the education director for the Presidio San Agustin.  Here is a view of the old courthouse near the Presidio.

 A neat statue of Pancho Villa.

                                      We used the trolley car system to tour downtown Tucson.
                                     
Jean and Elaine catching up on the trolley.

 Jean and Tom invited us to a very nice home cooked dinner at their house.  Before dinner I got to take Tom's Porsche Boxster out for a spin.  I am past mid life but definitely recommend one of these for a mid life boost.

 We ended a very nice day posing for a picture with Jean and Tom.

May 27-29: Into the Heart of the Southwest: New Mexico and Arizona

May 27 was a fairly easy day heading down I-10 from Sonora, TX and on into New Mexico.  A pure day of driving.

 A interesting sign at the welcome s=center in New Mexico.

 We ended the day in Deming, NM at a very nice and empty RV site, Dream Catcher RV next to I-10.  The air was warm and dry.  We slept for the first night without the AC on.

 May 28 we only had a two hour drive from Demning into Tucson.  Here I am on the mall in front of Old Main at the Un of Arizona where we attended from '74-'78.

 Here is the Newman center at the U of A where our daughter francesca was baptized.

 Elaine attended the School of Library Science for a period before Francesca arrived on the scene.

 We stayed with our good friends Virginia and Matt Johns.  They took us to Biosphere 2 on May 29.  Here are a few pictures outside the Biosphere which is just north of Tucson.

 Virginia, Matt, and Elaine.

 The tall dome was the library/observation space.

 We ended the day with a very enjoyable dinner on the Virginia & Matt's back patio which overlooks Tucson.

May 26: Johnson City and onto I-10!

We got another mid morning start today and headed for I-10.  En-route we stopped off at Johnson City and the LBJ homestead where he was raised.  Here is a side view of the front of the house and porch.

 Traveling west on route 290 14 miles we came to the Johnson Western White House and where he was born, lived his adult life and died.  All in about 800 feet.  On the ranch we passed many steer and cows.  I asked this one to raise it's head for a photo and he complied!

 In the front yard of his home was a 500 year old Live Oak tree where he used to hold cabinet meetings on the lawn.  Johnson was a workaholic.  He had three tv's in the living room and in his bedroom. He also had  three phones in his bedroom. His wife Lady Bird had her own bedroom because his bedroom was like an office 22 hours of the day.  All total the house had 71 phone lines!

 Another view of the outside of the house.  They would not permit photo taking in the house because of copyright laws.

 Of course no house is complete without your own private airport and jet hanger in the back yard.

All in all a good day visiting the Western White House of LBJ.  We traveled onto Fredericksburg TX for a late afternoon meal at Momacita's Mexican Restaurant and then camped at Sonora Cavern's RV park for the evening.

May 25th: Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library

We got another good mid-morning start and headed into Austin, 30 minutes away to visit the Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library.  Again everything in Texas is done an a grand scale.  Did I mention that we saw every box store in the world along I-35 several times over on our way into Austin. Just before downtown we exited I35 and enterd the University of Texas campus and the LBJ Presidential Library. The building is huge, no windows except for the penthouse floor.

 I thought this was another good quote.

 I decided to go head to head with LBJ and Elaine caught the moment.

 I think Johnson was a very impressive public servant who dedicated his life to trying to do the right thing.  Yes he got caught in a war he did not want, that was started by the French back in the 1950's.  The library did a good job pointing out all the tremendous legislation that Johnson got passed like the Civil Rights  Act, and the War on Poverty.

 The presidential desk, but I was not allowed to sit at it!

 Thsi caught my eye.  A phone control panel built into the coffee table in Johnson's Oval Office.  That was one thing made clear, Johnson was always on the phone, usually twisting someone's arm.

 Here is a view out the 10 floor window towards the UT stadium.

Of all the presidential libraries this one was the hardest to take.  It brought back all the memories of the 60's and early 70's:  the protests, that stupid war, and tumultuous events in my own life.  Sitting here lakeside on that same afternoon, I realize that I have lived through a lot of history, and I am fortunate to be able to calmly look back on it 50 years later.

May 24th: George H Bush Presidential Library

We got a good mid morning start and headed into College Station to visit the George H Bush Presidential library.  George'e mother said she did not know which of three names: George, Herbert, Walker to name her son.  So she picked all three names. His presidential library is on the campus of Texas A&M.  Everything is done on a big scale.

 I liked this quote under his picture.  I identify with it.

 I am getting used to having a presidential desk to pose behind.

 Here is another quote that I liked.  One theme with all the presidential libraries is they comment how there lives were essentially pointed towards serving others.  We usually think of Presidents the other way around, but from their point of view, they are serving us.

 I think Elaine looks like she would fit right in driving this little puppy.  It reminded her of Grand Pontiac she drove.

 Here is the entrance stone to the library.  In summary Bush's library brought back memories of the conflicts between a decent President getting caught having to go to war. But I always look on George H Bush as a decent man.

 And off in the distance is the stadium for Texas A&M.

 After the library we headed towards Georgetown which is just north of Austin, a two hour drive.  After some doubts about the accuracy of Google maps we arrived at our campsite which was also lakeside at Cedar Breaks State Park,  Lake Georgetown.

May 23: Onto Texas!

The drive from New Orleans to Texas was uneventful.  I did come up with one product idea.  You know how smart phones have accelerometers in them?  Well couple the acceleration response from driving on a road to the location on that road.  Average the data from all phones and walla, you can rate road roughness for municipalities to have as data to know what road is in need or repair.  I though of this as we drove over many miles of concrete frost heaves near Lake Charles, LA on I-10.  I think this would do well in Worcester to rate road roughness and where they need to fix pot holes.  It would require no driver intervention.  I will file for the patent when I get home.

 Ok after a day of driving we are resting lakeside having our evening drinks at Yegua Creek State park at Somerville Lake just outside of College Station TX.

May 22: New Orleans, LA, NOLA and the French Quarter

We got ready to go into New Orleans mid morning.  We were looking forward to catching up on the French Quarter after our last visit six years ago.  Here is Elaine in her "tourist" outfit.

 Our son Matt turned us onto Uber the last time we visited with him in NYC, so we decided to try Uber versus a taxi.  It was a great experience.  A nice driver picked us up in her Honda Civic with great air conditioning right at our campsite.  25 minutes later she dropped us off in the French Quarter.  Here is a view of  Jackson Square and the St Louis Basilica. The area was packed with tourists.

 We headed to the Historical New Orleans Collection.  It is both a museum and a typical upper class home.  Here is a view of the inner courtyard.

 After a few hours of touring, we opted for a classic New Orleans snack. Eschewing the long lines at the famous cafe du Monde we had our beignets and cafe au lait at the lesser known but equally delicious" New Orleans Famous Beignets and Coffee."

 Down the street we stopped into another bake shop and they had these neat explanations printed on the wall.

 We walked through the French Market. We were able to resist a lot of the food offerings having just had a snack.  It is a really long flea market.

 I took this picture of Alligator heads for my grandson Luke to see.

 At the end of the market, we came to the New Orleans mint museum.  A good museum on the mint and also the musical history of the area.  Here is a picture of Fats Domino's restored piano.  It was completely flooded during Hurricane Sandy.  To restore it , they took it completely apart, restored each piece and put it back together.  Something I plan to do with a few antiques in my garage attic!

 Walking from the mint, we walked up Esplanade Avenue and saw some really nice homes.

 Six years ago we ate dinner in the Oceana Cafe.  Being one to stick to routines, guess where we ate dinner?  You got it!  Here is a picture of us table-side in the courtyard of the Oceana Cafe.

 After dinner and a stroll down Conti Street, we stopped in to Sucre for a nice little dessert. Then we continued onto Canal Place and caught the $1(senior fare) ferry to the other side of the Mississippi river.

 At the other side was Algiers Point where there was a nice statue of Sachmo.  There we caught an Uber taxi back to our campsite.  Our driver was Jasmine who picked us up in her Audi 500..  She was busy holding her iphone for directions in her right hand.  I mentioned to her about how we purchased $13 phone holders that attach to car vents on Amazon.  She exclaimed "thank you Jesus!"  because she thought the cheapest one to get was at Walmart for $30. I guess we were an answer to a pray?

All in all we enjoyed New Orleans as much as we had six years ago.