Yes, we’re still in Texas!
Kingsville:
I began my career in Kingsville and had not been there for
many years. So, I suggested that we take
a road-trip down south to see some friends and get re-acquainted with my old
stomping grounds!
We began our exploration by learning about the history
of south Texas at the Conner Museum on the campus of Texas A&M Kingsville.
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| Graves Peeler Hall of Horns |
We wanted to learn more about the King Ranch so we took a
tour and saw lots of cattle (including Santa Gertrudis), horses, javelina and
deer. We ended our King Ranch day at the
King Ranch Museum.
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| King Ranch house |
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| Santa Gertrudis cattle bred on King Ranch |
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| Javelinas |
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| King Ranch Quarter Horses |
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| King Ranch Branding Irons |
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| King Ranch Museum |
No trip to this area is complete without eating at the
King’s Inn in Riviera, Texas. This place has been around
since 1945 and is the best place for
those special occasions, like getting together with old friends.
Galveston:
Since we have lived in Houston for many years, Galveston was
always a day trip for us. This time we
stayed in a lovely Airbnb cottage for several nights and just relaxed in the
Island vibe.
We spent one morning at the
Railroad Museum
which features several old rail cars, including dining cars and one used for
the U.S. Mail.
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| Railroad Station |
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| Dining Car |
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| Mail Sorting Car |
There are many beautiful Victorian homes and mansions in
Galveston. I thought that I had toured
all that I could; however, I had missed Moody Mansion. We had a wonderful tour of this beautiful old
Romanesque mansion.
Here’s another interesting house, the Kettle House:
Our Airbnb hostess clued us in on a great place to eat, the Gypsy Joynt. We enjoyed this funky place and food so much
that we ate there twice!
Waco:
If you watch HGTV much, you’re probably familiar with the
show “Fixer Upper” starring Chip and Joanna Gaines. This show takes place in the Waco area,
making Waco a huge tourist destination.
So we went to the Magnolia Market and saw the infamous Silos:
But, believe it or not, I really wanted to go to Waco to see
some of their other great sites. I’ve
always loved Dr. Pepper so the Dr. Pepper Museum was a must see for me. Seeing many of the old commercials and the various advertising slogans brought back lots of memories!
We even attended the “Liquid Laboratory” to learn
how soda pop is made!
Another fine museum in Waco is the Texas Ranger Hall of
Fame.
My favorite museum, though, was the Armstrong Browning Library and
Museum on the Baylor University Campus.
I learned about this place a few years ago through my colleagues in the
Hirsch Library at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The collection of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning works and objects are amazing! Mr. Armstrong was a professor of English at
Baylor and donated his collection of works to the University. The
building that houses the collection was built specifically for the collection
and is a work of art in itself.
Here is a picture of the Martin Entrance Foyer. There are
62 stained glass windows in the Armstrong Browning Library. These in the foyer
represent three of Robert Browning’s best short poems: "Grow old along
with me! The best is yet to be", "On the earth the broken arcs; in
the heaven a perfect round", and "Tis not what man Does which exalts
him, but what man Would do”.
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| Martin Entrance Foyer |
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The McLean Foyer of Meditation
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Hankamer Treasure Room
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The Austin Moore-Elizabeth Barrett Browning Salon features these beautiful stained glass windows which represent five of her forty-four Sonnets from the Portuguese:
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| Elizabeth Barrett Browning Salon |
Our quixotic journey continues ...
"Who so loves believes the impossible."
EBB