7 Nov 2011 - Austin

I love Austin. I never seem to get enough time here.

It's been good to visit with friends and family in the area. Austin has some of my very favorite restaurants, and I managed to get to a few of them. The fall colors make everything even more beautiful than usual [← Colorado River]. I enjoyed taking Joey for walks around the RV park, through the woods, on the trail, as well as at some of my favorite local parks. Joey made some friends with whom she got to play tag. :-) My friend Callie and one of her neighbors and I took our dogs (all five of them!) to the dog park for a "puppy party", which was fun for all of us!

Once again, I'm taking advantage of the Austin music scene. My first weekend here I went with my friend Grace to see Tapestry Singers, the Austin Women's Chorus. I got to go to a really fine Michael Smith house concert (Bob Dylan's favorite songwriter). And Nancy and I went to hear Tommy Byrd and Kathy Street at the Arhaven house concert. I hadn't been to one of Joe and Bev's house concerts before, though I had seen Joe every time I went to the Rouse House. The Rouse House started the whole house concert thing in Austin. For years, once a month, the Rouses would clear all the furniture out of their living/dining room, move it out onto the patio, set up maybe 60 chairs, invite some of their favorite folk musicians and songwriters to come and sing, and invite some friends in, to come and listen. The "green room" would be one of the bedrooms. When the artist came out to play, the first row of seats was definitely within spitting distance (one of the performers jokingly offered towels to those in the front row), almost touching distance. Bruce and Liz asked for a reasonable donation at the door (around $10), all of which was given to the artist. Bruce would pass the hat during intermission, asking for donations to reimburse him and Liz for their minimal expenses (they offered lemonade, tea, and always a treat of some kind, maybe ice cream bars, or pie, during break). Occasionally, when they brought in a really popular artist, there would be two concerts in one weekend. There were many years when I lived here that I went regularly. I got spoiled by the opportunity to really hear the artist, in such an intimate setting, without drinkers or smokers around. And it was a concert, so no one talked over the music, everyone listened. Such a treat, compared to the usual bar or concert scene. Bruce and Liz Rouse got some of the country's best up-and-coming folksinger/songwriters, from all over the country. I knew I was always going to enjoy the performance, and often it was exceptional. For years, the Rouse House was the only house concert around. Then there were three, and now now there are many. The Rouses would give workshops on "How to Do House Concerts" and got many in the area interested in this form of entertainment. Sadly, the Rouse House is no more, since Bruce died suddenly and unexpectedly a few years back. But they were a force in the Austin music scene for many years, and their legacy lives on. I know of two couples who built homes in the past few years designed in such a way that they would accommodate house concerts (Sycamore Creek and Arhaven) and there are probably more. I only enjoy the Austin music scene when I am in town now, which is normally once or twice a year, so I am out of touch with most of what is going on here.

I see evidence of the summer heat and drought here on my walks - lots of smaller trees and bushes dead. Dry grasses everywhere. I never made it over to Bastrop, where all the fire damage is.

The weather was nice most days, though a few were too humid for me. As my friend Jim explained to me, on the days that the wind blows from the south (most days), the winds carry the Gulf moisture, and it can be so humid in Austin. Even when it's in the 70s, I am sticky and sweaty. Whereas I can walk outside comfortably when it's 80 degrees in Mesa, often it's not comfortable walking outside when it's 70 here. You start sweating immediately. I've been spoiled by those lovely winters in the Arizona desert.

All-in-all, though, another wonderful visit in Austin.

30 Oct 2011 - East Texas Piney Woods and Cypress

I have a love/hate relationship with this part of East Texas. I won’t ever forget my first sighting of bald eagles in the wild, on a remote beach on Sam Rayburn Lake – watching them tumbling and playing with each other in the air, screaming at play. I love this piney woods country, the beautiful tall trees, the constant smell of evergreens. I love Martin Dies Jr State Park. I love the cypress trees. And they have some of the best home cooking here that you will find anywhere. But – I don’t like the smell of racism and oppression that lives like a white noise in the background. I don’t like the small-minded, redneck attitudes. I don’t like the way they treat their pets and other animals. I don’t like being around the logging industry (huge lumber trucks rumbling past on the highways; huge tracts of forest just gone, or with a few scraggly trees left behind). But I was able to enjoy Martin Dies for awhile, and that was a real treat. The sun was setting over the lake as I arrived Sunday evening [photo above]. I sat with my window and door open, enjoying the warmth of the evening, the slight breeze that carried in the smell of the evergreen pines and the lake. I drunk in the night sounds of the South (cicadaes and other insects mostly). I spent Tuesday morning at Martin Dies, walking around and especially enjoying the lovely cypress trees. This time of year they are bright orange, and add so much color to the landscape. I noted the "WATCH OUT FOR ALLIGATORS" sign, but, have still not seen any alligators here. :-( I spent the rest of the day visiting with my friends Kathleen and Rex. Unfortunately, I was still tired from all the driving I’ve been doing lately, so I wasn’t the best company, I’m afraid. But I’m glad I got to visit with them and they were tolerant and understanding. I parked Carri behind their house while I was in town, and let the cats play in the woods behind the house. Joey got to play chase a little with Kathleen's dog Willie. So we all got a break from being on the road.

Before I left the area I drove over the Toledo Bend dam into Louisiana briefly, and to the campground where I stayed on the shore of Lake Sam Rayburn, and, stopped for awhile at the Cherokee Unit of Martin Dies Jr State Park - all drives down Memory Lane. I lived here for a couple months back in the winter of 2007/2008, while I was working for FEMA after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and I so enjoyed spending a couple days here again.

I don't want to forget to mention that I stopped at the Picket House in Woodville to get some of their fried chicken. Every day they offer fried chicken, and chicken and dumplings. Everyone gets biscuits and cornbread, and very good peach cobbler for dessert. And every day they have the best ever watermelon rind pickles. The sides vary from day to day - both in what's offered and in their quality. You'll probably get mashed potatoes and gravy, maybe green beans or collard greens, or cabbage or yams - all served country style. But the fried chicken is always there, and it's always the best anywhere. I couldn't leave without stopping in Woodville. :-)

I spent a couple of days in Livingston, which was a treat for me. I got to stay at the Escapees Rainbow's End RV Park, which was an excellent park; I will definitely stay again at Escapees parks as I run across them in my travels. I got to visit the Escapees National Headquarters, and got to take a peek into the mail center that has been forwarding me all my mail for the past few years. And I got to take a tour of the CARE center, which is the only one of its kind. It offers assisted living care at a very reasonable rate, for full-time RVers. It was a pleasant place, and felt more like a RV park than a nursing home, but, most important, the residents are able to be as independent as possible, and seemed happy there.