Back in Fredericksburg, Texas:Johnson National Historical Park and Nimitz Museum

The drive to Fredericksburg was only 110 miles. We stayed at the same RV Park, Fredericksburg RV, when the Alpine group was in convoy to New Braunfels. Our plan for the next couple of days was to visit the Johnson Ranch and also complete sections of the Admiral Nimitz Museum and National Museum of the Pacific War we did not manage to see on the last trip. 

This area of Texas is Lyndon B. Johnson's home territory and where his family settled a century ago. The Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park includes many properties associated with President Johnson's life. The park has two sections, one in Johnson City and another at the LBJ Ranch near Stonewall. Touring both parks provided more input and perspective into this president's life and personality, his upbringing, and the influence of his parents and surrounding Hill Country culture that shaped his political vision for America.

Our first stop was Johnson's boyhood home in Johnson City. This is where the family moved, where two more siblings were born, and where Johnson lived and was raised from the time he was five years old. 
Two strong influences in his life and on his future political career were his father, a state legislator, and his mother, one of few college-educated women and a journalist. At the age of ten, young Johnson was on the campaign trail working for his father's re-election and at 13 he sat by his father's side during legislative sessions. His father, Sam Ealy Jr., was a popular and effective participant in democratic party politics. His mother, Rebekah Baines, was passionate about education, and gave elocution and debating lessons to the neighborhood children. From her, Lyndon learned debating skills and that one should never form opinions based on first impressions and that power should be used for the public good, in the tradition of Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. 
Lyndon Johnson's public career began in 1937 when he stood on the porch of his boyhood home to announce his candidacy for the US House of Representatives for the Tenth District of the State of Texas. More than three decades later, his political career in which he served in all four elected positions (House, Senate, Vice President & President) culminated in the presidency during which he ushered in legislation to benefit education and social programs. 

a Folk Victorian style house built in 1901, the boyhood home of LBJ, and the porch
from which he announced his candidacy for congress

Our next stop was the LBJ Ranch, about 14 miles west of Johnson City near Stonewall, where we made stops along the self-driving tour at each site associated with the president's life.

• The reconstructed home where Lyndon was born in 1908:

the house was refurbished and used as a guest house during Johnson's administration

• The Johnson Family Cemetery across the road from Johnson's birth place overlooking the Pedernales River:

the president and Lady Bird's final resting place with other family members

I found it touching that Johnson is buried across the street from the very place in which he also took his first breath. And in fact, he died in his own bed in his home not far from this one, in the house that also became known as the Texas White House during his presidency, and then his retirement home until the end. Perhaps he is one of few who was fortunate to complete his circle of life on the land that he loved and that nourished his soul.  

• The Texas White House, where we took a tour

During his administration, Johnson's home office became the "Texas Oval Office" whenever he spent time at the Ranch, which turned out to be about one third of his presidency. This is also where he entertained heads of state and diplomats, hosting Texas-style barbecues and driving his guests around the ranch.
Johnson was well known for his love of talking, particularly on the telephone, which is how he communicated with a lot of heads of state and conducted business. He had telephones installed all over the house, several in his office, and more in his bedroom. 
This is the house where his children were raised, and also the house in which he spent his retirement until he took his last breath, in his own bed. We saw his bedroom and also Lady Bird's suite and private room, her escape and respite from the high-powered discussions that Johnson continually engaged in into the late hours. The home is modest and comfortable, and reminds me of an east-coast home. And it gave a glimpse into the challenges that first ladies experience when married to a President. One can never quite be private or enjoy total solitude, and in Lady Bird's case, her husband literally brought his work home. The US Secret Service Command Post in a small white cottage next to the main home housed the electronic surveillance equipment that helped protect the president and his family. Next door are three Communications Trailers used by the White House Communications Agency and by military aides. 
We saw the kitchen where staff prepared dinners and catered to important guests. It was in this kitchen that the staff who were preparing for the Kennedy's arrival for the weekend learned of President Kennedy's assassination by being informed that this was now the house of the president. The circumstances were all the more poignant because the Mayor of Austin was about to present a painting each to the Johnsons and the Kennedys that evening at dinner. From this point on, life in the Johnson household changed for the next six years.

• Guests at the LBJ Ranch were sometimes invited to place their names in cement:

• The Airplane Hangar and Lockheed JetStar

the Washington Shuttle that brought staff and other important folks regularly to the the Ranch

• At the Visitor Center and gift shop, we read the exhibits and watched a movie about Johnson's life. 
• The Klein Shop served as the maintenance shop for the ranch. Inside are several of Johnson's favorite cars including his 1962 Amphicar, an amphibious automobile:

• Replica of the one-room Junction School that Lyndon attended for a few months at the age of four

The story goes that Lyndon could hear the children outside before school and at recess and would run down to the school house to play with them. His mother worried he would get lost and talked to the teacher about enrolling him early in school. He only attended the Junction School for a few months in 1912 because the school closed early due to a whooping cough epidemic. His family moved to the Johnson City house by the start of the next school year. In 1924, Johnson graduated from high school in Johnson City and later attended Southwest Texas Teacher's College in San Marcos where he received his teaching degree, then taught school for a while in Houston, Cotulla, and Pearsall, Texas.

the one room school house where children learned the three Rs

Johnson became known as the "Education President." His administration saw the passage of over 30 education bills, more education legislation than any other presidential administration. In comparison, only six major education bills were passed during the time of Lincoln to Kennedy. In 1965, Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in April 1965 with his first teacher at his side.

The day after we visited the Johnson Ranch, Michael went off to the National Museum of the Pacific War. Fredericksburg is the boyhood home of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces, Pacific Ocean Area, during WWII.  The site includes the Admiral Nimitz Museum housed in the restored Nimitz Hotel originally owned by Nimitz's grandfather.  In the year 2000 the facility was expanded to encompass extensive exhibits on the Pacific Theater battles of World War II.  The museum is huge, rather overwhelming, with curved-wall rooms linked together like a maze.  A docent mentioned that it was designed that way to recreate the sense of confusion faced by soldiers landing on island beaches under fire, and fighting through jungle bush and smoke.  Since Michael likes to read practically all exhibits, his visit took most of the day.

I decided to stay home. And to escape the chilly weather. Ever since Biloxi, the weather turned cold with night time temperatures dipping down into the low 30's and sometimes in the upper 20's. I have had to pull out coats, hats, scarves and gloves and our warm polar fleece tops. We have left the space heater running overnight, and have cuddled under layers. Brrr..... this is not my idea of snowbirding or parking our home where the weather suits us! And since Michael's mission in life is to make me happy, we agreed to skip the next two or three planned stops for another time and continue straight to Arizona where we hear the sun shines every day and the temperatures have been in the 70's. I am smiling once again in anticipation....
Arizona here we come!

Christmas in Texas and the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library

It was a short but pleasant 107-miles through rural Texas countryside to our next destination at Berry Springs RV Park in Georgetown today. This is where we would stay for the next week, celebrating Christmas with family that we had not met before, my mother's cousin and his wife, and their daughter and her family. When they heard we would be passing through around the holidays, they insisted we spend the holidays with them and welcomed us warmly. It was an offer we simply could not pass up to spend Christmas with family in Texas!
Our route took us along Routes 190/6 and 190/79 towards Milano then along the FM roads (FM908, FM486 and FM1331), before connecting to TX95 and TX29 to Georgetown.  
These lesser FM roads through Texas Hill Country, are really good and the terrain mostly flat. 


The morning was overcast and often drippy as we passed ranches, farms, fields with hay bales and fields with huge rectangular cotton bales. The countryside is pretty with its numerous oaks and junipers.
We arrived close to 2PM, set up, had a cup of tea and went off to visit my relatives in Georgetown. 

Georgetown is close to Austin, so we spent one day at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum while in the area. We wandered through the galleries and exhibits, getting a concise overview of LBJ's years in office during the turbulent 1960's, a period of cultural revolution and change which accompanied the escalating war in Vietnam. Propelled from Vice-President to President after Kennedy's assassination in November 1963, President Johnson certainly had his share of challenges and issues while in office until 1969. 

On the home front, Johnson, a Democrat who had been a strong supporter of President Roosevelt’s “New Deal” during the 1930s, continued the era of liberalism with his “Great Society” legislative agenda.  He successfully pursued one of Kennedy’s primary goals of implementing a significant tax cut, which he negotiated in exchange for a budget cut.  Tax revenues actually increased and bolstered the economy, and unemployment dropped to low levels.  The strong economy helped support the Great Society programs Johnson promoted.

Johnson  grew up in Texas Hill Country where he witnessed first-hand the effect of rural poverty and lack of education, and is remembered best for his creation of government programs that could benefit ordinary people.  In many respects, he was the president who could be considered a father figure and benefactor to all Americans, making sure his citizens were taken care of fairly and protected, and that no one was overlooked or forgotten. Dozens of his bills remain today providing social benefits for all: Medicare, Medicaid, equal voting rights, Head Start, seat belts, PBS, endowment for the arts, clean air, national park expansions, and his "War on Poverty" to name just a few. Johnson also promoted passage of the Immigration Act which eliminated national origins quotas in place since the 1920s resulting in a doubling of the rate of immigrant inflow.  This may have positively influenced our own immigration process just 8 years later.  

As you enter the Library, this 3-D list of Johnson's legislation greets you together with a display of dozens of pens he used to sign each bill. He took to heart the credo of equality for all and acted on it. 

these pens, resembling piano keys, feature below the display above - Johnson certainly was a prolific signer of legislation

Of particular interest to me were the displays of the cultural highlights of the 60's and 70's in America. Although we grew up overseas during that era and were perhaps more influenced by the music and fashion of Britain, I could relate to and recognize many of the same icons of the 60's. It was also interesting to see what my generation was exposed to in the US as I was growing up in South Africa.     

the dress and boots could have been mine...the books, the Frisbee and Spirograph are American
and the Playboy magazine is definitely one banned in South Africa! 

Beatlemania was a large influence in SA

the dress with lace jabot could have been mine, the sandals too; the movie Doctor Zhivago, Barbara
Streisand and Donovan were popular in SA too

 flower power and peace signs were universal though
pot would not have been

I too had a Battleship game and enjoyed playing, saw the Space Odyssey movie,
 but didn't know it was based on a book, listened to to the landing on the moon on radio
because there was no television in South Africa's apartheid days

Dozens of bills were passed to improve the lives of all American citizens, yet Civil Rights and Vietnam War protests were escalating into more violent confrontations at home, dividing the nation.  At the same time Johnson was also dealing with tense issues on the global political front. Communism, the Cold War, tension in Latin America with Cuba, Panama and the Dominican Republic, threat of nuclear war, and Israel's Six-Day War took Johnson's' focus away from the domestic programs and his vision to create a Great Society. The world was on the verge of war and annihilation, a feeling and focus I remember well as we debated and discussed the threat of a nuclear war in high school. 

What comes across the most vividly is that Johnson had a particular personality that afforded him a great benefit when it came to negotiating and getting what he wanted. His tall stature, and what is known as The Johnson Staredown worked in his favor, though can also be interpreted as intimidation. He is well remembered for staring his opponents down, face to face, or prodding them in the chest as he loomed large over them, making his point. Obviously he would not take No for an answer, or at least not without making a stand.

Michael experiencing the 36th President's Staredown treatment 

Johnson faced increasing troubles through the mid-sixties with civil rights and anti-war riots.  He achieved passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, but as crime rates soared, his popularity declined.  Over half a million more military personnel were sent to Vietnam during his presidency, and he was denounced by antiwar elements.  Due to his decline in popularity Johnson ended his bid for another term as president, and he left office in 1969.
One gallery displayed personal memorabilia belonging to the first family, including Johnson's favorite cowboy boots, a fitting article for this often larger-than-life Texan native.


At the Museum Store, I bought my patch to add to my patch collection. The logo for the paper bag holding the patch is, I think, quite fitting, depicting a tall man with his iconic left-handed signature that signed into law so many bills passed during his term in office. 

more pens used to sign legislation

the windows displaying the Johnson archives
with 45 million documents, photographs, video and audio

In the grand hall below the archives, there is a display of portraits of the presidents and their first ladies which I enjoyed. Of interest to me was seeing how the fashions and hairstyles over the years have changed, particularly for women. 

the Washingtons

the Lincolns

the Wilsons

the Coolidges, during the Flapper era

the Eisenhowers

the Kennedys

the Johnsons

the Reagans

We also enjoyed an exhibit of ambassador Madeleine Albright's pins that she chose to visually convey a particular foreign policy message at her meetings, whether it was her high hopes, determination, impatience or warm wishes. The carefully selected brooches became her diplomatic signature. 
Albright wore this pin with her meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Ivanov. The explanation is that Vladimir Putin confided to Bill Clinton that Russian diplomats routinely checked to see which brooch Albright was wearing. On the first day of difficult discussions involving nuclear arms, Ivanov looked at her arrow-like pin for the day and inquired, "Is that one of your interceptor missiles?" to which she replied, "Yes, and as you can see, we know how to make them very small. So you'd better be ready to negotiate."

Other brooches were a serpent worn after being called "an unparalleled serpent" by Sadam Hussein:

And this one of Atlas with the world on his shoulders, representing the weight of the world on Albright's shoulders during difficult negotiations:

After leaving the Library and Museum, we drove through downtown Austin, impressed with the city that looked clean and prosperous, with its modern buildings. The Capitol, unlike others we have seen, is not white but coral. 

In the spirit of Christmas, I got a chuckle at this display along one of the roads with its Merry Minion message!

We spent a Merry Christmas with the family, ate far too much and enjoyed our time together. Tomorrow we will be heading further east to Fredericksburg, to return to the Nimitz Museum and also visit the Johnson Ranch which is close by.

Texas: Escapees Headquarters and the Bush Presidential Library

Our next plans were to begin making our way back west, stopping at several points of interest along the way. The first stop was at the Escapees Headquarters in Livingston, Texas, after which we planned to continue to College Station, Texas to tour the George H.W Bush Presidential Library. 
We left Biloxi, Mississippi under heavy skies that opened up after an hour of driving, coming down in buckets. With the low visibility, traffic slowed down to a crawl. The rain pretty much followed us along most of the route that took us west and back through Louisiana along I-10, connecting to I-12 around the north end of Lake Pontchartrain, then back to I-10. 

The rain eventually stopped, we continued through areas of patchy fog, and as we drove across the elevated highways we glimpsed mysterious lagoons, bayous and fog-swirling swamps on either side of the highway. 

elevated highway across Louisiana's Mississippi delta

Tupelo swamps

We spent the night in Duson, Louisiana, just west of Lafayette, at Frog City RV Park. We didn't hear any frogs but the owners obviously are passionate about frogs, which adorned the park in variously shaped ornaments, wall hangings, and statues. The rows were also variations of frog terms and names. 

It was warm and muggy when we arrived at the RV Park. That evening we joined the ice-cream social in the clubhouse, met and chatted with several folks from different states heading to warmer snowbird destinations for the winter. 

Next morning we filled up at the Shell station next door, and headed out on the 191-mile journey to Livingston, Texas. The road was particularly bumpy again today in places and we rattled and shuddered along, hearing all sorts of new noises inside and outside the coach. 

rest stop welcome center as you cross into Texas

Crossing into Texas we found ourselves back on FM-roads (Farm to Market). The drive along FM 1293 could have been through Washington State with the evergreen trees, low grey skies overhead, and occasional sprinkles. Except for the fact that this is mid-December and it's warm enough for short sleeves. There is evidence of lumber industry here too. We passed several trucks hauling tree trunks to mills, although the trees here are a smaller variety than the Washington tall cedars. 

Texas FM road signs with their distinctive state outline

drippy grey skies and forest lined roads - this could be WA State, with shorter trees

lumber trucks and churches

About 20 miles from our destination one of the rattles became more persistent and intense. It appeared to be coming from the front air-conditioner, and knowing that the Mazoccos lost their air-conditioner cover while we were all convoying to New Braunfels, we stopped at the first convenient spot. These FM roads are 2-lane roads with no shoulder but thankfully there was a gas station along one of them, and plenty of space to pull in. Michael pulled out the ladder and climbed on the roof. One of the screws on our cover had come loose and after he tightened it we were off again to our destination at the Escapees Rainbows End RV Park.

This is a park where some folks come to spend winters in their RVs, others live here permanently in their RVs or own homes on the property, and still others end their days at the Escapees Care Center located here. This is also the headquarters of the Escapees organization and the location of their mail service. It has worked very well for us since going full-time, and whenever our mail arrives in Livingston, they scan the envelopes and send us an email, then forward what we want to whichever RV park we are staying in. This morning we took a tour through the mailing facility which is quite impressive. The facility is huge and well organized considering they process hundreds of packages and letters daily. 

Like most of the snowbird RV Parks, this Rainbows End also has a large community hall, a swimming pool, and an agenda with dozens of different weekly activities and clubs. I noticed line dancing on the list and promptly joined the group the next morning. It's the first time I experienced a male teacher for a change.

The weather forecast rain overnight, but what we did not expect was the wild thunder and lightning storm that awoke us after midnight. The lightening flashes were so bright they were blinding and thunder claps so loud that the coach actually shuddered. It must have been striking close by because the flash and thunder clap occurred almost at the same instant.  The rain came pelting down in a deluge and then just as suddenly as the storm rolled in, it was over about an hour later.  

The next morning, we continued west for another 100 miles along the smaller FM roads to College Station, Texas. Along the route we passed numerous ranches, Livestock Exchanges, several deer processing and taxidermy businesses, and dozens of Baptist churches. There were other non-denominational churches too with names like New Beginnings, Christian Faith Church, and the ones I liked best: Fellowship of Believers and Real Church for Real People. There was even a church for bikers, which I suspect was for motor bikers. No matter the size of the community we passed, there was always at least one church and typically more. One small town looked almost abandoned with its few main buildings along the main road boarded up. Yet at the other end was a large brick church that appeared to still have an active congregation. God is everywhere in Texas country,as are reminders on placards in front yards of homes that "Jesus is the reason for the season" with Christmas approaching. 

We arrived at Karsten's RV Resort around 1PM, and set up. The next day we toured the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum located on the Texas A&M sprawling university campus.  The impressive grounds of the presidential library include a convention venue and the Bush School. 

having a fireside chat with the 41st President

Visiting Presidential Libraries has now become a new theme in our travels so if there is one somewhere close to our route, we make sure to stop for a tour. As we have found, in a one location visit you get an excellent overview of the president as a leader and also as a person. I enjoy learning about each president's family life and personal life-experiences which ultimately shaped and influenced his life decisions and interest in politics. Likewise I appreciate the compact presentation on the issues both at home and abroad that each president dealt with during his time in office. Leading any nation is a daunting undertaking, and understanding the unique and unpredictable issues that each president faced is an enlightening experience. 

At the George H.W. Bush library we started our tour with a movie that gave a good overview of Bush's life and career culminating with his presidency. Then we went through the various galleries which were organized along a time line of his family life, his military service, education and achievements, and years in politics. 

Since arriving in the US, I have seen 9 presidents in office including Bush senior, our 41st president who was in office from 1989 to 1993. 
There is detailed information about him here: George H.W.Bush
But in a nutshell, Bush accumulated quite a resume: served in WWII, married Barbara, graduated from Yale with an economics degree, started a family while studying, lost a 3- year-old daughter to leukemia, went to Texas in search of his own fortune, worked hard, made money in oil, became interested in politics, ran on a republican ticket and won in a then democratic state, became a congressman, was UN ambassador, ambassador to China, became a senator, head of CIA, vice president then president. As president he faced domestic economic problems with a large deficit and increasing unemployment, and foreign policy matters with Panama, the end of the Cold War, dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the Gulf War to expel Iraq from Kuwait.

I left with an impression of a good, kind man whose focus in life was always on service. 
One of the presentations showed how, as a young boy, once when Bush came home excited that he had scored 3 goals in the game, his mother replied, "That’s nice but how did the team do?" He was always taught not to focus on "I" but to rather focus on the "you," a quality infused from the time he was young. He was athletic, showed leadership potential as a young man at school, was church going, family oriented, and the type of personality who gets on with everyone and makes it a point to be a gentleman always. 
One personal quote of his is: I learned what it was to take risks, and how to start over when you failed.
It's telling of the man he became. 

I was drawn to this display of Barbara Bush's handiwork. The explanation is that Mrs. Bush began doing needlework to keep from being bored when she listened to her husband giving the same speech a hundred times! She created the purses to support her husband's  political campaigns. In the photo here the upper purse shows scenes of Washington DC, and the one below is from his US senate campaign in 1970. Needlepoint was an outlet for Mrs Bush that I can well relate to! 

Both Bushes are still alive and still remain involved with the library, attending some of the events hosted there. They also have an apartment on the campus although stay there less often now. We strolled down to the pond and Barbara's rose garden, then wandered over to see the family burial plot which is prepared for when that inevitable time arrives. Their young daughter is buried there. 
There was also a gallery displaying the history of ranching. Here we learned about the cattle drive trails from Texas to markets in the north. A typical drive of 3,500 head of cattle might require 18 cowboys, a diverse mix including Anglos, Hispanics, and newly emancipated African Americans. A cook and his chuck wagon, and a horse wrangler who was responsible for the herd of horses for the cowboys to use, were also part of the crew. 

cowboy with longhorn cattle

the chuck wagon 

I found the barbed wire collection quite fascinating. There were 275 pieces of different barbed wire on display, each with its unique twist and pattern. 
Once the western US transformed from open range to controlled use of land by the end of the 19th century, fencing in one's property became important.  Because the western plains had no natural materials to build fences, barbed wire was adopted as a cheap, effective fencing material for homesteaders to control livestock and mark property boundaries. Approximately 450 patents were issued for barbed wire, and over 2,000(!) varieties of designs of barbed wire have been found. The collections here were assembled by a soil scientist working for the USDA Soil Conservation Service, who spent many days crossing ranches and properties as part of his duties. 

Located outside the library is this striking monument. Created by Veryl Goodnight, it's a depiction of the day the Berlin Wall came down, the horses representing the freedom of the human spirit. I find it perfectly fitting for this part of the country with its cowboys, numerous horse ranches, and wide open spaces.

the Monument to Freedom in front of the Library