Happy March, everyone!! (Really? March???)
We packed up this morning and began our drive to our next ‘neighborhood’!


Although our final destination is Trinity, TX (Trinity Pines Conference Center), we have a couple of stops to make along the way. One of our responsibilities as the Eastern TX Reps is to visit ‘our’ projects at least once a year (hopefully in person – if not, then by phone or proxy), so we’re taking the next couple of days to stop at three projects sorta-kinda on the way. (You can check out the map over on the “So Where are we now” page.) But, before we get into those travels, I figured I’d better do a quick recap of our final days at Twin Oaks Ranch. After two months in the greater Austin area, we finally made it to the State Capital.

So that we could get the big picture, we took one of the free tours they offer. Ours was The Women of Texas Tour. It took us through the building and explained the ins and outs of the building’s history, but focused on the women who influenced the settlement and government of Texas. Full disclosure – we only took that tour because it worked best with our time schedule, but we’re glad it worked out that way since it was so interesting. Here are some of the pictures from the Capital Building –

Aside from the terrible time we had finding parking (the Senate and House are both in session, so it’s a pretty happenin’ place right now!), we had a great time. For all of our travels, we have really been remiss at getting into cities (especially state capitals), so I’m trying to remedy that going forward. Since we were already downtown we also checked out the Bullock Texas State History Museum – another must-see in Austin!

One thing you notice about Texas (not just in Austin) is the huge amount of The Lone Star State Pride!

We even took a quick selfie –

And although there is so much more to see in downtown Austin, we chose to check out the SoCo (South Congress) area which is full of eclectic shops and eateries.

We grabbed a bite to eat and made sure that we got at least ONE photo of Flat Stanley enjoying our Monday excursion!

If you look all the way down the road you can see the state capital. The F. Stanley assignment is officially over, but we may just continue to show him the sights. 🙂
So that was our Tourist Finale for February. Note to self – take advantage of Urban Opportunities. There is so much to see and do!!
Yesterday was spent cleaning, doing laundry, and getting organized for a couple of days on the road. But we did have a special treat at the end of the day. Here’s a little back story:
Earlier this month I got a message from a friend who we had been close to many years ago. His precious wife Barbara, a very dear friend of mine, passed away more than 30 years ago and although our life paths went in different directions (we moved and changed churches, he eventually remarried, etc.) we’d stayed in touch through the years and especially more so with the advent of Facebook. (He’s an amazing photographer (http://photographyworksofart.smugmug.com/) and has always been a great encouragement to me with this blog and my photography attempts.) Anywho – Early in the month he sent me this message –
Barbara’s brother lives in Buda. I can give you his contact info. I am sure they would love to meet you. There is a great BBQ place near there.
I figured, why not?, and got the brother’s information (Art had checked with him and he (and his wife) said they would love to meet us.), and then promptly forgot all about it. (That ever happen to you?). With a little nudge from Art, I finally called last weekend, and made plans for dinner last night. It was pretty unusual heading off to someone’s home for dinner when neither of knew them (and didn’t really even know their last name.). But we’re so glad that we went a bit out of our comfort zone to make new friends! It was a beautiful connection, reminding me of the very special friendship I had with Barb those many years ago, and a lovely evening all around!

So next time someone says – “Hey – I have a friend (distant relative, even) in that area that I know would love to meet you” – say – SURE!!!

We’ve made it to our first stop-over (Camp Tejas, Giddings, TX), and will be having our Area Rep visit soon! We worked here 5 years ago, so we’ll enjoy seeing all the changes!

Thanks for coming along!

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