Monday, September 5, 2011

To Austin and Back


I returned home last night from a week in Texas where Rachel, her kids and I visited with "my cousins" as Elijah happily called them. A happy time was had by all! 

We had no idea about the wildfires burning around Austin until we arrived home last night. The fires have been sparked by the horrible drought conditions in Texas this summer and high winds which were a result of tropical depression Lee in the Gulf of Mexico. The temperature, when we arrived there Sunday before last, was 112 F. It felt like you opened the door on a hot oven outside. We drove home yesterday along the upper edge of Lee. I think we made it through Jackson MS just before their deluge of rain began. The rain reached us here in mid Alabama overnight and it has been raining continuously all day. Too bad this storm didn't head toward south Texas. They would welcome all the rain with open arms.

Here are a few of the things Rachel and I saw the afternoon we drove around downtown Austin site-seeing.

Looking up Congress Ave. towards the state capitol. 

 
 You can tell how old this area is by the size of the trees. Most trees don't seem to grow this tall there.

 Also, the area right around town is hilly. Most of the rest of the city is flat by this Alabamian's standards. 

 I wish I could give you the history behind these beautiful houses, but I can't. Sorry.

These painted cows were placed all around town. Each must have been done by a different artist.

One of the highlights of our trip was the night we went to a production of the Wizard of Oz in Georgetown in an old art deco style movie theater. The acting and costumes were great. Both the children and the adults loved it!

As fun as it is to get away and visit with family, I have to say like Dorothy....There's no place like home!

7 comments:

  1. Those certainly are big and beautiful homes in Texas! Hope the weather there improves. It's a breezy 63 degrees here today, definitely an improvement over what it's been.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a sweet group of kids! Don't you love being able to call them yours? :) Sounds like you had a lot of fun!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a wonderful trip to see your Texas crew! Your grand children are all so pretty/handsome.

    A friend of mine recently visited Austin and raved about how beautiful it is. I hope Texas gets its much needed rain very soon!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Its always nice to get away and even nicer to get home .. here in NYC a number of years ago we had the Cow Parade here .. each cow painted by a different person/artist with a theme and then they were auctioned off to various corporations .. money went to charity/worthwhile cause(s).. some still are on display .. in New Orleans they had painted fish and in Gainesvile,FL they have horses .. Google Cow Parade and find out more!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love all your images, how beuatiful! But the first is so cute with all the kids together.;)
    I wish we woudl have some of that heat (without the fires). Our summer has been a total washout.
    Glad you had a great stay with your family.;))
    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  6. I loved your pictures of Austin. Beautiful! I’m like yourself - I would love to know the backgrounds of the homes. You can almost imagine a Ball on any given Saturday night.
    Love your site.

    cindy
    treasuresinmyheart.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. I look forward to traveling the USA too see all the wonderful places my blog friends share about. And this is no exception! The children are growing up so fast, wow! Darling!

    ReplyDelete

I'm glad you stopped by and I look forward to your comments. As Dr. Fraser Crane would say, "Hello, I'm listening."