WURSTFEST OR THE CELEBRATION OF THE SAUSAGE

Friday, November 5 – We headed to Austin, TX this morning. On the way are two outlet malls we stopped at to stroll among the stores. The people sure seemed to be out shopping, not sure if they're buying, but the parking lot was FULL. Marsha found a couple of bargains she couldn’t pass up.

In Austin, we headed to the University of Texas. We visited the stadium....Home of the Texas Longhorns....Hook 'em Horns! We could only get in the outer area of the stadium....shucks! They aren’t playing so hot this year and Saturday was no exception.








Then we tried to drive through campus but it is pretty well secured. Remnants of 911 or the shootings at various Universities I suspect. Without proper passes you can't really drive onto campus. There sure were a lot of kids heading to and from classes. University of Texas is one of the nation's largest college campuses with over 48,000 students.

We then headed to East 6^th Street. On the National Register of Historic Places, Sixth Street is Austin's famous nightlife destinations with nearly 50 clubs and live music venues. Everything from jazz and reggae to country and rock. Of course it was in the middle of the afternoon, so things haven't started “swinging” yet. Unfortunately, we are a 45 minute drive away from home and don't want to risk partying the night away. I guess it will have to wait until our “next youth.”







Saturday, November 6 - We are meeting Jay & Betty Crane at the German Wurstfest Celebration today. The beautiful Comal River runs right through the park where the festival is held.





Since 1961, people have come to the Wurstfest (or Sausage Festival) to sample tasty sausage, pretzels, potato pancakes, and other German/Texas treats served up by fun-loving folks. Some come to polka and waltz to non-stop oompah music performed by more than forty entertainment groups.





Others come to visit with friendly Texans dressed in lederhosen and dirndls as a tribute to the rich German heritage of the community.







Marsha wanted to wear her outfit but was glad she didn’t. Her outfit looks exactly like this lady’s…LOL



Everyone comes to Wurstfest for Gemutlichkeit....fun and fellowship German style!

The Big Tent



Wurstfest always begins on the Friday before the first Monday in November, this year, that's October 29. The festivities continue through November 7.
Had a great time with Jay & Betty.



Really enjoyed the Polka music and the Country music. We had some German Beer and some sausage and some potato soup.....hmmmmm!
Where all the food is!



One of the big items was HATS! Crazy hats, German style hats, Sausage hats, beer hats, and a few cowboy hats.









To see more of these crazy hats, please click here.

They even sang beer songs about loving their hats....ha ha!



To see more pictures of the Wurstfest, please click here.

We'll be seeing Jay and Betty this winter in the Rio Grande Valley and maybe even next week in Rockport, TX.....that's our next destination.

Sunday, November 6 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!! Today is Marsha's dad's birthday. If you ever see or saw a picture on this blog, you would never be able to guess his age. Paul hopes he is in such good shape when he is Fred's age.

We went to church this morning and spent the rest of the day RESTING. We talked with Carrie and Kelly, both our doing super. Nice relaxing day. Marsha talked with her dad twice to see how his birthday day went. He said great.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya’ll again real soon. Have a great day!

TEXAS HILL COUNTRY…NEW BRAUNFELS AND GURENE

Wednesday, November 3 – A windy day with a little rain today. We just hung out at the MH today. Don and Kathy Zaleski arrived in the park around 4:30 pm, just in time for happy hour. We met them when we were at Red Bay and kept in touch via email. We visited for several hours, then decided to head downtown for a German dinner. We found a real neat little German Restaurant with authentic German cuisine and even a German waitress....der LindenBaum, "The Linden Tree". We had a really nice meal and wonderful company. Don even spoke a little German with the waitress and recommended a couple good German beers for Paul.

Cathy, our sweet waitress, Don

Don, Cathy, Marsha and Paul

Marsha had Gulaschusuppe…spicy stewed beef with herb noodles. Everyone voted this the best of all our choices. YUMMMMMM!

Paul had Buergermeister…sausage sampler with German potato salad and sauerkraut. We use to make our own sauerkraut but it didn’t taste nearly as good as this.

Thanks for stopping by Cathy and Don. We had a great time.

Thursday, November 4 – We moved the MH from Fredericksburg to New Braunfels. The history of the City of New Braunfels is based on the migration of German merchants, tradesman, and farmers moving to the area under the direction and leadership of Prince Solms.  They came searching for economic opportunities, the opportunity to own land, and more personal freedom.

We are now located near I-35, almost midway between San Antonio and Austin. We are at Hill Country RV Resort in New Braunfels. We are in Site 287…no I mean 290…no wait 291. Yea 291. The first site had some one in it...back to the office. We moved to the next site…guess what…some one was in it…back to the office. FINALLY, Site 291…no one was in it. The sites are tight.

There are lots of nice amenities to this park…2 indoor, heated swimming pools and hot tubs. sauna, snack store, individual shower rooms, pool table, fitness room, etc.

They take PPA which is wonderful! We would really like this park if the sites weren’t so close.

We are here to see some sights in Austin and to attend the German Wurstfest 50^th year celebration in New Braunfels.

We went to historic Gruene (pronounced Green) this afternoon. German farmers became the first settlers of what is now known as Gruene, Texas. Ernst Gruene, a German immigrant, and his bride Antoinette, had reached the newly established city of New Braunfels in 1845, but acreage was scarce. Thus, Ernst and his two sons purchased land just down river, and Ernst built the first home in Gruene in early fachwerk style. His second son, Henry D. Gruene, built his home (now Gruene Mansion Inn) and planted his surrounding land with cotton. Having become the number one cash crop, the cotton business soon brought 20 to 30 families to Henry D.'s lands.

This is another quaint little town of shops, restaurants and honky tonks.

Gruene Mansion Inn

Gruene General Store ranks as one of the top 40 places to visit in Texas.

 

TONS of stuff!

The Gruene Antique Co. The building was built in 1903 by Henry D. Gruene as a place where tenant farmers could buy their wares and do business on the weekends. We enjoyed this store. Much more than antiques…which we don’t buy.

That is Paul looking at some cowboy boots. Should he or shouldn’t he?

Speaking of honky tonks....Merle Haggard is playing tonight at Gruene Hall. It's sold out...tickets were $69.50. Tomorrow is also sold out with Lyle Lovett appearing. Tickets of his performance were $95.

It is HUGE!

One of Merle Haggard’s equipment buses. They arrived while we were there.

Man has it been WINDY in Texas Hill Country the last three days. What's with the wind??? Luckily, it didn't blow while we were on the road this morning. Still nice weather....70's-80's during the day and 50's at night, but we don't like the gusty wind.

Another wonderful day to be alive.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya’ll real soon. Have a great day.

TEXAS HILL COUNTRY…LBJ STATE PARK AND HISTORIC SITE

Tuesday, November 2 – We headed out to Stonewall, TX to explore the LBJ National Park. This was a very nice adventure. Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park tells the story of our 36th President beginning with his ancestors until his final resting place on his beloved LBJ Ranch. There are two distinct visitor areas.

---In Johnson City you will find
• The National Park Visitor Center • The Boyhood Home in which President Johnson spent his childhood • The Johnson Settlement where the President’s grandparents first
settled in the 1860s.

---Stonewall, Texas you will find
• a second visitor center for the LBJ Ranch •Sauer-Beckmann Living History Ranch •Junction School •LBJ Birthplace •Johnson Family Cemetery •Sam Ealy Johnson, Sr. Farmhouse •Texas White House. This is the one we visited.]

We began at the Visitor’s Center which had many articles from the Johnson era. This was President’s Johnson favorite saddle, boots and hat.

They provided you with a CD that you can play as you do the driving tour. It was very good in describing what we were seeing and what was at each stop.

Part of the Pedernales River that runs through the Ranch.

Junction School is where four-year-old Lyndon B. Johnson learned to read. It is a one-room school. This is where he signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

We had to take pictures through the windows.

We noticed that education has made the “circle”. Here the children used individual chalk boards to work on problems, in our schools today the children use erasable lap boards.

Today’s chalk board.

Next was the re-constructed home where he was born on August 27, 1908. The first child of Sam and Rebekah Johnson, he was born at this site and named “Lyndon Baines.” The house was rebuilt by the President in 1964 to be used as a guest house.

Doors locked..pictures through the windows.

Can you picture the President using this? Not a pretty picture.

Generations of Johnsons are buried in the Johnson Family Cemetery family plot where the 36^th President was laid to rest on January 25, 1973, at age of 64, just a little over four years after leaving the White House.

His head stone has the U.S. Presidential seal. Lady Bird is next to him.

 

Sam Ealy Johnson, Sr. Farmhouse was the next stop. Sam Sr. and Eliza, the President's grandparents, whose first home had been in what is now called the Johnson Settlement in Johnson City, lived out their lives in the modest farmhouse.

This is a working farm, so the herd of Registered Herefords roam freely along the roadway. This is a valuable herd of over 1000 cattle. Of course the large, 2000 acre ranch, is a very valuable piece of real estate. The Johnsons donated 600 acres to The National Park Service for the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park and daughter Lucy and husband Patrick Nugent, a lawyer in Austin, remain owners of the ranch. They frequently land at the air strip and stay in one of the guest homes on the ranch.

The cattle on the LBJ Ranch are descended from the same bloodline as the herd that Lyndon Johnson owned. They look more like 1960s Hereford cattle and so they can be called "history on the hoof."

We think this one was thinking…”Who you looking at chump?”

Notice the registered Trademark on the horns.

The Texas White House. In 1951, Senator Johnson purchased the “Big House” and 250 acres of land.

The original century-old rock farmhouse was greatly enlarged over the years. This is LBJ's Ranch, that he stayed at 25% of the time he was in the White House. He was the first President to establish a working office away from the White House. The ranch is made up of over 2000 acres owned by the Johnsons and another 9000 acres he leased. We didn’t think it was the most beautiful house. No pictures were permitted inside.

The Ranch House is over 7500 square feet. Not a mansion, but a large ranch home. He has a down-home feel to it. It has all of the furnishing used during the Johnson White House years. It sets along the Pedernales River in a grove of Old Oak Trees. A beautiful setting that must have been very impressive for visitors to the Texas White House. President Kennedy, Nixon, Vice-President Humphrey and many other notable statesmen sat on the front porch and enjoyed the view.

President and Mrs. Johnson gave their home, known as the "Texas White House," to the American people in 1972, establishing a life estate for themselves.

Johnson was the first Vice president to have an aircraft assigned to him. The Ranch also contains a 6400 foot runway for landing Air Force One. Actually, the 707 that served as Air Force One during the 1960's, landed at Austin, TX and then LBJ took a smaller 4-engine jet to the ranch. A Lockheed JetStar VC-140 was called Air Force One when President Johnson was aboard. He affectionately called in Air Force One Half. This jet is now permanently parked at the ranch. The runway is restricted for family use only!

Many of Johnson's favorite automobiles are parked in the out buildings on the property.

His favorite the Presidential All-Terrain Vehicle

1962 Amphicar which was German built.

There were many others included in the showcase.

The Show Barn was built for the care and training of cattle. It continues to serve as the center of present day ranching operations.

The Wash Rack…this pictures is for Marsha’s dad. He grew up on a farm and knows all about the first step to grooming a show animal…a good bath.

With the next election coming up in 2012, do either of these people look at a potential candidate?

Whoa…that second one better either grow a few inches or get a wooden box to stand up. Maybe she is sitting down…NAAAAAAH!  Another talking head..ha ha!

We really enjoy this tour and would recommend it to anyone exploring Texas Hill Country.

Thanks for visiting. Hope to see ya’ll back real soon. Have a great day!