HEY, Y’ALL – IT’S AN ECLIPSE!

We spent a week in Texas centered around the total solar eclipse on April 8^th. Our first day began in Fort Worth with a tour of the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. No phones or cameras are allowed anywhere on the premises so we don’t have any photos to share. I enjoyed the quaint downtown area of Fort Worth.

The huge shiny silver cowboy hat was a centerpiece of Fort Worth's Sundance Square. This time of year the flowers are blooming everywhere in Texas.

The Will Rogers Memorial Center hosts numerous events. We stumbled onto a cutting horse event and a dance competition in two of the buildings.

Walking around Fort Worth we stopped at Riscky's Barbecue restaurant for lunch not realizing it is a popular institution with several locations in Fort Worth. It was founded by Polish immigrants in 1927. The food was great and the decor was lots of fun.

I particularly liked the cowboy boots lined up above a window in the restaurant.

One of my favorite places in Fort Worth was the historic Fort Worth Stockyards. It was packed with tourists but was still a fun place to visit. I fell in love with a burgundy top with blue feathers and conchos decorating the front that I found on the clearance rack. Yes, I bought it.

The Fort Worth Stockyards embodies the Western heritage of the Texas cattle industry. Now it is a popular tourist attraction with an old west theme.

There is a small herd of Texas longhorns that are on display. A few are even tame enough to be saddled and let visitors sit on them for a $10 photo op.

Twice a day there is a "cattle drive" but that term is used lightly. It consists of 3 or 4 cowboys on horseback that walk several blocks down the street with 10-15 longhorns moseying along,

My favorite cowboy!

Day two was spent sightseeing in downtown Dallas. It is a huge city and Lou did a great job driving in an unfamiliar car in congested traffic. Our first stop was the George W. Bush Presidential Museum and Library on the campus of Southern Methodist University.

The entrance of the George W. Bush Presidential Library. We have visited quite a few Presidential Libraries. Lou is on a mission to visit as many as possible and I go along for the ride. I usually learn a little bit more about our previous presidents during these visits.

George Bush was a huge baseball fan. This is his collection of autographed baseballs including stars from Hank Aaron to Frank Robinson to Willie Mays. Goerge Bush said he never dreamed of being president as a kid but wanted to be Willie Mays when he grew up. 

I was only 13 when President Kennedy was shot and killed in a motorcade in Dallas. I clearly recall being in Home Economics class when the principal brought in a transistor radio to tell us about the assassination. Over the years I've hoped to see Dealey Plaza in person and I did, 60 years later.

The skyline of downtown Dallas with the Reunion Tower on the left. 

The former Texas School Book Depository where Lee Harvey Oswald fired the fatal gun shots that killed John F. Kennedy. The actual window is on the far right side of the sixth floor which is the second floor from the top. It is the only square window on that floor just above the tree.

The Reunion Tower features a 360 degree view from 470 above the ground. Lou loves to go up in anything high so, of course, we spent some time enjoying the views of Dallas.

Somewhere between the two cars on the road is where the president was killed. The "grassy knoll" is on the lower far left corner. There were still numerous tourists visiting the site over 60 years later. In fact we didn't get to go to the Sixth Floor Museum because it was sold out. But seeing the exact location where history took place was good enough for me.

The iconic Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge spans the Trinity River.

A view of downtown Dallas from the Reunion Tower observation deck.

The Dallas Cattle Drive sculpture in Pioneer Plaza is comprised of 49 larger than life cattle and 3 cowboys on horseback. It was pretty impressive.

More of the Cattle Drive Sculptures that cover a 4 acre area. Pioneer Plaza is the second most visited tourist site in Dallas. The first being Dealey Plaza.

This time of year all the Texas wildflowers were in full bloom creating some beautiful landscapes. They covered the sides of highways and the medians between freeways attracted lots of tourists looking to capture the wildflower photo ops.

I rarely have the patience to figure out the names of most flowers we see on our travels. Plus I wouldn't remember them all anyways but I can certainly enjoy their beauty.

These are Texas Bluebonnets that are all over the state this time of year.

Every freeway median is ablaze with color from the wildflowers.

Another lovely flower that I have no idea what it is.

One of Lou’s Bucket List items was to see a total solar eclipse in person. Unfortunately, we were on a cruise during the Oregon solar eclipse in the U.S. in August of 2017. This time we planned a full year ahead to be in the middle of Texas to view the eclipse.

We drove about 80 miles from Austin to Fredericksberg, Texas, to Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park. The town and park were hosting an eclipse viewing party for 1200 cars right in the middle of the longest totality, just over 4 minutes of darkness. We found our spot and backed the car into it. Lou is ready with his glasses to view the sun safely. Everyone loved his shirt.

Lou set up his camera on the tripod with a special filter to black out the sun enough to photograph the eclipse. It was a lot of fun to chat with people who were all here for the event. We all shared an amazing experience together but will never see each other again.

I handheld my camera for these photos as it was closing in on totality. There was a fair amount of overcast but the sun kept emerging to let us enjoy the experience.

Another of my handheld shots.

One of Lou's photos as the eclipse progressed with his filter that blacked out the background.

Total darkness descended quickly about 1:30 PM as the sun was totally blacked out for just over 4 minutes. Just as quickly the light reappeared back to daylight. Everyone hollered and cheered as we shared this experience. I can certainly understand how the ancient people must have thought the world was ending as the sun disappeared into darkness. Immediately the mass exodus of cars began. Fredericksberg did a great job of organizing this event. We didn't encounter any traffic from Austin to the park and only minimal traffic leaving. And it was all free.

But, following the eclipse, the traffic really kicked in. What should have been a 4 hour drive to Corpus Christi turned out to be almost 6 hours before we pulled into our hotel well after dark. First up the next morning was a visit to the USS Lexington aircraft carrier. This is Lou’s thing so I saved my walking for later and read in the car for a couple hours.  

The USS Lexington, a 1920s era aircraft carrier is now a museum for the public to tour. Lou thoroughly enjoyed his time roaming around the ship.

Lou collecting another vile of sand for his collection. Being along the southern coast of Texas he added three more samples to his shelf,

This is called a Laughing Gull. They are the common gulls in the area and look quite different from out California sea gulls.

The waterfront of Corpus Christi where we sat to eat our lunch.

After lunch we did a loop drive of about 50 miles that took us to Aransas Pass where we boarded a car ferry across to Mustang Island, one of the barrier islands that protect the southern shore of Texas. The tacky, little beach town of Port Aransas on Mustang Island made us smile with the kitschy storefronts and decor.

One of the many crazy entrances to a shop or restaurant in Port Aransas.

The Aransas Pass Lighthouse seen across Corpus Christi Bay.

We stopped to view the Aransas Pass Lighthouse and Corpus Christi Bay where we were treated to some pelicans and dolphins cavorting in the water.  

One of several brown pelicans enjoying the afternoon.

This is Lou's photo of three dolphins. They were all over but elusive to get any good photos since you never know when they will surface briefly.

Our last stop today was the Padre Island National Seashore visitor center to relax and enjoy the lovely scenery before heading back to our hotel and Lou’s birthday dinner.

The beautifiul, relaxing view from the Malquite Visitor Center in Padre Island National Seashore.

We scored a couple of rocking chairs to enjoy the shoreline in the above photo. Lou set his camera on the railing and pushed the timer button. Just as it snapped this picture the camera fell off the railing onto the deck. Fortunately, it is a tough camera and still functioned just fine.

Today was Lou's 69th birthday. I found this restaurant on the water that is "a favorite of locals and tourists alike" called Harrison's Landing in Corpus Christi. My pasta alfredo with blackened chicken was delicious. Lou chose the fish and chips.

The next morning we drove 110 miles to Port Isabel, just across the causeway from South Padre Island. Point Isabel Lighthouse is open to climb so, of course, we had to do it. Even though my feet are in bad shape with the neuropathy if I have something to hang on to (usually a railing or Lou) I can manage. The 75 steps to the top were easier than I expected!

The Point Isabel Lighthouse.

Lou climbing the spiral staircase to the top of the lighthouse. 

We made it to the top and were treated to some wonderful views. 

This is the view across the causeway to South Padre Island. That is Pirate's Landing, a restaurant and shopping area on the left with the pier and red buildings. The buildings in the foreground were the lightkeepers house back in the day but is now a museum.

Following the lighthouse we headed to the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center for a fun time taking pictures of some wildlife and lots of gorgeous birds.

The South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center was a special treat. There is a 3/4 mile boardwalk that meanders around the Laguna Madre waterway which attracts lots of different bird species.

The center is home to several alligators as well. This guy was enjoying the sun with his mouth open which helps to regulate their body temperature and breathing. 

We saw several really large tortoises housed at the nature center, too.

The highlights were the birds. There were hundreds of species listed. This is some sort of heron, I think. Again, I doubt I would remember all the herons, egrets, gallinules, etc. that we identified.

Another heron or egret. 

No idea what these are but they were pretty cool.

This guy looks like he is mad at the world.

I especially liked the colors and wispy feathers of this one.

This is a Common Gallinule - we did see the sign with his or her picture.

Another interesting bird that stayed put for my photo op.

These are Roseate Spoonbills. They were really far away and we had to zoom in a lot which made it hard to get any good photos. Plus they were facing away from us. Lou caught this as one of them spread its wings exposing the pink color.

Our farewell dinner was at a place on South Padre Island called Louie's Backyard, so of course, we had to give it a try. Louie took a rest in this big chair.

After dinner we drove to a public beach and enjoyed the seashore for awhile.

Our final day before flying home this evening, we headed south to Brownsville which is only about 25 miles from Harlingen where we were catching our flight. Brownsville is the southernmost town in Texas and right on the Mexican border.

This is part of the Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park. The first battle of the Mexican American War happened in this location in Brownsville.

Our final stop before heading to the airport was the Iwo Jima Memorial in Harlingen. Harlon Block was one of the Marines who hoisted the flag on Mt. Suribachi. He was a native of the Harlingen area and is buried on the premises of the memorial.

This is the original plaster sculpture in Harlingen, Texas, created by Felix de Weldon. The one in Washington D.C. is a bronze cast from the original sculpture. Harlon Block is the Marine in the front on the left of this photo.

Harlon Block's gravesite. He died in battle a few days after raising the flag and was buried on Iwo Jima. His body was later brought back to his hometown of Harlingen.

We had to pull off the road to get a photo of these prickly pear cactus in bloom.

I snapped this photo of some small wildflowers near the prickly pear. It amazes me all the different, unique things that show up in nature.