George H.W. Bush Presidential Library (College Station, TX) -- October 2018

 Here's one of things which was pretty close by, but I didn't realize it.  Looking for new things to do outside of Austin, I stumbled upon the fact there was a Presidential Library just a short drive away in College Station.  Whenever you have a chance to visit a Presidential Library (no matter who the Chief Executive was), you should always do so, as these are important caches of our country's history.  Because this was located on the campus of the Texas A&M University, that might've been a reason why I never looked at anything that way, when in reality I just overlooked it.

Like all Presidential Libraries, this has various displays showing the life of our 41st President was when was growing up, and in his formative years.  During his pre-Presidential career, Mr. Bush was a member of Congress, ambassador to the United Nations, and director of the CIA.  Of course, while I'm learning about history I had to have some fun with his podium (which Mum pointed out I was imitating Nixon), and sitting at his Oval Office desk (which was something which can't be done in most other Presidential Libraries).  The replica of his office at Camp David was really nice too, as there was a piece of the Berlin Wall nearby.

One of the major galleries was devoted to the (first) Persian Gulf War.  The flags of all the nations which participated in Desert Shield were present, as well as the Patriot Missile (which became part of everyone's lexicon during that time).  A huge map displayed the history and geography of the events, which culminated in Desert Storm.  That important piece of history was worth the price of admission right there.

Behind the complex was a small pond, with a pathway which took to the opposite side.  This brought you to resting place of the former First Lady and a small child the couple had which died in infancy.  When we visited, there was ample space set aside, as the 41st President would be interred there when he passed.  This was a great way to spend an afternoon, and highly recommended.

Texas Sports Hall of Fame (Waco, TX) -- October 2018

 It's great when you're heading to one location and you discover something else along the way.  After spending the morning checking out the Mayborn Museum (which was just a few blocks away), we spent the afternoon here.  The most interesting part of the Hall of Fame was the museum section which had various displays of Texas athletes.  Many of the displays had jerseys, baseball cards, and other associated memorabilia to give you a sense of the history that you were looking at.

While it was expected to have both college football and NFL players (as represented by Ricky Williams and Troy Aikman, respectively), it also covers other sports athletes.  Some of my favorite ones were Mike Modano (NHL -- Dallas Stars) and Mia Hamm (Soccer).  Some of the treasured pieces of history are a signed hat from Tom Landry, soda with the image of Roger Staubach (NFL -- Dallas Cowboys) on it, and trophies won by George Foreman (Boxing).  This covered not only people who played for Texas teams, but were also from the Lone Star State, like Pittsburgh Steelers legend Mean Joe Greene.  In area there was a display of the all Wheaties boxes any of these athletes had ever graced.

There's also a theatre named after Tom Landry which showed various sports highlights of the athletes represented here.  The sports hall of fame was built in 1951, and Texas was the first state to have such a collection like this.  In addition to the historical aspects, there's also a wing dedicated to various college-level sports from the state, and a banquet hall which hosts gatherings.  It'll take a couple hours to explore this, but it is worth your time to do so.

Mayborn Museum (Waco, TX) -- October 2018

Going to a science museum is always a good bet, and when searching for items outside of the Austin area, this seemed like a good bet to try.  Located on the campus of Baylor University, it was real easy to get to once you exited Interstate 35.  We got there in the morning so we could hit it right as it opened.  Once inside, the directions to the exhibits we were given we a bit off.  The wing we were sent to had a few hands-on things, but it was designed as a daycare center to keep kids occupied as opposed to something which promoted actual learning.  A quick search located the actual real museum at the real of the building, which was thankfully devoid of the screaming kids in the section of the building we'd just come from.

There were a number of interesting fossils presented here, all of which had been located in the region.  Most of these were critters which inhabited the area were from the last glacial period, thus no dinosaurs.  There were a couple displays of remains of marine reptiles from an earlier period when Texas was covered by shallow seas.  Another section had a representation of the limestone caves which are so common in the Central Texas region.  There was some actual cave bits which had been transplanted to here.  While they wouldn't grow any more, you had a good idea of what the real living ones were like.

The crown jewel of the displays was the partially excavated mammoth skeleton, which had only been discovered fairly recently.  Nearby was a life-sized painting of the creature so you could stand next to it, thus getting a sense of the scale of this critter.

In the rear of the building were a few buildings from the pioneering days to make up a historical village.  Most of these you could go inside and look at the various artifacts of the time period.  The school house had a date of 1897 written on the chalk board to give you an idea of when that time period was.  Most of the structures now had extensions to the existing porches to make them handicap accessible, but you still got the idea of what these buildings looked like when they were actually used.  This museum was a good place to spend a couple hours on a weekend afternoon.