La Salle Park and Lafreniere Park (Metairie, LA) -- November 2019

 We’d come to Metairie to visit some of Lauren’s friends.  It was just after dark when we arrived at Lynn’s place, so we didn’t get a good view of the area until the next day.  The one of the “main drags” of the city was Veteran’s Blvd, where all the commercial places were (Outback, Barnes & Noble, and such).  We were staying a few streets south at a place just off of Airline Drive, which was much more residential (with the businesses which support it).  Just a short distance down the road from Lynn’s place was La Salle Park, where we made sure to take Milo for walks in the morning.  It was a nice grassy and shady metropolitan park, which had the Jefferson Performing Arts Center nearby, as well as the Ochsner Sports Center (which was the training camp for the New Orleans Saints).

 I was being sociable, and Lynn was setting the agenda, we didn’t explore as many of the places I would’ve liked to.  The intent was we’d come back frequently and check out other parts of the city.  During lunch time I would get and drive around to try some of the local establishments.  One place I enjoyed and hit twice was Lee’s Hamburgers on Metairie Drive a short distance east of where we were staying (close to Codifer Blvd).  I enjoyed the authentic atmosphere there, as opposed to the one to the west of Lynn’s place (which felt kind of “corporate”).  Also, I was amused at a particular street sign I had to drive past to get to the location I liked.

 Also while we were there, checked out Lafreniere Park, which was close to Veteran’s Blvd.  This was a larger park with more development.  In addition to a performance stage and a large pond network, we noticed the park was filled little habitats constructed for the stray cat population to give them some shelter and feeders for dry food.  Interesting that how Austin prides itself on being “animal friendly” won’t do something like this.

 Anyone whose been to Metairie please don’t shoot me for what I’m about to say.  The section of Airline Drive down by Lynn’s place reminded me a lot of Sunset Beach (which I dove through frequently when I went to California for work).  Just substitute Airline Drive for Pacific Coast Highway, and to the south was ocean one block away as opposed to the Gulf a few miles away.  It evoked the same feelings I had there (I liked Sunset Beach), so Metairie felt very comfortable and familiar to me, even though I’d never been there before.  Yeah, you’ll never see evacuation signs on the Pacific Coast, but it just added to my enjoyment of the area.  I look forward to going back and experiencing more of what this place has to offer.

 

Deer Park Rest Stop (Deer Park, TX) -- November 2019

 East of Houston on Interstate 10 is a nice little woodsy rest-stop.  It’s marked as “Deer Park” on the map, although the actual city which bears that name is a little to the south.  This simply might be the northern edge of the district.  The rest-stop building has a few historical displays (including a period map of the area), and a replica of the San Jacinto Monument.  That bit of history was a nice find.  The main reason we were there was the many shady walking trails about the area.  Many of the trails are raised, so it could be used if the weather had been poor.  It was a good place to let the dog out for a stroll during the long car trip, and to have a nice picnic lunch.

Two Holiday Scenes (Austin, TX) -- December 2019

 My paralegal association had a holiday party in downtown Austin at location (on West 16th Street) which was owned by one of the local attorneys.  Initially the party stayed on the first floor, so I was able to get some pictures of the upper levels.  The décor still remains that Victorian-era from when the house was first constructed, and other than the well-camouflaged modern conveniences, you’d think you were still within that time.  The various rooms are now offices, but it still retains that charming look.  There was a small apartment over the carriage house next door which was actually available for rental, although the décor was completely modern.  It was still a nice chance to get to go inside one of these historic homes.

 During the holiday period, we drove around looking for decorations.  Many people (overheard at work, or in stores) commented they weren’t going to place up decorations because they were unhappy with the current Chief Executive.  Not sure what one had to do with the other, but if someone was going to make a statement like that to begin showed a complete lack of logic.  Even the Holiday House in Round Rock had hardly anything out.  There were a few instances of minor accent lights or a few inflatables, but the display which was the most interesting was the line of Snoopy’s.  Each one was made from a couple milk jugs connected together, and illuminated from the inside.

Halloween House and Random Locations (Round Rock, TX) -- October 2019

 Sometimes as you go around the areas near where you live you’ll see some interesting sights.  One of the mornings before a race, I was able to snap a picture of a sunrise.  I actually think I was in Cedar Park when I took this picture.

 

Every October in Round Rock, there’s a residence on Woodland Lane which sets up an awesome Halloween display.  Known as the “Halloween House,” there’s a mix of decorations which were created by the owners, as well as some inflatable items.  I much prefer the hand-created decorations, because they could have some fun with the graveyard.  And then no Halloween display would be complete without the Peanuts gang awaiting the Great Pumpkin.

 And to end this section out, while I was on the way to Old Settler’s Park to do a race, I happened to notice a hot-air balloon in the sky.  Rarely one rises up, and it was a nice surprise to see.  And then I had to take a nice picture of the park near the Lakeview Pavilion where the race was getting ready to launch from.

Bastrop County Historical Society Museum (Bastrop, TX) -- October 2018

 I freely admit to overlooking this.  When I first arrived in the Austin area, Bastrop was described to me as a "small town which didn't have anything interesting."  And since my travels around rarely took me in the vicinity of this, I was never near enough to take a peek.  Plus there had been a number of places which I did visit which fell under the description of "small town which didn't have anything interesting."  Even during the fire of 2011 my understanding there wasn't much there.  Well, it look me long enough I eventually did make my way there to give it a once over.

It had been a "small town," but there had been a lot of economic growth in the area.  The downtown area had a number Victorian style historical buildings, so a driving tour to see them all was certainly worthwhile.  But hidden away on Main Street was the small museum put on by the Bastrop County Historical Society, which provided a lot of local history.

The thing which caught our attention first was the display of the Bastrop Fire Department.  The tower used to dry the hoses was pretty interesting.  The museum has a number of small displays from the founding of the town to the community's involvement in World War II.  Of course, there's also a section about the fire of 2011.  In total, it took about an hour or so to go through all the exhibits.  The people in the museum were quite friendly, and enjoyed answering questions.

More information can be found at:  https://www.bastropcountyhistoricalsociety.com/