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Before the LBJ Library, we lunched in the adjacent LBJ School of Public Affairs
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The Library and Museum was completely remodeled in 2012.
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Lots of pictures - this one's of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
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They had an animatronic LBJ telling jokes . . .
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And lots of reproductions of correspondence . . .
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The timeline displays put everything in perspective
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That's the library portion of the museum - 4 floors filled with documents. Impressive . . .
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LBJ and Lady Bird, as President and when he was a congressman
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LBS insisted the museum depect his life "warts and all", but we saw very few displayed warts
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Johnson was known for his negotiating stance, which he parodied here . . .
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The Oval Office is 7/8 scale, and replicates the way it was for Johnson
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Next to the Oval Office replica, Lady Bird's actual office, which she used for many years
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Some Lady Bird memorabilia, including several keys to cities.
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Bob Hope and Eddie Cantor entertain LBJ with a little soft shoe
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After retiring, LBJ bought a Lincoln limo outfitted to Secret Service specs for more formal occasions
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The statue is slightly larger than life. Judy is too, but in a different way
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Most everything associated with Johnson's Texas life is now in some kind of a park
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LBJ's boyhood home in Johnson City TX, where he lived until he went to college
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That small building way out there is the outhouse. The indoor bathroom had a bath, but no toilet.
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Thru high school, LBJ shared a standard single bed with a younger brother. Nobody knows how they fit
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The entrance to our RV park in Fredericksburg . . the trees are just starting to bud out
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There are only about 300 of these Dutch belted cattle in the world.
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We saw about 30 of them around Lynchburg. Texas ranchers are trying to re-establish the breed
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Another park and more LBJ history. This is the LBJ Ranch
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LBJ and Lady Bird and lots of other Johnsons are buried in the family cemetery.
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Across the river from the ranch, a Lutheran Church frequented by the Johnson family
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Lots of spectacular live oak trees about provide summer shade
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That's the home where LBJ was born, or as his mother said, where "LBJ discovered Texas".
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It's a modest five room farm house.
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We thought we spotted pronghorns, but these are gazelles. Lots of ranches have exotic animals
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LBJ sepnt about 25% of his presidency at the ranch, and this jet dubbed "Air Force 1/2" made ihe commute possible
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The chuck wagon was used whenever there was a cookout, and there were lots of cookouts
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The original part of the house is that brick section in the center, built in 1890. All the rest was added as the family grew and prospered
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Daughter Luci received this '65 Vette for her 18th birthday. She still drives it sometimes
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The ranch didn't have a guest book - visitors signed in wet concrete. These are the original Murcury 7 astronauts
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We spotted many world and political leaders in the displayed stones
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Building 1416 was the secret service headquarters. Note the powerful tv camera on the roof . . .
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The ranch house grew to 8500sq ft. The big oak out front was the "Cabinet Oak", and many meetings were held under it
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LBJ loved cars. This was his hunting car, a '34 Ford outfitted with gun racks and a full bar
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LBJ got a new white Lincoln convertible every year, and drove them around the ranch.
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Mint 1910 Model T, presented by Henry Ford II, similar to the Johnson family car when LBJ was growing up
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LBJ would often pretend to lose control of the amphibious Amphicar and go splashing with unsuspecting guests into a pond or river.
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He was proud of the award winning Hereford cattle. Herefords are still herded on the ranch today.
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How can you not like that? LBJ and his dog "Him" impress a grandkid . . .
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Now at Columbus TX, where these deer roamed the RV park.
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The Colorado County TX Courthouse is being renovated. It's a spectacular building
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The town's original water tower is now a Daughters of the Confederacy museum
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One of the oldest commercial buildings in Columbus, this was built from locally-manufactured bricks
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The town is justifiably proud of the Stafford Opera House, built in 1886 and still used for civic events
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Most of the "old" residential buildings in Columbus were built in the 1860's
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Many were restored in the 1980s
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And many remain in use today - this one's a Bed and Breakfast
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Oldest structure in Columbus, dating to 1836. It's a two-room cabin now used as a museum
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We like whimsey . . .
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That's the third largest live oak tree in Texas, about 400 years old.
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There are reasons to drive slowly through the RV park . . .
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We like Nancy's Steak House. Their fried onion straws are to die for. Maybe from . . .
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The state park encompasses most of the territory where Texas declared independence in 1836
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Independence Hall wasn't finished when the convention was held, and was barely big enough for the gathering
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The building was reconstructed to as close to original as possible.
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A nearby museum tells the story of how Texas became first a country, then a state.
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The painting depicts the gathering, with the more identifiable figures in the foreground
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The museum has some delightful murals
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The representations of early villages were well done
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The Bluebonnet is the Texas State Flower. Everywhere else, it's a blue lupin.
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This statue is of George Childress, principal author of the Texas Declaration of Independence
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We'll end on this delightful rainbow one evening at the Lake Conroe RV Park.