THE ENTIRE TOWN SMELLS LIKE BBQ

(MARCH 21, 2018) Last night I stayed North of Austin in Round Rock, actually the address is Pflugerville. I spent the day yesterday in Austin and made my way back a few miles north of Downtown and spent the night. During the Night I was woke up several time by sirens screaming by on the highway adjacent to my hotel.

When I finally got out of bed and turned on the news I found out what all the reason for all the sirens. The Austin Bomber had been located and killed only about a mile and a half away from my hotel. He had actually been located at a nearby Hotel in Round Rock, and fled a few miles to Pflugerville.

As I was leaving the Hotel there was a noticeable police presence in the area and a couple of streets nearby were blocked off.  Seemed in addition to the crime scene where the suspect was killed he also lived in the Pflugerville area and evidently police were at a few of those locations.

Anyway, Austin can breath easier. Before leaving the capital city, I decided to make one final stop at the Austin Memorial Park.  It was just a short 20 minute drive and because I had accurate GPS coordinates I was able to quickly locate the three graves that I was interesting in.

My first stop was at the grave of Captain Frank Hamer. Captain Hamer was a Texas Ranger who tracked down the famous gangsters Bonnie and Clyde and participated in the ambush near Gibsland, Louisiana on May 23, 1934.  Frank Hamer retired in 1949 and lived in Austin, Texas until his death on July 10, 1955. He is also a member of the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame.

My next stop was at the grave of one of my all time favorite writers, James A. Michener. He wrote the novel Centennial in 1974 which documented several generation of families in the town of Centennial Colorado. This novel was made into a 12-part television mini series that aired on NBC from Octobr 1978 through February 1979.

Centennial is one of my all time favorite programs, I have the complete DVD set and end up watching it at least once a year. I never get tired of it and absolutely love it. Thank You Mr. Michener for giving us Centennial.

My final stop was at the grave of renowned golf professional and teacher Harvey Penick.  Mr. Penick was a top golf professional in the Austin, Texas Area. He was also the head golf coach at the University of Texas from  1931-1963. During his coaching career he led the Longhorns to 21 Southwest Conference Golf Championships.  He also coached many of the top PGA Professionals including Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite.

I got a late start this morning because I was wrapped up in the Austin Bombing News so it was mid morning by the time I finished at Austin Memorial Park. It was time to say good bye to Austin and head to what some would call the BBQ capital of Texas.  Lockhart, Texas is a small town about 40 miles southeast of Austin and is home to three of the most famous BBQ Joints in all of Texas. Smitty's Market, Blacks BBQ and Kreuz Market are all located in downtown Lockhart and all have a faithful following.

I decided to have lunch at Kreuz Market. It has the largest building of the three and the most cars. When you go in you order your meat, brisket, sausage, ribs ect. They charge you by the weight, I got basically a half a pound of Brisket which is served on butchers paper with light bread.  Then go and order you sides. I got Beans and Slaw.  The entire meal cost me about $12.50.

I had seen the three BBQ places featured in a TV Show on the Food channel and wanted to try one of them. So many times these TV Places are all hype and don't live up to my expectations.  Not true with Kreuz's. I love the fact that the meat is served on butchers paper and the food was simply outstanding. The brisket was very tender and had a great smoke taste. I really like the beans that were cooked with their sausage and onions. Over all if you are ever anywhere close to Lockhart Texas, be sure to stop and visit anyone of the Three. You will not be disappointed.

From Lockhart, I had a nice 60 mile drive through rural Texas to the town of Johnson City. This is LBJ Country and I stopped at the Johnson Settlement Historical Site. This is where President Johnson's Grandfather operate a cattle Ranch in the mid-1800's and would drive herds from the area to Abilene, Kansas.

This is also the Boyhood Home of President Johnson who lived here from the age of 5 until he went off to college. It was here on the front porch that young Lyndon would give his first political campaign speech in 1937.

I was the only one to take the 2:30 tour of the house so it was more like a conversation between my excellent guide and me. I love these one on one tours, and really enjoyed the 20-minute tour that turned into more like a 40 minute conversation.

After my tour of the house I walked down to the Johnson Settlement which featured the "dog trot" cabin of President Johnson's Grandfather and some other reconstructed building.

By the time I finished my tour it was 5 p.m.,  the park was closing and it was time for me to head on to Fredericksburg where I am spending the night. The 30-mile trip west from Johnson City to Fredericksburg took me by the LBJ National Historic Park or as it is better known The LBJ Ranch or the Texas White House. That will be tomorrows first stop of the day.


TODAY'S MILES:    154
TOTAL MILES:       2834