For Friday, our next day of tourism, we drove to College Station to visit the Bush Museum on the campus of Texas A&M University.  We travel new back-roads each day as we try to see as much as possible of our corner of the world.  Farm to Market roads and small state & county roads make for a much more relaxed drive than major thoroughfares.  So it was until we followed a sign off of Highway 6, pointing us toward our destination.  College Station is growing and changing, and trust me, they have the road construction nightmares to prove it!! 

It was a perfect day to visit — not many other folks around.  They offer an orientation film, and we also talked with an excellent docent.  We learned that we would be seeing the museum, and not the library.  The latter is reserved for serious scholars and historians.

The layout of the museum is wonderful; it obviously took great planning, as visitors wend their way effortlessly from one part of Bush’s life to the next.  The displays are impressive, to say the least — i.e., an entire fighter plane suspended from the ceiling and a fully restored 1947 Studebaker.  Exhibits are well-documented, from the correspondence to the newspaper articles to the many photos.  Many exhibits have audio clips available, some by a narrator and some by President Bush.  There is a mock-up of Air Force One and a replica office from Camp David.  An entire alcove was devoted to the display of the gifts from heads of state — extremely interesting as one sees what a particular head of state thought to be a representative gift to the American president.

I was especially pleased to see a wing devoted to Barbara Bush and her many good works.  She is an awesome woman, practical and down-to-earth with a special heart for those in need.  She used the power of the White House to champion her causes.  She has accomplished much with her literacy programs.  As a lover of reading and words, I must applaud her efforts.

The most impressive exhibit may not be within the walls of the museum but rather on the plaza out side.   It is a massive sculpture (12 feet high, 18 feet wide and 30 feet long)titled “The Day the Wall Came Down” and was done by Santa Fe artist Veryl Goodnight.  Our docent explained that the horses symbolized freedom and thus are shown coming over the ruins of the Berlin Wall.  History buffs will remember that the Berlin Wall came down during this Bush administration.  Inside the museum is an actual section of the wall, itself most imposing, complete with graffiti, donated by Germany to the museum.

Regardless of one’s political bent (and you’re not likely to see politics much discussed on this blog…), this is a worthwhile destination for anyone interested in American history.

On a personal note, I have a favorite whimsical photo from yesterday’s jaunt.  My husband  is a Texan through and through and the writing above his head says “I am a Texan and an American…what more could a man ask?”, a quote from Mr. Bush and absolutely Harold.  I plan to enlarge it and frame it!!  A trip to Rudy’s for wonderful Texas BBQ topped off our visit to College Station.

Since our travel plans changed so suddenly, we found ourselves with time off and no place to go.  Two days before Labor Day weekend is NOT a good time to find accomodations anywhere.  We do have reservations down on the Gulf for Monday and Tuesday after the other tourists leave, but that gives us several days to fill.  We decided to play tourist in our own area.  Heaven knows, we haven’t had much time off to just play in the past few years. Our first destination was Washington on the Brazos State Park, the “birthplace of Texas”.  My husband, a native Texan had never been here, and he’s a history buff.  They have a wonderful museum, which was perfect for today’s nearly 100 degree temps.  There are outdoor attractions as well, which we will leave for late Fall or early Spring.  This is a great place in a lovely setting and if you want to know more about Texas history, you’ll want to visit.  To learn more, go to their website:  http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/washington_on_the_brazos/ One humorous note…  There is a small section of the museum devoted to the Texas Rangers, not the baseball team, but venerable lawmen indeed.  I was a bit taken aback and couldn’t resist a chuckle when I saw, near the end of the display, images of two fictional Teas Rangers, Clayton Moore as “The Lone Ranger” and Chuck Norris as “Walker, Texas Ranger”.  Hubby Harold was quite as amused. Our next stop was Somerville Lake, not far from Brenham.  What a gem!  This is a beautiful lake, not big by Texas standards I guess, but certainly picturesque.  There are several campgrounds and picnic spots.  Although it was really hot, we sat for awhile in the shade by the water — seemed cooler anyway!  Everywhere we turned, there were deer!  They wandered in and out of the camping areas, down by the water and up to some of the RV’s and trailers.  There were a number of young ones with theirs spots still in evidence.  Some were resting in the shade of some wonderful old huge oak trees draped with Spanish moss.  It’s a place we’ll definitely revisit!  It will be a lovely treat in fall.

 If you look in the shadows of this picture, you may be able to see the deer.  They were smart and stayed in the shade where it was much cooler!      

This is a picture from the shore of an island in the lake.  Harold says the fishing would be great near the island’s shoreline.      

We’re not sure where tomorrow will lead us.  It will no doubt also have a historical flair.  The main thing is that we’ll be together and away from our normal routine.  That coupled with the falling gas prices…life is good!!! 

As I said in my first post, there was a chance that we could return to our life of service in retreat and camping ministries.  Well, this chance did not work out.  Awanita called and said they had decided to hire someone locally.  Once the tears of disappointment were past, I could see their point — quicker turnaround for them as they have a couple departing and what they must have felt was a more stablizing factor, someone closer to their roots and families.

That being said, I wanted to tell them that they missed out on one great opportunity.  They will never find anyone with such enthusiasm and heart and darned good qualifications.  I wanted to tell them, but I didn’t.  We may not want to burn this bridge just yet.

So, we keep searching, and trusting that if God wants us in His fulltime service, there will be an answer.

We must have a change in our lives.  Harold is just not internally wired for the high stress corporate managerial position he has now.  Add to that the fact that he is just not a city boy, and you have one miserable soul.  He withers a little each day, and I won’t let that continue.  My job is just boring, and the whole truth to that story is that I want to be able to write more and my hours now do not allow that luxury.  I carve time out when I can, when I must.  Those of you writers out there know there are times we just must…

Next week’s trip — yes, in a modified version.  Don’t know the details yet.  We definitely need a break, and there is the matter of an anniversary to celebrate.  So stay tuned for an abridged version.