Austin City Limits

Tim and I were within the city limits of Austin, Texas this weekend.  We were five months too early for the opening of the Austin City Limits Music Festival at the end of September, but nonetheless we saw two draws of the city that are always open.  One honors the 36th President of the United States; the other his First Lady.

The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library on the campus of the University of Texas was the first presidential library either of us have ever visited. I thought it would just have President Johnson's papers and policies in its archives. 

It does have that--six floors of documents and more--but there were also enough exhibits on the ground and top floors to grab and hold our attention. 

State of the Union - 1966, "Plans for The Great Society"

I was at an impressionable age when Johnson was President.  I remember all the anti-Vietnam War sentiment of the 1960s, but I'd forgotten--if I'd ever known--the many achievements of Johnson's "Great Society."

"You made a great record for the people"

Medicare & Medicaid
War on Poverty programs
Aid to Education such as Head Start and Work Study which helped me pay my college tuition
The Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968,
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
Consumer Protection such as the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act
National Endowment for the Arts
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Environmental protection such as the Endangered Species Preservation Act

The sheer number of proposals President Johnson was able to push through Congress were astonishing.  He deserves to be known for more than the escalation of the Vietnam War.

The second draw was Lady Bird Lake, a reservoir on the Colorado River in downtown Austin named for Lady Bird Johnson.  

When we arrived on Saturday, the weather was sunny and warm, perfect for kayakers, paddle boards and an interesting contraption called a water bike.  

However, this morning it was gloomy and somewhat cold.  

The cyclists, joggers and dog walkers were still out, but the only water sportsmen (sportsbirds?) we saw were these swans who paddled away when we approached.  

Still, the flowers were in bloom and it was a lovely walk along the lake.  

We had to be back at the bus before 2 p.m. this afternoon.  A service repairman was coming to repair our laundry's dryer.  Alas, he declared it dead.  

So we'll be needing quarters for the coin-op variety at local laundromats until we can figure out how to get it replaced.  Not easy when the niche is too small for a Kenmore!