Keeping Near Our Roots

So Wednesday we stayed closer to home and toured around the Austin area. First stop was the Zilker Botanical Gardens. Due to the drought I would give it a 75% rating, but when everything is in bloom I bet that place is amazing! I am REALLY looking forward to going back when we finally get some rain. (Any photographers reading this should consider taking family pictures there. Even now its still really pretty as you will see.

On the way in there were some beautiful Water Lilly's in a pond just outside the gate. (Picture #1 is from that pond...and yeah, I'm having it printed.)

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Continuing down the trails we were serenaded by this funny little Eastern Bewick's Wren. He posed and sang (#2 below) for about 3 minutes while I sat and changed my lenses out. :)

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So moving forward we saw many spectacular photo opportunities, but I will only post a few. (#3, 4 & 5)

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So after we left the Zilker Gardens we moved on to the Texas State Cemetery. I know this sounds odd, but the grounds are absolutely beautiful and perfect for pictures. :) Steph and I took a few pictures for fun. (#6 & #7)

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Since we have been taking pictures of beautiful chuches we couldn't forget to visit St. Mary's in Austin. Talk about a wonderful show of craftsmanship! Absolutely gorgeous! (I also decided to remove the business building in one of the pictures to show its full beauty. (#8, 9, 10 & 11)

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And now on to the main reason for the trip to Austin. Here is the Travis County Courthouse. This is certainly not one of the prettiest on our trips this week, but one on the list none the less. :) (#12 & #13)

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Beer, Churches and Court Houses

So Wednesday was a FULL day of driving for sure. Today's drive took us to San Marcos where I took pictures of the Hays County Courthouse. Not the prettiest, but a very nice courthouse. (#1 and #2 below)

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After leaving San Marcos we headed to New Braunfels for the Comal Count Courthouse. Very nice building, but unfortunately it was covered by too many trees to get a full shot, so I did what I could. :) (#3 and #4 below)

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From New Braunfels we headed to Seguin where we saw the Guadalupe County Courthouse. Not one of the better looking ones unfortunately. (Steph and I call these the "box" style. In comparison, pretty boring. (#5 and #6 below) At the same location we did take some other pictures of interest though. (#7, 8 & 9 below)

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#7 (anyone ever thought of opening a bakery, here's your chance.)


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Now we move on to one of the most beautiful courthouses we have seen so far. The Gonzales County Courthouse was absolutely beautiful. (We even went inside this one and it was just as nice inside. And met the county Judge without even knowing it. He was very nice.) (#10, 11 & 12)

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As I always knew, my reputation precedes me. (#14 below)


So from here we moved on to Shiner. No there is not a county courthouse in Shiner, but there was beer. :) There was also a spectacular church. (#15, 16 and 17)

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Like I said, it was a busy day. In the Shiner / Schulenburg area there are 4 painted churches that are a MUST see. I took a LOT of pictures of them, but will only post a few. (#18, 19, 20 & 21) The insides of these churches are the best, but this post is already VERY long.

#18 (St. Marys in High Hill)


#19 (St. Marys in Praha)


#20 (St. Cyril & Methodius in Dubina)


#21 (St. John the Baptist in Ammannsville)


So moving on we went to La Grange and took pictures of the Fayette County Courthouse. Another spectacular courthouse. (#22 & 23 below)

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Finally on Wednesday we stopped at the Bastrop County Courthouse. Not spectacular, but it was a nice courthouse. (#24 and #25 below)

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Like I said, it was a busy day, but one that will not be forgotten any time soon.

Hope you enjoyed our travels today. :)

And the Show Goes On...

Wow! What an exhausting day. The plane ride to Easter Island was way longer then I ever thought. What a Ride. Here are some pictures.






Okay, Okay, fine. So we didn't really go to Easter Island, but we did see Stonehenge II in Hunt, TX. :) Oh yeah, it came complete with the statues.



Okay, back to the trip...below is a picture of the original county courthouse in Blaco County. The County Seat has since been relocated to Johnson City (don't worry, I will be getting it this week) but this was the courthouse for 4 years.



Kerr County Courthouse (in Kerrville) is not the most striking structure so far, but I have a LONG way to go on my list, so we'll see what else I come across.




Lastly, off the roadside was an absolutely beautiful creek. This is taken on each side of the road. Hopefully in the second picture you can see the waterfall in the distance. (Sorry, didn't have the telephoto on at the time.) :)

Texas Travels '09

For those of you who don't know, Steph and I are traveling this week to see the great state of Texas and what she has to offer. I have set a goal for myself to take a picture of all the court houses in each county in Texas. (Not in one week.) On the way I plan to take pictures which will also remind us where we have been and what we have seen.

No better way to start the tour then with family. On a spur of the moment we decided to head to San Antonio and book a private tour with Aunt Jo. We saw and heard more about San Antonio then I imagined. What a beautiful city when you know where you are going. :) From the parks to the court house to the Pearl Brewery to the River Walk there was tons to see. Hope you enjoy the pictures. Be sure to check all week as there will be LOTS more to come.

(Pictures will be straight out of the camera this week as I won't have time to keep you posted and do all the processing. ;) )