Shannon Ranch

Sunday, July 14 –

After church today we drove down to Austin for a really quick trip. I had been looking up famous Texas swimming holes and we thought it would be fun to visit one of the most famous. We could only stay one full day because this is the Well Service’s busiest time of year, but we squeezed in as much fun as we could. I think we did a pretty decent job of it, too!

I had rented a little house within walking distance of Barton Springs pool. It was the top floor of this house.

Barton Springs is on the Colorado river which runs through Austin not far from downtown. Four springs feed the pool which is crystal clear and very cold. It is named after the man who originally settled there years ago and had a grist mill powered by the rushing water. A subsequent owner donated the land to Austin which eventually built the large swimming pool incorporating the springs area. It’s an interesting story and some nice old photographs of the history of the pool can be found here.

One of the springs flowing in.

We took pictures Monday morning planning to come back and swim in the heat of the afternoon. After we left the springs, we visited Austin Aquarium, a privately owned aquarium and reptile house. Stockton especially enjoyed this outing since they allowed limited handling of some of the specimens.

They had a manta ray pool where you could pet and feed these amazing creatures. They were very friendly.

Check out this little video of some of the friendly fish ( and other critters) loving their treats from aquarium visitors.

Afterwards we picked up a few groceries and ate at whole foods market.

In the afternoon we made it back to the springs to swim. There were significantly more people now, but still plenty of room to have fun.

Before long, however, some storms built up and they closed the pool due to the possibility of lightning.

We left the pool, went back to the house to change clothes and then ended up stopping at a miniature golf place. Stockton and Carolina had somehow missed ever getting to participate in a game of mini-golf. I think they enjoyed it. I know we did. It was called Peter Pan Mini Golf and has been a place of family fun since the late forties.

To see the mini golf video, click here.

Another fun activity was car gazing. The whole family really likes vintage cars (but who doesn’t?) and we’re always pointing them out to each other. Here’s a few we managed to photograph.

The kids were especially thrilled to see this DeLorean since we’ve recently watched the “Back to the Future” movies with our clearplay player.

We also visited a used book and record store and found a few treasures before stopping for a hamburger at a really fun place called shady grove, aptly named for all the large pecan trees shading the tables.

This vintage trailer was fixed up to be the men’s and ladies’ rooms.

Inside the ladies side were vintage posters and even an old telephone (just for looks). Carolina said she always wanted to twirl a telephone cord. I guess that’s just one more thing my generation took for granted.

So the vintage car that has zoomed by us earlier was parked behind the restaurant later and we got a close-up view of it.

Tuesday, July 16 –

So by Tuesday morning we had figured out that the best time to swim is in the early morning. It’s free from 5 am – 8 am, and you practically have the pool to yourself. It’s also more family friendly then as some of the swimmers and sun bathers in the afternoon and evening are not exactly modest. Apparently, a lot of residents swim early to start their day with a little refreshing exercise. So, when in Rome…

This was at about 7:45 in the morning. It is definitely the best time to visit this pool for a swim. The residents said that they come at this time year round. There’s also a bath house up these stairs.

After a refreshing swim, we headed back to the rent house to pack up and head home. But before we left Austin, we took a side trip to the LBJ Library. There was a special exhibition there that Carolina was keen to see. It was an exhibit about the early days of Motown. Yes, you read that right, Carolina really loves the music of that era and wanted to spend some time checking it out.

On the way there we drove past the beautiful Texas capital. Sadly, we didn’t have time to tour it this time.

From the LBJ library you have a good view of the clock tower on the University of Texas campus. Perhaps the library is on the campus itself, I’m not sure.

Another nice vintage car. Pres. Johnson’s Lincoln Continental used after he left office.

Carolina’s found another vintage phone. She said she always wanted to sit in a telephone booth.

Finally we came to the Motown exhibit.

Here we were trying to learn the temptations special “walk”

Outfits of the Jackson 5

After viewing the Motown exhibit, we took a quick look through some of the rest of the LBJ library. There were a lot of interesting things from the 60’s and early 70’s America.