I was 13 or 14 the first time that I went to Texas. My Dad had moved to Austin the year before and invited my sister and I down for what became an annual summer trip. That first year, we nearly died from boredom! And, we probably would have had it not been for two things: #1, a whiffle ball and bat set that my Dad happen to have lying around the house and #2, my Dad's boat which we used for trips to Lake Travis. The next few years were more or less the same except my Dad put in a pool and we began to explore Texas a little more. Since that first trip, I have come to a three conclusions about Texas. First, Texas is geographically appealing. It has beautiful hills, deserts, lakes, rivers, shoreline, flora, fauna. It also has some cities and small towns that are, at least in part, quite attractive.
Second, the diversity of cultures found in Texas appealing. There's cowboy culture, rancher culture, agriculture culture, Mexican culture, urban culture, small town culture, beach culture.
Third, and most important, is that Texas is
NOT appealing at all. In fact, it is down right offensive. This is in most part due to the "Texan culture" which trumps anything and everything that is remotely good, attractive, or sacred about Texas. So, what is "Texan culture?" If you've been to Texas and spent some time there among its inhabitants you know what it is. If not, here it is in a nutshell--it's an ego that's artificial, loud, flashy, larger-than-life, individualistic (as in "I'll do what I want without regard for you"), obnoxious. Yeah, it
is a whole other country. My most recent visit confirmed this. I give you two quick examples. One, Austin is probably Texas' greenest city and while I was there (2 days driving around Austin), I saw only 2 hybrids. And, one had Pennsylvania plates. Seems like about every 1 outta 10 cars in STL is a hybrid! And, metro St. Louisians are not known as being particularly environmentally or socially concerned as a group. Okay. Enough. Example 2 (as illustrated in the photo below), Dodge, Ford, and other American made big-as-big-can-be gas guzzling trucks, SUV's,
driving on the beach! Yes! As in a never-ending stream of gianormous vehicles coming at you the
entire day. No matter the fragility and importance of dune ecology. No matter the health and safety of beach goers. No matter the shoreline aesthetics. Yes, just what I want with my vacation, a side of noise and pollution. Ugh.
Willa went to Mom Henske's house for an egg hunt on Easter. As it would turn out, the kids starting walking, perfectly staggered, in the same direction as they hunted eggs. Knowing that I had seen this image before, I quickly snapped the photo. It finally came to me: The Beatles! I'll resubmit the photo once I have the time to Photoshop some details in from the original image. 
Little shiny hidden egg.
I was 13 or 14 the first time that I went to Texas. My Dad had moved to Austin the year before and invited my sister and I down for what became an annual summer trip. That first year, we nearly died from boredom! And, we probably would have had it not been for two things: #1, a whiffle ball and bat set that my Dad happen to have lying around the house and #2, my Dad's boat which we used for trips to Lake Travis. The next few years were more or less the same except my Dad put in a pool and we began to explore Texas a little more. Since that first trip, I have come to a three conclusions about Texas. First, Texas is geographically appealing. It has beautiful hills, deserts, lakes, rivers, shoreline, flora, fauna. It also has some cities and small towns that are, at least in part, quite attractive.
Second, the diversity of cultures found in Texas appealing. There's cowboy culture, rancher culture, agriculture culture, Mexican culture, urban culture, small town culture, beach culture.
Third, and most important, is that Texas is NOT appealing at all. In fact, it is down right offensive. This is in most part due to the "Texan culture" which trumps anything and everything that is remotely good, attractive, or sacred about Texas. So, what is "Texan culture?" If you've been to Texas and spent some time there among its inhabitants you know what it is. If not, here it is in a nutshell--it's an ego that's artificial, loud, flashy, larger-than-life, individualistic (as in "I'll do what I want without regard for you"), obnoxious. Yeah, it is a whole other country. My most recent visit confirmed this. I give you two quick examples. One, Austin is probably Texas' greenest city and while I was there (2 days driving around Austin), I saw only 2 hybrids. And, one had Pennsylvania plates. Seems like about every 1 outta 10 cars in STL is a hybrid! And, metro St. Louisians are not known as being particularly environmentally or socially concerned as a group. Okay. Enough. Example 2 (as illustrated in the photo below), Dodge, Ford, and other American made big-as-big-can-be gas guzzling trucks, SUV's, driving on the beach! Yes! As in a never-ending stream of gianormous vehicles coming at you the entire day. No matter the fragility and importance of dune ecology. No matter the health and safety of beach goers. No matter the shoreline aesthetics. Yes, just what I want with my vacation, a side of noise and pollution. Ugh.
A fellow STL blogger, Cathy at 49, contacted me a few weeks ago about using one of my Art Hill sledding photos. The St. Louis Post Dispatch, our local newspaper, was running a contest called "Peeps Gone Wild." Cathy wanted to use my photo as the backdrop for her entry. I'd forgotten all about it until today when my mother-in-law mentioned something about the Peeps contest entries. I don't know if Cathy won, but I thought I'd post her entry. It's Peep-a-licious!
Views from our usual booth--outside and in.
We had some family fun making snow art with found sticks on the way back to the car.
And, lastly, Bill and I went to Powell Symphony Hall to listen to some Wagner, Stravinsky, & Strauss.
Next, we drove to the Melvin Price Lock and Dam #26 in Granite City, IL. The eagles are much harder to spot here--lots of visual distractions (museum, locks, gulls, pelicans, ducks, etc.)--but they can be seen. And, we did spot several eagles here as well. As an aside, the Melvin Price Locks are an interesting visit, especially if you're into environmental history or environmental studies. What the locks (i.e. The Corps) have done--regulating, controlling, dictating--to the natural flow and boundaries of the river and flood plan is amazing. That male dominated, imperialist attitude so typified by the Corps has completely changed our relationship to nature. It's really sad actually. But, that's really another post.
Next, we drove along the Great River Road to Grafton, IL for lunch at the Fin Inn - an aquarium restaurant. The food was not great nor was the atmosphere. If you're in the area, skip it. On the drive home, we saw more eagles than we could count. If for nothing else that a great scenic trip, I recommend that everyone take the drive along route 3 in IL north through Granite & Woodriver (not so scenic) into Alton, Elsah, Grafton, and as far north as you feel like going.
