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Last Wednesday with a light rain falling, the library tour bus loaded up with passengers and headed to Austin. No one was complaining about the rain, it was a much needed added attraction. Our first stop in Austin was the Texas Military Museum at Camp Mabry, we hadn’t scheduled much time for this stop, but it was very interesting, and most agreed deserves a return trip.

Next we headed for the Zilker Botanical Gardens. Everyone came prepared and with umbrellas in hand, we took off to admire and enjoy these beautiful gardens. The plants and flowers were really enjoying the rain, we followed the paths in the gardens and saw some spectacular native plants and roses. This is another trip that would be enjoyed again without an umbrella, but no one complained about the rain! After touring the gardens, we returned to the bus, because we could not find covered picnic areas, we ate our lunch on the bus, which was nice, dry and roomy.

After lunch we went to visit Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum. The peaceful oasis, right in the heart of the city, was exciting. Charles Umlauf was a prolific, internationally known sculptor, there were over 100 sculptures on display of different sizes and diversity. We had a guide who gave us the history and explained the pieces to us, we also viewed a movie giving some history of Mr. Umlauf and the gardens, which is now owned and maintained by the City of Austin.

Quoting from the brochure on the gardens, “it lies under a canopy of trees, bridges span a sparkling stream and a vine-covered arbor overlooks water lily ponds among a vista of wooded slopes”. The Gardens provide a perfect setting for weddings, private receptions, and other gatherings. It was a perfect ending to a great day to discover and be a part of what is an hour from us.

Our trusty driver Michael, got us around in the rain with no problem, and we arrived back in Johnson City a little after 3 p.m. Everyone aboard was already talking about our next adventure, which will be on Nov. 11th to the Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, where we will participate in the Veteran’s Day ceremony put on by the museum, hurry down to the library and sign up today!

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