Author Archives: Diana

About Diana

Canadian-Vermonter, Texas transplant. Cowboy boot wearing, maple syrup connoisseur, music lovin', wine and micro-brew drinkin', two-steppin' traveler who loves finding all the hidden gems the world has to offer. Come join me on the ride!

George H.W. Bush Presidential Library

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President George H.W. Bush (or Daddy Bush) was President of the United States from 1989 to 1993. It seems that some of the more recent President’s have established Presidential Libraries throughout the US. The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library was established in 1997.

Come to find out the “Library” is more of a museum than a library (who would’ve thought). As you walk through the museum we follow President Bush’s life, we get to know his family and learn where he found his values and what his parents were like, his childhood, his military career, how he met his wife, his family, and his career in politics. He now lives in Kennebunkport, Maine with his wife Barbara. (As a child, we vacationed in Maine yearly and I remember one year driving by his home and having the secret service tell us to turn around, kind of cool.)

The main purpose of our trip to College Station, Texas was to see the President Bush Presidential Library. Here are some highlights of our trip.

Upon arriving at the Library you will see how beautiful the building is itself…
“The Beast” may be the most classified car you may ever see…
… equipped with bullet proof windows (as thick as telephone books) and bullet proof tires where if they are shot the car can keep traveling. It also comes with a remote car starter with a bomb detector (I have one of these on my car too), self healing fuel tank, extra oxygen, and layered with kevlar throughout.
(Coming to a dealership near you in 2025).
A huge baseball lover, President Bush played baseball at Yale and even kept a glove in the top drawer of his desk while in office.
In 1947, the Bush’s bought this car for just under $1,700.00 and moved their family from Connecticut to Texas.
I made it just in time, the White House was expecting me. Little did I know I had a full day ahead…
A speech had to be made…(I think my point came across)…
… followed by a very important black tie dinner (my dress was cut out of the picture at the right)…
…unfortunately my dinner was cut short due to a very urgent top secret meeting I had to attend…
Back to the “library”, we were able to see President Bush’s office…
and reflect on his achievements…
This is part of the Berlin Wall which came down in 1989. This was remarkable to see.
We then found the library…children’s books.
You will also be able to see momentous from his year in the military, letters he sent home after his plane was shot down, family memories, the Gulf War, life in the White House and post White House. We even got to sit in a replica of his desk in the Oval Office and experience his love for sky diving. There is so much information, it is truly remarkable.
Finally, here is my favorite picture from the museum…
I think this was the highlight of his career!
Check it out – it is part of your history.

For More Info: http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/
To see if a Presidential Library is near you: http://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/visit/

Robertson County, Texas

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Traveling along Route 6, you can’t help but see historical markers in what seems to be every 2 miles. Here are a couple.

Legend goes…

In 1878, a man by the name of Wootan Wells dug a seventy-five foot well to provide water to his homestead. To his dismay, the water began to turn his dishes yellow and his clothes red. His wife was completely disgusted and wanted out – so they rented their homestead out to a family and moved away. Shortly after, word got out that the folks living on the property were incredibly healthy and this awful tasting water was bring people to the area. Mr. Wells soon realized he may be sitting on a gold mine, he moved home, contacted a US Navy chemist and was told that the water, in this hear parts, were highly mineralized. Soon enough he put out word that the water was curative.

At first the water was being distributed freely, however in 1880 Mr. Wells partnered with a man named T.W. Wade to bottle the water and market the property. Soon enough the town of Wootan Wells was a resort town and a well known one at that. By 1883 the town was complete with hotels, cottages, a post office and spas in addition to at least three more wells. There was even a pavilion with a Mexican String band. A 1.5 mile mule-drawn train was established to bring visitors and bottled water to and from the nearest railroad depot. With the convenience of the train running directly through the area, Wootan Wells was the place to be, drawing tourists from miles away, including Governor James Hogg and his daughters as well as other socialites. By 1890, Wootan Wells had 200 permanent residents and 2,000 summer residents. There is even a rumor that Wild Buffalo Cody had a shooting match with George Washington Holland in 1898.

Pretty soon the town was going full stream with doctors, blacksmiths, wagon makers and schools, however as quickly as the town appeared, the down would disappear. Soon enough with the help of a depression, floods, droughts and financial troubles, the town was declining. By 1914, the town only had one operating hotel, a bottle work, a few cottages and a grocery store. In 1915, tragedy struck as a fire swept through the town. Today this is what’s left…

and to be honest I’m not even sure if this is part of a farmers old barn or actually part of the town but this is the land that sat behind the historical marker.

Be sure to stop and check out some of these markers. Buildings may not remain but history thrives.

Here is one more historical marker we checked out on our drive:

Good Ole Texas Towns, Hearne and Calvert

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I love me some old western, Texas towns. You know the little towns that you drive through. The main drag has boarded up windows, run down buildings and the old homes along the railroad tracks. Some towns are really sprucing up their areas and taking advantage of the fact that people love these locations (how can they not) and for me, I love photographing them (if only I had a better camera). Disclaimer: The pictures would have come out a whole heck of a lot better if we had stopped but we had a birthday party to get to.

These are some of the pictures from our drive along Route 6 between Waco and College Station. Again – if only I had a better camera and knew how to use photoshop… anyway – lets use our imagination. While driving down Highway 6 all I could think of was Fried Green Tomatoes.

Little “use-to-be-white” homes sitting right next to the railroad tracks, towns few and far between…
…makes you realize how important the railroad was to this area years ago.

The Union Pacific still runs through this area today. Now the cars just have some “nice” “art” to them.

…And lots and lots of farmland, and cows (my favorite part). 🙂

The new Depot in Hearne – reminds me of the one in Grapevine, TX
Can’t you just imagine ladies waiting on the platform with their big hoop dresses and umbrellas?
Or the cowboys moving into town like in Tombstone?
Here we are rolling into town….
…imagine this town around 1930’s and 1940’s… must’ve been the place to go for all your needs as the next town would’ve taken you a while to get to in your Model A Ford…or horses… we are in Texas after all!
The next picture shows absolute photography skills while snapping shots in a moving car.
(…I know you are impressed!)

It’s a good thing there are water towers around. If you are ever lost, just look for the water tower in Texas.

This was the nicest place in Calvert and I’m not even kidding,…the sign in front says as seen on the Food Network.
 …This is their hotel off a side street. It kind of creeped me out and I was instantly absolutely positive it is haunted. I’ll have to research more on these towns later (just on the towns, not the hauntings – I’ll leave that up to someone else).

This is their City Hall. Part of me just wants to go in there and clean up the buildings but then again someone would have to help me – there is no way that I’m going in there alone. No way!

And the locals don’t let you forget where you are headed and in what country you are in
… you are in Aggie Country!
There is a lot more to these towns than what I discovered. I would love to go back and checkout the history that they have to offer. The websites below show pictures of old Victorian mansions during the Civil War era. Definitely a place to go check out if you are looking for a destination for a weekend drive.

For More Info:
Calvert: http://www.calverttx.com/index.html
Hearne: http://www.hearnetexas.info/