One of the activities many guides enjoy is assuming the identity of historical personages. I’ve been lucky to do this twice in the last two months. In March, during our Austin Tour Guide Association’s annual gala, I became August Scholz, the German immigrant who founded Scholz Bier Garten in Austin in 1866. This guise was appropriate for two reasons: the ATGA has always held its yearly party at Scholz, by all accounts Texas’ oldest continuously operated business. The other connection is that my great-grandfather, Claus Henry Frick, came from Germany to Central Texas about the same time as Herr Scholz. I’ve also dressed up as my relative and preformed portions of his autobiography.

It’s getting to be quite a habit: For San Jacinto Day, I became Jesse Billingsley, veteran of the battle, for a hotel and tourism conference. Here’s how I appeared:

Credited with originating the victory cry of “Remember the Alamo,” Captain Billingsley had come to Mexican colonial Texas from Tennessee, a neighbor of David Crockett. Settled near Bastrop, he joined the Sam Houston’s army as part of Edward Burleson’s First Regiment. After the Revolution, this early Texan served as a congressman and representative.

During these attire-base adventures, I learned the difference between mere costumes and replica clothing. Those that don such period pieces are truly serious about authenticity. Thanks to such inspiring examples and the thunderous response I received, I’ve now added full-regalia presentations to my slate of tour offerings. Look for August or Jesse on Austin’s streets again soon!

-HR

Spring is beginning to show itself on many a limb here in Austin and, thanks to with fine weather, these are excellent days to be on foot. The Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) has hosted free downtown walking tours for years, and they begin in March after taking a winter break. It’s a way to tell city history by looking at buildings and learning about the personalities behind the facades.

In times past, people could simply show up at the rendezvous point at a designated hour and get a tour. This season, the CVB institutes a reservation system so that interested folks can sign up ahead of time. Also new this year, the tours are led by certified members of the Austin Tour Guide Association, including yours truly.

The Congress Avenue/Sixth Street walk covers innkeepers, merchants, bankers, architects, surveyors, builders, governors, ranchers, presidents, and restaurateurs who’ve played leading roles in the Capital City’s development. Eras include the Republic period, early statehood, Civil War and Reconstruction, later statehood, and contemporary times. As a geographer, I also generously sprinkle in tidbits about trees, flowers, topography, and climate. Plus, guests get enticements about my Texpert Tour offerings. The 90-minute stroll starts on the statehouse south steps and concludes at the Visitor Center on Old Pecan Street.

Please join me for fun, elucidation, and good exercise on the Main Street of Texas.

-HR

A wide range of visitors have come to Austin this cold season, and many of them now know more about Central Texas because they rode with the Texpert. Some of my clients came from Sweden, others from Philadelphia, Maryland, Dallas, the Midwest, and even Leander, Texas. Some were couples, others bus-loads.

At least three of these touring folks were new arrivals to the area or soon would be. Because each outing is customized, I’m able to answer the specific questions of my customers and cater to their individual needs. For instance, newcomers want to see more neighborhoods, local government facilities, and service centers than regular travelers do. All, however, get quite an earful about how Austin got here and what makes it this special.

In a previous entry, I told about a pair from London whom I took to the Alamo City and back. The gentleman is a full-fledged barrister of some renown in England. Imagine my surprise when I was appointed to tour another lawyer from the UK a little over a week later. What are the chances? This second fellow enjoyed a Hill Country drive, which included sweeping panoramas, wildlife, and a winery stop. Read his comments on the Texpert Tours recommendations page.

Weather has been wild these last many weeks, but even now, we’re seeing signs of impending spring. On the Capitol grounds and elsewhere, the redbuds are showing their lavender blooms. Ash trees and Spanish Oaks are also beginning to bud. These are, indeed, great days to see the Lone Star State.

-HR

One Tuesday earlier this month was a gorgeous day to experience San Antonio’s cultural and historic treasures. My clients were a legal scholar and his wife from London. We enjoyed great conversations about Blackstone’s law commentaries whilst steering past longhorns grazing and llamas guarding on the scenic Hill Country route west and south. At our crossing of the beautiful Guadalupe River, I had to explain what an inner tube is and its popular use on this particular stretch of stream.

Mission Concepción made an excellent first stop, wherein these Brits got a fine overview of Spain’s eighteenth century colonizing efforts in this remote spot far from their southern centers of power. Here my clients got a close look at both a mesquite tree and an anaqua. They also were introduced to the Virgin of Guadalupe, matron goddess of the Americas, whose image is everywhere.

A short drive along Mission Road took us to the heart of the old city, where we set off on foot across the river to the Alamo. The sign out front implores “Gentlemen, remove your hats,” and hints the sacredness and esteem in which Lone Star State natives hold the Shrine of Texas Liberty. With my detailed explanation of events leading to the renowned battle in 1836, my clients better appreciated the chapel, relics, exhibits, and haunting ambiance of the venerated site. By far, the best representation of that fateful day is the hand-crafted scale model inside the gift shop.

Our historical respects paid, we strolled down the cascading waterfall steps to Paseo del Rio, San Antonio’s lovely River Walk. Even in winter with the cypress trees bare of needles, this is the city’s showplace of shops, galleries, cruise boats, and other people. Our scrumptious lunch was had at the Original Mexican Restaurant under a colorful umbrella on the water’s edge, my travelers treating me to an enchilada plate while they enjoyed flautas and salad. We then concluded our pedestrian adventure with visits to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and through La Villita.

Heading back north in the mighty ‘Burb, I had so wanted to show Sunken Gardens, but it remains closed for restoration. But Brackenridge Park remains an impressive public space with its woodsy picnic areas, hiking trails, miniature train, and young, swift-flowing river. Up onto the freeway, we were soon on our way towards the Capital City.

But another attraction beckoned our attention. New Braunfels is about as German a town as you’ll find anywhere in Texas, and I wanted my clients to behold a feature that’s not as big as Texas. The Comal River is purportedly the shortest in the world, flowing only two and a half miles to the Guadalupe. Comal is a Spanish word for griddle or shallow pan, and the name makes sense when one visits Landa Park to see the bank of springs that issue forth from the limestone cliffs here and form the sudden river. Would you believe 355 million gallons of pure water daily?! Next door is the Wursthalle, site of Wurstfest, this town’s annual salute to all things Teutonic: sausage, beer, lederhosen, dirndels, polka dancing, and Gemütlichkeit, or good fellowship in the German manner.

With all this to take in and remember, we found ourselves once again in Austin at the Folk House, where we bid a reluctant good-bye.

- HR

In a far-reaching adventure in late November, I led another small group of Russian professors half-way across the Lone Star State. On a Wednesday and Thursday, we went east and west and south and back for nearly 700 miles in all directions. Once more, they enjoyed the benefit of a translator, Natalia K., their associate from Moscow.

Day one was a drive from Austin to the Houston area with a visit to NASA being the main attraction. ‘Twas a fair, cool morning on US 290 as we crossed the Blackland Prairie and Post Oak Savannah into quiet cotton gin-famed Burton, our first rest stop. Here besides the museum are a couple of handsome bed-and-breakfast establishments and a tiny town grocery. This section of the state contains much history from the Mexican colonial period and sites significant to the subsequent Texas Revolution. In Burton branches Scenic Highway 390, the old La Bahía Road from Nacogdoches to Goliad, a venerable thoroughfare from Spanish days.

We continued southeastward and soon encountered the suburban sprawl that is Houston. Where does our society put 5.5 million people except in endless strip shopping centers, never-finished freeways, identical housing subdivisions, tall office buildings, and boisterous amusement complexes? We cruised into the heart of downtown, where my clients snapped digital pictures of the Big Onion’s skyscrapers.

In keeping with Texpert Tours’ policy of flexibility, these travelers first opted to see the Gulf Coast at Galveston. After photo stops along the sandy beach of that historical resort island, we took lunch in nearby Fish Tales Seafood Grill. These courteous Easterners raised their glasses to toast the 6,000 who died in the city’s 1900 hurricane. They were equally impressed by the period homes and mansions as with the Texas Heroes Monument and Moody Gardens pyramids.

Done with lunch and salt sea spray, we headed north on I-45 to NASA’s Space Center Houston. Part interactive museum, part children’s flying circus, this cavernous room holds a space shuttle mock-up, Space Lab replica, astronauts’ survival suites, science experiments, and the inevitable gift shop. Here a visitor gets to touch a moon rock, experience weightlessness almost, and grab a bite to eat in the Zero-G Diner. Most ironic is the display of a life-size X-wing starfighter and Jedi knight uniform—er, uh, costume—from Star Wars. Art imitates life.

The daylight was rapidly waning as we left that microcosm and threw ourselves into the maw of an evening commute in America’s fourth-largest city. In an effort to avoid the worst traffic, I glided the mighty ‘Burb onto the Sam Houston Tollway. It’s an all-elevated road ringing the metro’s outer sections, first west, then north. After paying five transit fees, we were back on 290. My weary clients returned to their northwest Austin lodging by 10:00 p.m., nonetheless excited about the morrow’s prospects.

Thursday dawned chilly and crisp. Using one of Central Texas’ new toll roads, we climbed west and north onto the Jollyville Plateau, angled over to Bertram, and dropped south to Colbert Ranch.

These guests would not leave Texas without gaining the true cowboy experience. The lovely Kali, a life-long riding enthusiast, instructed the Stetson-hatted novices on horse-handling basics, and off they trotted on a 90-minute saddle trip through this picturesque equestrian facility. I stayed behind, interacting with a friendly dog and raucous geese.

The pavement from the ranch leaps off the relatively flat upland into deep canyons skirting Lake Travis. Ranch Road 1431 here is part of the Texas Hill Country Trail and leads to Marble Falls. Lunch choices quickly narrowed to the Bluebonnet Café, where I just might have discovered the world’s best chicken-fried steak. My companions enjoyed the same entrée, but I had to clarify it was beef, not poultry. This down-home eatery is famed for its fresh-bake pies; selections included pecan, apple, cherry, lemon meringue, and chocolate. Our feast was had on a table of solid pink granite, the same material facing the Texas Capital Building and probably coming from the same quarry. We were so well-fed and served, one of our number didn’t want to leave. But we did and then browsed a nearby local western wear store.

U.S. 281 happens to be one of the prettiest routes through Central Texas, and it led us to the Alamo City. We drove directly into downtown, and I dropped my group at the Alamo. After parking, I joined them inside the Shrine of Texas Liberty. With others gathering, I stood over a model of the fortress in 1836 and told the story of events leading up to the Texas Revolution, the 13-day siege, 45-minute battle, Runaway Scrape, and victory at San Jacinto. From there, we strolled the Long Barracks exhibits and gift shop, then strode down to the Riverwalk for supper.

This time of year, holiday lights festoon the trees, bridges, and businesses of Paseo del Rio in every imaginable color. At our favored BBQ restaurant, the clients sampled Herradura, my suggested tequila. They thought the stuff tasty, but ordered another round of shots just to make sure. Right as their grilled chicken salads arrived, a river barge full of caroling costumed kids floated past.

With this Alamo City adventure at a close, I returned the happy travelers to Austin via swift interstates. The Russian professors also beheld Old Pecan Street in a quick drive-by of Austin’s party central before continuing northwest to their suites. Ah, Texas—such diversity in culture, history, and landscape!

- HR

The second weekend of October saw the 150th anniversary celebration of the German-Texan Heritage Society’s headquarters. Perched high on a bluff overlooking Waller Creek, the rammed-earth structure was originally a free school, one of the first established in Austin. Added onto in the 1870s, the school included a residence for the teacher and his family. Today, it’s a great place to research local German history and partake of the Society’s frequent parties and language classes.

Of German parentage myself, I was commissioned to craft a tour of German Austin for the commemoration. Whereas, the Teutonic influence was felt more strongly in San Antonio and the Hill Country, nonetheless, Austin also benefited quite a bit from German influence and sensibilities. These were evident in the sites our trek visited. First was a drive past the German-American Ladies College and a walk in the Texas State Cemetery. Of high interest there is Elisabet Ney’s sculpture of the fallen general Albert Sidney Johnston. Another off-the-bus stop took us inside Ney’s home and studio, “Formosa,” now a museum dedicated to her fine art. We also viewed Weigl’s Iron Works, the Old Land Office, several other commercial buildings and residences, and, of course, Scholz Garten. A German video crew followed us, preparing a documentary for German TV.

Back at the celebration, the crowd experienced a symbolic tapping of the beer keg, oom-pah-pah music, a kinderchor, folk dancing, and plenty of heffeweitzen und wurst. While I wore no lederhosen, I most certainly enjoyed swilling the suds and speaking Deutsch with many fellow attendees.

-HR

Last Thursday found me leading an all-day trek to points due west of Austin. My clients came from Cozumel to attend the Austin City Limits music festival and wanted to see the countryside and city before and after the fest. Also along was “Esméralda,” a young woman interested in becoming a tour guide.

I piloted the mighty Burb straight out US 290 to arrive at the LBJ Ranch just in time for the 10:00 tram tour. The park is jointly run by state and national systems, and uniformed rangers drive, play recordings, and narrate. We saw Johnson’s schoolhouse, dog-run birthplace, cemetery (with new Lady Bird grave), Texas White House, cattle show barn, and pastures. Also adjacent is the Sauer-Beckman Farmstead, where costumed reenactors interpret life as it was for a rural family in 1900. Here we learned how to make cheese from fresh milk and cook a pie in a wood stove.

My little group pushed on to the ultra-quaint German village of Fredericksburg, where we enjoyed a filling lunch of bratwurst, kraut, warm potato salad, and home-baked wheat bread. From the restaurant, easy walks took us to a bookstore, the octagonal Vereins Kirche Museum, outdoor statuary, and the new public library in the old county courthouse. After contributing a modest boost to the local economy, our party parted for another iconic place.

Luckenbach, Texas, claims a population of three, which serves the many visitors in its post office/general store, barbecue joint, and dance hall. South Grape Creek flows just behind the bend in the side road that is the tiny town, where chickens wandered beneath picnic tables and a cat slumbered. The outhouse uses license plates as siding. A bust of the late promoter Hondo Crouch sits atop a red granite pillar by the store’s front porch. He said, “New York will never amount to anything. It’s too far!”

Although my guests declined to stop at any of the nearby fine Texas wineries on their Hill Country adventure, they did request a store stop to stock up on items they needed for the festival: folding chairs, water, and sun protection. Route flexibility and varying options are what a customized Texpert Tour is all about.

More on ACL in a later entry . . .

- HR

The unofficial slogan of the Capital City is “Keep Austin Weird.” Even though a couple other local tour companies tout this motto by selling shirts, caps, and stickers, nobody but the Texpert actually offers a journey to the odd side of town. My KAW trip visits several exemplars of only-here places. Consider these highlights for your custom tour:

The Cathedral of Junk exhibits one man’s success at making beauty out of otherwise ugly, cast-off stuff. Behind Vince Hannemann’s ordinary suburban residence is a tunneled mountain of old banners, bicycles, bottles, bedsprings, and beaucoups of other dross. Reminiscent of Houston’s Orange Show, this eclectic folk-art collection boasts all colors.

Along South 1st Street in South Austin is an array of coffee houses, Tex-Mex cafés, and retail establishments worthy of weird attention. Roadhouse Relics carries “vintage modern” neon signs, foam sculptures, and bumper cars. Nearby are one of the city’s original Moonlight Towers and Casa Neverlandia, which together connect the past with what could be our future.

South Lamar also holds some delightful destinations. Its curves front more great eateries, but the most fun stop is at the South Austin Museum of Popular Culture and the adjacent Planet K. Outside on a long, roofed wall are shrines to Austin’s famous dead, such as Janis Joplin, Grey Ghost, and Jaxon. Inside stands a curious collection of poster art from the city’s live music performers. I met Henry Gonzalez, who’s presenting a retrospective on the Ritz Theater, soon to reopen as the downtown Alamo Draft House. Guests will want to see themselves photographed next to the agave automobile on their way into Planet K to procure candles, incense, comix, and other “family-oriented” items.

Red Wassenich accidentally coined “Keep Austin Weird” in the year 2000, and Texpert highly recommends his new book and website for more ideas for your KAW tour.  This KAW trip introduces you to some of the independent businesses that define Austin. Only Texpert offers you the inside scoop from yours truly – helping to keep Austin weird since 1971.

-HR

This past winter, I had the pleasure of appearing on KLRU’s show Downtown, a weekly exploration of the district that’s “as Austin as it gets.” My segment dealt with the writer William Sidney Porter, who went on to further fame as O. Henry after he left Austin. His time in our fair city was one of triumph and tragedy: Will Porter moved from a young man-about-town to married father to fugitive and convict.

My favorite source for all things O. Henry is a work of historical fiction, A Twist at the End, by Steven Saylor. Thanks to his meticulous research, Saylor’s story transports the reader to the very streets of Austin in the 1880s. We’re invited into the rooming houses, offices, brothels, and bars where Will lived, worked, and played. We learn, in exquisite detail, about the city’s first serial killing spree, a gruesome case never solved. And like so many of O. Henry’s writings, this full-length novel concludes with a surprise.

My Writers’ Ramble, a literary tour of Austin, includes stops in places meaningful to the life of Will Porter as well as other prominent penmen and women.

-HR

My two clients yesterday wore identically patterned dresses, but in different colors of lightweight material. Both from Green Bay, Wisconsin, they had already figured out how to stay cool in Texas in August. One had just moved to this metro area and was welcoming her visiting friend. An amateur photographer colleague of mine was also along for the ride.

This Heart of Austin tour began at the Waterloo Compound with a look at some of Austin’s oldest commercial and residential structures. Passing Esther’s Follies, my guests learned about pecan trees and Old Pecan Street on their way to the Driskill and Littlefield Building. The grand Congress Avenue is always ready for a parade, or so we imagined ourselves in our slow cruise in front of the Paramount Theater, Hickory Street Bar and Grill, and Larmour Block. Once beyond the stately Governor’s Mansion, I parked the mighty ‘Burb on the Capitol’s west side and into that venerable edifice we strode.

With so much to see inside the statehouse, an hour barely does it justice, or legislative for that matter. Beside two chambers and the Rotunda, of course, the building holds many out-of-the-way and secret places that only an insider would know to show. That’s exactly why people always seem to love my tours.

From the government complex, our route led us to the neighboring University campus just as students were moving in for the fall semester. Typically, the streets are torn up in front of UT’s South Mall as a way of welcoming back the throngs of classes and teachers. I’m told the city’s traffic engineer is an Aggie.

Up the Drag and over into the LBJ Library, we got an excellent perspective on recent U.S. history. Since my clients were both nurses, I showed them the Nursing School and close-by Brackenridge Hospital, which I hope wasn’t overly traumatic. Adjacent Waterloo Park, named in honor of the original “village” that became the city of Austin, is the site this weekend of the Hot Sauce Festival.

Driven once more past the big pink dome, these ladies took a close look at the shellstone making the Travis County Courthouse and marveled at the city’s ubiquitous historical landmarks and public open spaces. One of the prettiest in town, Auditorium Shores is gearing up for Saturday’s Red Bull Flugtag Texas, a celebration of human-powered flying machines. The new Lady Bird (Town) Lake Park is also just about to open.

To get back north to the tour’s point of beginning, we glided up Lamar Boulevard, which edges Shoal Creek and Pease Park, site of Eeyore’s Birthday Party every spring. Not far off Lamar, though unseen, is the ultra-Moderne Bohn House, which design was inspired by a science fiction movie. My Green Bay friends couldn’t believe our three hours together were already at an end, but they expressed grateful farewells along with my warmest personal regards.

-HR