Sunday, March 5th, we drove to Cedar Park which is northwest of Austin to ride a steam engine train to Burnet, TX and back. The ride there was an experience in itself. The traffic around Austin is absolutely the worst I've ever driven in and of course the speed limit was 70 mph with everyone doing at least 80 - 85!

The steam engine was down for repairs so we had a diesel engine pulling us. We traveled in the club car which was air conditioned and had table and chair seating. Very comfortable with large windows for viewing the passing scenery. The train ride was interesting with our attendant giving us a lot of information about the history of the train line and the surrounding area. Unfortunately, the town of Burnet was big dissappointment. The brochure provided by the town of Burnet indicated a lot of little stores that would have provided an entertaining afternoon browsing through if they had been open. Alas, all but three were closed! About 45 minutes before the train departed Burnet, the local theater company put on a wild west skit which was very cute and loud, what with all the gun fire. It was the typical good guy (sheriff), bad guy, saloon gals skit. They did a good job and the kids that were there seemed to really enjoy it.

Below is a picture of the train as it sat in Burnet.

















During the past couple of days we have driven through San Marcos and New Braunfels just taking in the sights. Lots of buildings that date way back. The picture below of the First United Methodist Church in San Marcos is my favorite. The church is a restored Gothic Victorian style and has served a congregation with a history of unbroken continuity since 1847. I sure wish that we could have attended church there so I could have seen the inside. The stained glass windows are so pretty, I can only imagine how they would look from inside with the sunshine streaming through them.

Tomorrow we are off to other places. We haven't decided we to yet. Stay tuned....