The museums disallowed flash photography so despite my fancy new camera (well, fancy for being a point-and-shoot), a few came out blurry.

My brother and I drove separately in the Ram with just enough room for our luggage. I wanted to take the Saab since the weather was pretty nice down south, but I wanted to leave the Ram with Ian in San Antonio so he could sell it and get me my five grand.

Stopped at mom's to help load stuff.

Stepdad's 2004 LX470 as of today has 295k!

Little sister insisted on taking my camera.

The climate controls are broken so there was no defrost (didnt need it, thankfully) and the blower is stuck on full speed. The temp controls work at least. The Ram was unusually nice to drive with grippy brakes and quick steering (for a large pickup).
http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020484.jpg
Somewhere in the middle of nowhere the fuel light came on. I hadn't been paying attention so I pulled up my GPS and looked for the nearest gas station.
I ended up in some mountain/tourist town and the only station was closed.
Great.
I went the opposite direction across the highway and thankfully found a small town.
Average MPG @ 70-80mph: 16mpg

Checked in to a Mariott in Denton TX

Caught up with my folks and didn't have to pay for the room. Yay!

This being Texas, I mozied on over to Whataburger.

This basically summarizes Dallas. Stacks and stacks of highways crossing the sky. Tall buildings. Wide lanes. Texas has more space than it knows what to do with.
http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020499.jpg[/img]
Dallas

My brother drove while I read the paper. Printed media is so retro.

A SIGN THAT SAYS TO OBEY SIGNS. REALLY? COME ON.

A familiar rear end. Damn Crossfires.

IKEA! Round Rock TX.

Kottbullar (meatballs) and mashed potatoes. Delicious. Four bucks!

My brother got an open-faced sandwich, something he enjoyed frequently during his year in Denmark.

The store was enormous with a furniture showroom, Costco-like warehouse area, cafe, snack bar, and home goods store all under one roof. My feet were a bit tired from the walk.
Note the sign that strongly recommends clearing your own table. Ikea's corporate officers are so cost-conscious that they routinely eat at the retail stores because its so cheap. When they ordered company cars Volvo upgraded them to leather seats for free. They rejected the cars and told Volvo they didn't want to look spendy in front of shareholders.

Bought two woks and two chocolate bars.

Austin TX

We met up with Ian in San Antonio at Jim's Restaurant.
We were heading to Corpus Christi next and decided that despite the Seville's slowly failing head gasket, it was going to be a MUCH more comfortable way to travel around Texas than cramming three dudes into the front of a pickup, so we swapped cars.
http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020517.jpg[/img]
Pink grapefruit Perrier. I need to find this locally.


The three of us stayed in a nice little room. I called dibs on the bed. Ian got the foldout. My brother got the rollaway.

We caught up with my folks at the hotel. My mom handed me fried rice as soon as we arrived. That's what asians do. They hand out rice.
http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020522.jpg[/img]
MOAR WUTABURGAR

Heading to Padre Island to find food.

Looks just like the causeways in Tampa.

Anyone know what this is?

I dont know my classic cars very well.

IM A SHAAAARK
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Tourist traps.

Tourists must really love t-shirts.

We lined up for the ferry at the north tip of the island.

lol
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And away we go.
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BIRDS
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TRAINS
http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020558.jpg

Looped around and ended up in downtown Corpus Christi. Parked where I should not have parked. [oh well]



Selena memorial. Lots of affection by the locals even though she only had a couple hits.

BIRDS


Went to Joe's to scarf down some bread pudding, drink a gin and tonic, and hang out by the water.

The wonderful view out of our room at the Mariott.


BEACH TIME


Stepdad, mom, and siblings deboarding the Lexus

SEE YOU B*TCHES LATER.


Yeah, its time for tires.

There was a big "thing" on the beach that the parks department was moving. Not a clue what it was.



Went for a drive up to Bob Hall Pier

Texans being Texy


Found a seafood place next to a boat dock.
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Crab cakes!

Gulf skrimps!

Riding the ferry back to Corpus Christi

Headed to Taco Cabana later that night. The guys in front of us gave the drive through worker a few finger gestures.

Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi

Dolphins!
http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020625.jpg

Oh hi

Awesome eagle being awesome

WHAZUUUUUUUUUP



I LOVE OTTERS

Erwin Assassins

Dolphins doing tricks

This picture was intended to capture the cute thing on the far left of the photo.

USS Lexington

u jelly?
http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020727.jpg

http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020750.jpg
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Caught up with my parents afterwards for lunch.
I learned that my stepdad's friend's son is one of the writers for "Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia". They met him the night before but we missed out because we were doing our own thing.

Looks like a daily driver.

Oh hi there

Between the three of us, we each had one phone representing each major smartphone platform.
Evo (brother's), iPhone 4 (Ian's), Blackberry Tour (mine)
My brother's Evo had no battery life. Ian's iPhone had no signal. My Blackberry had s*** software.

Went to Doc's halfway between the mainland and Padre Island for beer and cake.

Someone pulled up in a boat for dinner.

The Mariott Residence Inn in Corpus Christi had two small roaches. Gross. :o

New style of penny looks STUPID.

Heading back to San Antonio, it started to rain pretty hard.

The water on my foot was leaking in from outside. Nice job, GM! When they were supposed to be carefully assembling my car (which originally cost $50-$60k), they were drinking and smoking:
http://www.q45.org/gallery/gallery3/var ... tramck.jpg
I still love it though. Good thing I only paid a few grand.

Arrived in San Antonio at a new Mariott. MUCH nicer than the one in Corpus.
http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020781.jpg
The manager even posted his cell phone number in the elevator.



The room was huge. Two beds, a foldout, a bathroom, and a kitchen/living area.

The view was a significant upgrade over the two shopping carts and busted fence we saw before.


Another one of my stepdad's friends treated us to dinner at Paesano's. It was AWESOME.

Bought a new Polo sweater the night before on Christmas eve. I love it.

Went to San Antonio's Riverwalk looking for food on Christmas.

Ended up at Tex's bar and grill.

Sangria margarita. Holy hell that was a strong drink. Handed my keys to Ian.

Little did I realize, sitting behind me was Kristen Bell.

She posted this to her Twitter account after we left.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM GENERAL MOTORS


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Went to the Hyatt downtown for Christmas dinner with my folks and Ian's mom.

There was prime rib there. I ate it.

Surprise Christmas gift? For me?
[No.]

Next day, headed up to the LBJ library in Austin.
Assorted pics of the LBJ museum:
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Presidential Lincoln limo:




The archives
The Walter Cronkite exhibit:

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http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020880.jpg

http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020882.jpg
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LBJ's oval office:

http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020918.jpg
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http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020920.jpg
http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020923.jpg
^Check out the slide-out phone thingy.
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http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020922.jpg
http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020924.jpg
^Old TV remote
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First Lady's office:
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http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020930.jpg
http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020932.jpg
^Classic Trinitron
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I spent $50 at the gift shop on actual campaign buttons and stickers from the 70s, 80s, and 90s.
http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020935.jpg
http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/userpics/ ... 030349.JPG
I also bought a 3D white house puzzle and pieced it together. Took a couple hours. The interior has a complete frame holding up the walls and the roof. The stairs in front were quite tricky.
Conclusion: LBJ's museum was a bit boring compared to others but the Cronkite exhibit was thoroughly detailed and well presented. The introductory film was narrated by Ladybird who came across has a classy lady with a sharp sense of humor. Its important to note that LBJ's library is FREE. He wanted it to be that way, so I got way more than my money's worth. Since its right off 35, its worth a visit.
LBJ presided over one hell of a crazy decade. He was foisted into the oval office after Kennedy's assassination and faced a cultural upheaval and a costly war (in terms of US casualties). Kennedy was far more conservative, while LBJ's agenda aggressively expanded the federal government.
http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020944.jpg
My brother was heading to Vegas so we went back down to Corpus Christi and dropped him off at the airport.

Stopped at a Ford dealer in Corpus selling an LS400 that Ian wanted to look at. It was rather tired and I didnt even bother taking pictures of it. It was an ugly baby s*** light brown color.

I set the GPS for College Station TX, where George HW Bush's library is located. Most of the route was well-paved but sparsely populated state roads. Two-way traffic moved at 75mph. It was a bit unnerving at times.

How about that! An old-fashioned Wal-Mart that hasn't been converted into a monstrosity. It had the double-door entrance with a lobby seen often in the 70s and 80s. From the entrance you could see all four walls. Buying wipers was easy and fast. The store only had eight checkout lines. I wish there were more small department stores near me.

Booked Hawthorn Suites in College Station on Priceline. The stupid fire detector kept beeping so we switched rooms.



Not bad for $38. Not awesome. The shower head was strong but there was hard water.
George HW Bush's presidential library:





The interior features fluorescent lighting and tie-down hooks welded to the frame for air transport.
Various GHWB museum exhibits:
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http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020973.jpg
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http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020984.jpg
http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020985.jpg

^At his wedding reception, George said to Barbara "Enjoy it. This is the last time I'll ever dance in public."
I despise dancing. Good for him.
http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020985.jpg
A restored replica of the Studebaker that George received as a gift from his father Prescott:
http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020988.jpg
http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020989.jpg
http://www.q45.org/cpg/albums/texas%20c ... 020990.jpg



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FUN FACT: The guy who designed this car for Studebaker also designed the graphics for Air Force One.

The original invoice! There's a $5 fee for a Polaroid. That's a LOT of money for a picture! Nearly $50!
And this is how I do business as well:

I've never signed a contract with a partner, supplier, or vendor in my life. I prefer to make deals in person. Of course, it depends on the nature of one's business.





































































































