Inner Space Caverns in Georgetown Texas

Texas is actually a very nice area for cave fans.  There are some really interesting and historic show caves to explore.

Inner Space Cavern was at the top of my list of caves I hoped to visit on our Texas trip because of its uniqueness in the way it was discovered.  In 1963, the Texas highway Department was doing work constructing Interstate 35 when they made this discovery!  Tools were being sucked into the ground as they worked, and they finally realized that there was a huge cave right underneath of their construction area!  Three short years later, this newly discovered cave was open for visitors!

Since the cave was found so recently, it is exceptionally well preserved.  People didn't rush in immediately and paint their names on the walls.  No one came in and broke off formations to take home with them.

It looks like those lucky discoverers in 1963 were likely the first humans in the cave, though animal remains were plentiful.  It seems that in some areas, animals fell through sinkholes, and could not get back to the surface.  Luckily for the animals in the area, all natural entrances closed up 14,000 years ago.

We arrived early in the morning, and explored the gift shop area as we waited for our tour to begin.  One thing that I found to be very unique in their gift shop was a gumball machine that sold rocks gems.  For a whopping fifty cents, I ended up getting a piece of a dinosaur bone found in Utah!  I was pretty happy!

The gift shop here is well stocked and attractive.  I did find a nice book on the cave for a few dollars.  I was impressed with the fact that a cat hangs out in the gift shop.

After our time inside, our guide (I think her name was Elinor) lead us to the cave!

The entrance is right under the gift shop (see photo).  They do take photos once inside of the cave that they sell for $12 back inside after the tour.  Yes, for $12 I will always buy the souvenir photo- and I let them know that I was impressed by the fact that they did not use green screen.

And the cave itself is very nice.  Our guide pointed out several formations, and told us stories involving the ones that resembled fairytale characters.  The cave had the usual features (bacon, water drops hitting your head, lights out, etc.).  We were shown areas where tools had fallen during the discovery of the cave.

Check out my photos!

Dell Diamond- Home of the Round Rock Express, Round Rock Texas

We stopped by the Dell Diamond in Round Rock Texas, home of the Round Rock Express!  Baseball season had not yet started while we were there, but the good people with the Express were very kind about letting us take a peak at the park.

This is the home of the AAA Texas Rangers, and while we were there, there was some excitement, as they felt that Josh Hamilton might be starting out the season here!

The Express have a nice gift shop, and a very roomy park for game days!  Check out my photos!

Museum of the Weird- Austin Texas

The Museum of the Weird in Austin Texas was one of the few places in town that I HAD to visit.  It has been WAY up on my list for some time.

I think I first heard about the place from Loren Coleman.  His endorsement caries a lot of weight in my books when it comes to weird road trips and legends.

That mention happened a couple of years back when the Museum of the Weird acquired the LEGENDARY Minnesota Iceman.  I will get to the Iceman in a moment.


The Museum houses all sorts of odd mummified creatures and other items, most made to resemble something else.  The usual, but always fun Fiji mermaids are here, along with cool fairy fossils, turtle boys, demons, etc.  Sure- fakes, gaffs, and folklore relics are all around, but most are very well done.  I personally really enjoy admiring these odd works of art while thinking about the "maybes" or "what ifs" that they suggest.

After spending time exploring the museum, we were able to watch an old "Unsolved Mysteries" clip about the main attraction, the Minnesota Iceman.

At this point, we were introduced to a guide, who escorted us to see the actual Minnesota Iceman.

You can search the web and find a ton of info on the Iceman.  In fact, I strongly encourage you to.  Short story- A "missing link" creature frozen in a block of ice was shown around carnivals and fairs in the 1960s and 70s.  Some people strongly felt that this was a real deal caveman.  Others felt it was a fake.

Well, the Museum of the Weird has found the Iceman, and he is on display there today!  He is in the one area of the museum where photos are not allowed.  You can look at him all you want though!

After the viewing of the Iceman, we were taken past an apartment above the museum where Johnny Depp once lived (that's pretty weird).  Then, we went into a small theater, where our host revealed that he is a bit of a performer himself, and he did a very weird performance telling jokes, and hammering things into his nose.  He also put his hand in a bear trap.


We definitely felt that we had gotten our twelve dollars worth at the Museum of the Weird after this performance. 

Greetings fron San Antonio Texas- Commerce Street, looking East

Sent December 30th, 1908 fron San Antonio.  The sender wishes a friend in Michigan a happy New Year.

The Driskill Hotel- Austin Texas

Check out these GREAT photos from the Driskill!  We were lucky enough to stay here while in Austin and I can easily say that it ranks as one of the best hotels I have ever stayed in!  Its only competition would be West Baden Springs in Indiana.

Here are some facts about the Driskill, from a fact sheets provided at the front desk:

In 1886 Jesse Driskill opens the Driskill Hotel.  The Daily Statesman calls it "One of the Finest Hotels in the Whole Country."  It is estimated to cost $400,000, or about $92 million today.

In 1887 The Driskill hosts its first inaugural ball for the newly elected Texas Governor establishing a tradition.

In 1890, four months after the death of Jesse Driskill, the hotel purchases a life sized portrait of the hotel's founder.  It stands in the lobby today.

Lyndon Baines Johnson meets his future wife for their first date here in 1934.  LBJ would utilize the hotel in the 1960s to await election results to see if his Vice Presidential campaign was successful.  In 1964 he would await election results to see if he was re-elected President.

The front desk also gave me a sheet on the ghost lore associated with the hotel.  It notes that Johnette Napolitano, lead singer of one of my favorite bands Concrete Blonde, wrote "Ghost of a Texas Ladies' Man" inspired by her stay at the Driskill!

We arrived on a busy, rainy night.  We went ahead and did the valet parking as traffic was rough in the area, and we weren't sure about garage parking.  We ended up dealing with several bellhops and valets while we were there, and they were all exceptional.

One named Josh helped us several times, and ended up talking to us a lot about the area, and things to do.  We also had a great waiter in the 1886 Café named Edison.  He was amazing too.  Service at the Driskill was uncompromised.

More on the service- one day we asked housekeeping for some extra tea.  Instead of handing us some extra tea bags, they brought us a tray of teas and condiments with fresh lemons.  VERY classy.

We spent a couple of evenings in the 1886 Café, where Edison told us old recipes were used in many of the meals served there.  I had to try the cheese soup which was great!

There is beautiful and unique original art all over the Driskill.  Lining the halls to the rooms, there are high quality paintings.  We took time to admire the art on several floors.  I took some pictures of the paintings but they do not translate well to photo.  it was a treat going around and seeing all of the museum quality original paintings.

One evening we were walking back to our room and there was a very talented trio playing music in the main restaurant area.  As we walked by, I recognized the first few chords of "Bertha".  We stuck around and listened to a great cover of one of my all time favorite Dead songs.  Sometimes a great place, a great moment, and great live music all come together and you have a magical moment.  This was one of them for me.


I could very easily go on and on about the nice experiences we had at the Driskill.  The hotel is historic and comfortable and I am so glad that we were able to visit.

Sheraton Gunter Hotel- San Anotnio Texas

On our last day in San Antonio, I wanted to run around and check out a few things that we couldn't get to our first time around.  And I couldn't leave town without making a brief pilgrimage to the Sheraton Gunter Hotel.

In 1936, blues legend Robert Johnson had a recording session here.  If you are not familiar with Robert Johnson you really should look him up.  In some circles he is credited with being the starting point of rock music.

There is a legend that he sold his soul to the devil for his talents as a blues guitarist.  There are variations on this story (including one that involved another blues musician altogether, also named Johnson). 

Sure, that's a fun legend... but I have heard people make the argument that the story is no legend, but that it really happened.

Whatever happened, we do know that Robert Johnson spent some time here, at the Gunter Hotel, recording.

We were in a bit of a rush, so I pretty much just went inside and took a few pictures.  The front lobby are was very attractive.  They do have a cool picture of Johnson up promoting their bar.

After we got home from our trip, a friend of mine let me borrow his recent issue of "Texas Highways" which contains an article on the Gunter and it's Robert Johnson connection.  It looks like the hotel is getting more comfortable with their status as a holy place for music fans.  Several bands have stopped by, while in town, to visit.

"The Crime Buff's Guide to Outlaw Texas" by Ron Franscell

I mentioned Ron Franscell's "The Crime Buff's Guide to Outlaw..." series before here.  I did want to take a second to mention his contribution to the state of Texas.

Franscell divides this book into three sections, giving South, West, and North Texas their own sections, and giving an entire chapter each to the JFK Assassination, and one to Bonnie and Clyde.

The book seems VERY complete, everything you would expect to be covered appears here (Waco, The Phantom Killer of Texarkana, Texas Tower, etc).  Others that you may not expect also appear, like the 1919 White Sox, and John Wilkes Booth (or, at least someone claiming to be Booth).

Forget the usual ghost books.  Pick up Ron Franscell's books if you really want to know about the dark side of a state!  He gives a great, brief description of the crime, the criminals, the place, etc... AND he gives you specific locations!  He also suggests more books about specific events that he discusses.

Grand Central Cafe in Kingsland Texas

Our last major stop while we explored Texas Hill Country was at the Grand Central Café in Kingsland Texas.

We stopped here and had a very nice dinner.  In fact, if we had randomly stopped here for a meal, I would be talking about this quality little establishment anyway.  The food and service were both great.

We visited here for a very specific reason though.  The Grand Central Café is connected to a legendary horror movie!  In fact, it is forever linked to THE most legendary Texas horror film, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"!

The original, 1974 film was filmed inside of this home.  The actual building has been moved to its current location, but this IS THE HOUSE!

When I was younger and really appreciated horror, THIS is the movie that REALLY scared me!  It was brutal and dark, and the actors totally sold it.  You believed they were the most terrible humans imaginable!

When we planned our Texas trip, this was a stop I had to make.


The staff was super cool at Grand Central Café.  When we first came in, I told them that this was a pilgrimage for me, and they told me it was fine to explore the place and take photos.

Our waitress told me about a reunion of actors that took place a year or so ago.  She said they were all super cool.  "Leatherface" Gunnar Hansen attended (he just recently passed away) and she was also impressed with Hitchhiker Edwin Neal.  I have met those guys too, and I always found them to be generous with their fans.

I talked to a man running the bar area upstairs and I got the impression that they have been shocked by the fans coming out to see the house.  He said that fans of the movie from around the world stop by.

I didn't want to leave, but we were hoping to get to Austin before it got too late, and they were calling for rain in the evening, so we got on with our trip.  Hey Grand Central Café, thanks for the nice meal, and thanks for preserving a great piece of horror history!

Luckenbach Texas

As we drove through the Hill Country of Texas, we stopped in Luckenbach.  There is a small saloon/gift shop there.  There is a dance hall, but not much was going on while we were there.  A guy was playing guitar and singing.

We were hoping to grab a burger while there, but their grill is only open on weekends I believe.

I did love the gift shop, as there were cute critters, including this cat, hanging out.  Any Luckenbach souvenir you can imagine was available.


You may wonder, "why do people go to Luckenbach?"

Well, people in Luckenbach would probably answer, "Everybody's somebody in Luckenbach" which is the town motto.

To me, Luckenbach is the town you go to in Texas just because.  You go there because it is there.... kind of like Rabbit Hash Kentucky, or Hell Michigan.  You should go there.