Jose Angel

The elbow has made it easier to sleep thanks to some new exercises. Traveling has made it easier to sleep as well. Money is running out, so long weekend flights are no longer an option, at least for some time. There were enough Wyndham points for a night's stay in Houston. Hilton points would have covered most of the cost of one night in San Antonio. Most "artificial treasures" (e.g. churches, museums) have been discovered and photographed, but new ones occasionally catch my eye. A few old ones such as museums may come up with temporary exhibitions or a better phone camera may make them worth visiting again. No winter storms had been forecasted in early January when this MLK weekend trip was planned, but as the forecast changed, this trip had to be cut into two parts.

The first part of the trip started early Saturday morning before dawn. I started with the science museum right across Herman Park in Houston. Some minerals and other artifacts were changed or moved to a different location within the museum. Some minerals were even illuminated differently. Most of the pictures of the same mineral looked better with this newer phone (Pixel 8 Pro instead of a Pixel 2 almost five years ago). Some exceptions were due to better lighting:

The Museum of Fine Arts is located at a walking distance:

Other small museums in the area include a Czech history museum and The Menil Collection.

The latter one only allows pictures in a multi-colored light room as well as hallways. There was not that much to see in the Menil collection, but I've never seen so many people keeping an eye on you in any museum gallery. It was almost impossible to take a picture of those few neon signs that were worth photographing. In order to reduce costs and make this small museum profitable, they should consider charging admission fees and reducing excessive security while also allowing no-flash photography. This is the only place in that museum where pictures can be taken:

After visiting the Rienzi Museum (a mansion) in March 2019, I discovered another one called the Bayou Bend Collection:

There was still some time left to see an aquarium. Despite the fact that I don't recommend it, walking around the area is worth it:

Instead of driving to San Antonio on Sunday and stopping by the Czech and German painted churches I had to go back to Dallas, timing my return right before the ice storm or wintry mix that was expected. I decided to take a detour to Saint Anthony Cathedral Basilica in Beaumont. It looks like there's a nice mansion nearby, but I had to wait more than an hour before it opened. After carefully checking the weather forecast I thought it was best not risking driving at night so I decided to go back right after mass.

The second part of the trip took place on the first weekend of February. I left before dawn in order to see as many of the Painted Churches of Texas as possible. I thought I'd seen all of them until I found out that there's a bunch of them, not just the ones that are offered by the Schulenburg Chamber of Commerce. Not all of them were open. These are the churches that I visited, starting with St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Weimar:

St. Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church in Dubinia:

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Ammansville:

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church in High Hill:

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church southwest of Schulenburg was closed. Ascension of our Lord Catholic Church in Moravia was also closed.

St. Mary's Czech Catholic Church near Hallestsville was closed, but I was able to take this picture, as there was a glass door:

Queen of Peace Catholic Church near Yoakum:

St. Cyril and Methodius Czech Catholic Church in Shiner:

St. Josep's Catholic Church in Moulton:

St. Mary Catholic Church in Praha:

Saints. Cyril and Methodius Parish in Cistern was closed.

I made it to the Magic Time Machine in San Antonio for early dinner before going to bed early:

Sunday February 4th was the day that I returned back to Dallas, but stopping in several places along the way. Before going back I visited St. Mary of the Atonement, Mission San Juan, and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower (all Catholic churches) followed by the Briscoe Museum of Western Art:

Lockhart is located just south of Austin. You can find this beautiful county courthouse:

I found free two hour parking on Sixth Street in Austin, where the Driskill Hotel is located, at a walking distance from the Capitol. Palestinians were peacefully marching on South Congress Avenue, moving in a southward direction:

The last stop was in Belton, where the Bell County Courthouse is located:

Bonus day trips (updated on February 21st):

The third weekend of February was Presidents Day. Some places in Texas open on weekends, while others open on weekdays only. I do not see a reason to spend a night or two in a hotel. This is what I saw on Saturday, February 17th, starting with the Erath County Courthouse in Stephenville:

As many similar courthouses in Texas, this is an artistic building. This was followed by a brief stop in Llano, on my way to Kerrville:

I had no plans to stop in Fredericksburg if it wasn't for this church that was closed. A chapel that is located right next to it was open:

There is a sculpture garden in Kerrville as well as a small Western Art Museum and a small Arts Center:

I was about to purchase this painting for $200 dollars (it was being sold at the Arts Center) until I remembered that I have no place to put it. This shows McKittrick Canyon in the fall. This is a place that I miss and that due to the distance from Dallas and the time of the year in which maples turn red, yellow and orange I may never see it again. At least not while I'm still teaching or working as an educator:

This is the Museum of Western Art. I never thought that it'd be such a small place with only three galleries. I may visit again due to the rotating exhibitions:

I was debating whether to return to Fredericksburg to see the church right before 5:00 PM mass and attend mass or visit some churches in San Antonio. In order to minimize the amount of time driving on the highway at night I decided to go to San Antonio. As I was not fully satisfied with the pictures that I took at St. Mary of the Atonement two weeks earlier (compared with the ones that were taken about five years ago). Just as I had suspected, afternoon pictures look better as the sun is not shining directly through the stained-glass windows:

Holy Trinity Catholic Church has beautiful stained glasses. I wanted to get better quality pictures than the ones that were taken a few years ago: