Gerald McLeod

Austin

Columnist at The Austin Chronicle

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Articles

Day Trips: Brackenridge Park, San Antonio

1 week ago | austinchronicle.com | Gerald McLeod

Alamo City park is more than a picnic spot Brackenridge Park in San Antonio has 126 years of history and the bones of a world-class park. The heavily wooded area near the headwaters of the San Antonio River north of downtown has seen human occupation for 12,000 years. In 1899, George Brackenridge donated 199 acres to the city. Over the years the park has grown to 343 acres. The park now includes the zoo, Japanese Tea Garden, museum, and municipal golf course.
Day Trips: Healing Uvalde Mural Project, Uvalde

2 weeks ago | austinchronicle.com | Gerald McLeod

Uvalde mural project helps the community remember and heal The Healing Uvalde Mural Project can’t help but bring a tear to your eye, and, maybe, a smile to your face. Nineteen young children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde were murdered on May 24, 2022, by a madman not yet old enough to buy a beer, but he could legally purchase a high-powered, semiautomatic weapon with armor-piercing ammunition.
Healing Uvalde Mural Project Guide

2 weeks ago | austinchronicle.com | Gerald McLeod

Art project memorializes lives lost in 2022 tragedy Artists from around the state came together in South Texas during the summer of 2022 to memorialize and celebrate 21 lives lost at the Robb Elementary shooting on March 24, 2022, with 22 murals in downtown Uvalde. In some cases, family and friends helped the artist paint the brick wall, each adding their own special mark to the artwork.
Day Trips: Texas Surf Museum, Galveston

3 weeks ago | austinchronicle.com | Gerald McLeod

New Gulf Coast museum rides the Texas surfing scene The Texas Surf Museum in Galveston documents a niche sport along the Texas coast that captured the imagination of local beach boys and girls. American teenagers were introduced to surfing culture through popular music coming out of California in the 1960s. Even landlocked youths dreamed of “riding the wild surf.” Spring breaks often involved a long car ride to the Texas coast for a ride on a rented surfboard.
Day Trips: Lake Mineral Wells State Park & Trailway, Mineral Wells

4 weeks ago | austinchronicle.com | Gerald McLeod

Lake Mineral Wells State Park and Trailway offers a diverse list of outdoor activities in a wooded setting. In the hills of the Cross Timbers region outside of Mineral Wells, the 646-acre lake attracts anglers, boaters, and swimmers. Cliffs in the park challenge rock climbers. The park has hiking trails open to mountain bikers and horseback riders. The Trailway is a 20-mile hike-and-bike trail between Mineral Wells and Weatherford that is also open to equestrians.
Day Trips: Sunny Hill Flower Farm, Luling

1 month ago | austinchronicle.com | Gerald McLeod

Central Texas farm offers a blooming good time Sunny Hill Flower Farm sits on an idyllic high point between Lockhart and Luling, surrounded by woods and pastures. A well-tended garden of greenery with splashes of floral color occupies a corner of the property. On Friday afternoons from 5pm to 7pm, Kathryn Deladurantey opens her garden for pick-your-own flower harvesting. The flower-picking season goes from late April into July, depending on the weather.
Day Trips & Beyond: May Events Roundup

1 month ago | austinchronicle.com | Gerald McLeod

Warm up for summer with frozen margs and fests around Texas May means it’s time to take mom on a day trip to celebrate the birth of the frozen margarita. The last touches are made to the new Harbor Bridge in Corpus Christi before its grand opening on May 10. Corpus Christi bridge. The last of the cranes are coming down as the construction of the new Harbor Bridge in Corpus Christi enters the home stretch.
Day Trips: SandFest, Port Aransas

1 month ago | austinchronicle.com | Gerald McLeod

Gulf Coast sand sculpture competition is the place to see some sandy feats SandFest1: 2024 Texas SandFest, Master Solo Fourth Place, “The Dude of Vibes” by Damon Langlois The Texas SandFest in Port Aransas mixes sandcastles, carnival food, and island music for a one-of-a-kind weekend on the beach. With all that is happening, the sand art is the star attraction. Much of the weekend is watching the sculptures, from the sublime to the weird, take shape.
Day Trips: Statue of Union, Sugar Land

1 month ago | austinchronicle.com | Gerald McLeod

Houston-area statue rises to third-tallest in the U.S. The Statue of Union towers over the flat urban landscape of Sugar Land. At 90 feet tall and 90 tons, the bronze monument to Lord Hanuman is the third-tallest statue in the U.S., and the tallest of the Hindu deity in North America. In Hindu mythology, Hanuman is half-human, half-monkey, and a devoted follower of Prince Rama, considered an incarnation of Vishnu, one of the main deities in Hinduism.
Day Trips: Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon

1 month ago | austinchronicle.com | Gerald McLeod

The history attic of the Texas Panhandle closes for the foreseeable future The Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon is the attic of Texas. Not because it’s near the top of the Panhandle just 20 miles south of Amarillo, but because it contains the old trunks filled with our collective memories. Unfortunately, the museum closed to the public at the end of March until further notice, according to a statement issued by Walter V.