Gerald McLeod

Austin

Columnist at The Austin Chronicle

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Articles

Day Trips: Quan Am Statue, Sugar Land

1 week ago | austinchronicle.com | Gerald McLeod

Vietnamese statue of goddess of compassion is eighth-tallest in U.S. The Quan Am statue towers over the Vietnam Buddhist Center in Sugar Land with a sense of peace and tranquility. As one of the tallest statues in America, she looks over a pond and garden with an ornate red bridge symbolizing the path to enlightenment. Quan Am is one of the highly revered bodhisattvas, or one who seeks awakening, and is known in Vietnamese Buddhism as the goddess of compassion or mercy.
Day Trips: Gruene Hall, Gruene

2 weeks ago | austinchronicle.com | Gerald McLeod

Historic dance hall celebrates its 50th anniversary with a year of special events The stage at Gruene Hall has seen the legends of Texas music over the last 50 years. About the size of a modest living room, the raised platform at the southern end of the tin-roofed barn has also been an incubator for up-and-coming talent.
Day Trips & Beyond: June Events Roundup

3 weeks ago | austinchronicle.com | Gerald McLeod

El Cosmico closes, Ottine opens, and more travel news and events It’s June and time to head to the beach, go to the oldest dance hall, or just attend an event to taste the local color. Dig your toes into the sand on one of Texas’ beaches. Summer road trip. From Sabine Pass to Boca Chica, Texas has 367 miles of shoreline. The Texas Constitution guarantees the public the right to walk on coastal beaches. The challenge can be finding the right access point.
Day Trips: Ottine Mineral Springs, Gonzales

3 weeks ago | austinchronicle.com | Gerald McLeod

“Taking the waters” comes to Ottine Ottine Mineral Springs south of Luling is a magical place that invites you to come take the waters. The folks from Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs in New Mexico have reimagined the campus of former Gonzales Warm Spring Rehabilitation Hospital as a health and wellness resort. Phase one of the Texas resort opened June 1 with a beautiful array of pools ringed by lounge chairs and cabanas.
Day Trips: Brackenridge Park, San Antonio

4 weeks 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

1 month 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

1 month 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

1 month 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

1 month 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.