For us, the big deal in heading out on a road trip, is that it takes so long from where we live to get out of Texas! The state is so vast, that we add two days of serious driving before we really begin our journey. That said, there are some very pretty parts of the State and it is always a pleasure to enjoy the scenery as we motor along.

And, that is so true of this road trip where we plough along the I-10 West (Interstate/Motorway) all day long. Today will be our longest day of driving covering some 600 miles and whizzing through Texas towns of Hempstead, Brenham, Paige and Johnson City, a town which rose to fame after one of its residents, Lyndon B. Johnson, became the 36^th President of the United States.

Known as LBJ, Johnson moved to Johnson City at age five. After graduating from Johnson City High School, he enrolled at the Texas State Teacher’s College where he excelled in campus politics and earned a teaching certificate.

In 1936, from the front porch of his family’s home in Johnson City, LBJ announced his campaign for a vacant seat in the United State House of Representatives. He went on to serve six terms in the House until 1948 when he was elected a United States Senator.  Lyndon quickly rose in the ranks of the Senate and became Senator Majority Leader until his nomination and election as Vice President in 1960.

Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy in November 1963, LBJ was sworn in as President. Some six years later, the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Site was created by Congress and included the president’s boyhood home and ancestral cabin of his grandparents.

Lyndon B. Johnson died of a heart attack at his beloved LBJ Ranch; he was 64 years of age.