Austin, Texas: LBJ Presidential Library & Museum

During my visit to Austin, my friend Leah recommended we check out the LBJ Presidential Library & Museum. While presidential libraries are typically not on the top of my trip list, I figured this one should be interesting because LBJ was president during one of the more pivotal eras in US history. LBJ passed a ton of legislation including the monumental Civil Rights Act. Leah was right, the museum did not disappoint!  

The first floor featured a fantastic exhibit about the 1960s - including music, bios of influential people, advertisements, scientific breakthroughs and pop culture references. It was impressive to see how much progress our country made during this decade.  There was also the added bonus of classic rock and Motown tunes piping through the entire exhibit. I think Baby Boomers in particular, would enjoy this nice little stroll down memory lane. 

(Above) One hall of the 1960's exhibit featuring Hugh Hefner's pajamas. (Below) First issues of Rolling Stone magazine:

Side note for Game of Thrones fans: Doesn't Theon Greyjoy look EXACTLY like a young Mick Jagger? 

Several exhibits were dedicated to the legislation LBJ passed (Civil Rights, Medicare, PBS to name a few). Of course, there was an entire section dedicated to the Vietnam war.  The exhibit that most impressed Leah and me was an interactive situation room that put you in LBJ's shoes and asked you to make decisions about the Vietnam war based on actual reports from various advisors at the time. For example, you'd read three memos and listen to an actual phone call from a general and then the interactive desk would ask you if you should send more troops to Vietnam. In the picture below, Leah is contemplating her next move. 

The phone rang and the general's report was not good...more casualties.

The top floor focused on his personal life, which was something I knew little about. For one, he was a bonafide close-talker. I suspect he didn't carry Tic-Tacs because the fine print said that he used close-talking as a method of intimidation. Perhaps this is the key to getting so many bills passed?  

I also read that he loved to give gifts and his favorite gift to bestow upon friends was an electric toothbrush. He once said "I give these toothbrushes to friends, for then I know that from now until the end of their days they will think of me the first thing in the morning and the last at night."  My guess is that a staff writer wrote that line to cover up the real reason why he gifted electric toothbrushes - he wanted to ensure his friends had minty fresh breath to make his close-talking conversations more bearable.  

There were a few recordings of conversations between LBJ and his wife Lady Bird.  I'm still a bit shocked that we had a FLOTUS named Lady Bird. Her real name was Claudia, but when she was young her nurse said she was as pretty as a lady bird and the nickname stuck. Her family called her "Lady" and her husband called her "Bird". She must have been quite the lady because LBJ proposed to her two days after they first met!  She was an acute business person having invested her inheritance in local radio and TV stations in the 40s and 50s that eventually made the Johnsons millionaires.  In fact, she was the first president's wife to become a millionaire in her own right. Here is Leah listening to Lady Bird giving LBJ a pep talk. 

Also worth mentioning for the design aficionados - Lady Bird kept a stylish office with pops of orange and gold:

The top floor also featured footage from LBJ's daughter's wedding at the White House, which was fun to watch. 

There is so much to see that one could spend several hours in the museum. After a couple hours, our stomachs began growling so we bid farewell to LBJ, Lady Bird and the 60's, pulled up directions to the nearest taco joint on our smartphones, and Googled our remaining questions, thankful for the modern conveniences that have been developed over the last 50 years.