ABILENE, TEXAS

Pulled in to Abilene RV Park yesterday, found a large pull through site with full hookups and settled in for two nights.  The camp office had an Abilene Visitor Guide, coupons and Historic Downtown Abilene Walking Tour guide.  With all that information, I planned a nice afternoon.

We woke early this morning for the 8:30 All Saints Day Mass and came back for breakfast, exercise routine and lunch before heading to downtown Abilene.

Our first  stop was the Forts Trail Visitor Center to tour Frontier Texas.  It's one of the few storytelling museums in the world featuring life-sized holograms who tell real stories of the Texas frontier.  The museum was 5-star in my opinion and the actors in the holograms were awesome.  

You have to remind yourself that this is a hologram

This stagecoach was used in many movies

Next was the Paramount Theater.  It's a fully restored 1930s theatre with arched columns, grand staircases, hand-blown chandeliers and Pueblo-Deco artwork ceilings.  The 1200 seat auditorium has twin-domed turrets and a velvet blue ceiling with drifting clouds and twinkling stars.

Not much to look at from the outside - but beautifully renovated on the inside (unfortunately, my pictures
didn't come out very well, even with the flash)

We continued our walking tour looking for Storybook Sculptures along the way.  The Downtown Abilene Storybook Sculpture Project started in 1996 and Abilene considers themselves the Storybook Capital of Texas.

The Lorax - Just one of the six Dr. Seuss Sculptures

Everyone's favorite Green Eggs and Ham

Man in the Moon by Author/Illustrator William Joyce

The Grace Museum is a beautifully restored 1909 hotel, housing three museums under one roof.

The top floor housed historical pieces like this replicated boot shop - the other two floors
were an art gallery

We experienced World War II through the eyes of the 12th Armored Division "Hellcats" at the 12th Armored Division Memorial Museum.  Three floors of artifacts, photographs, vehicles, weapons, uniforms, dioramas and a Holocaust memorial.

 

Women's uniforms - interesting that they were a size 14 back then - now, it would be the
equivalent of today's size 4

We had a full afternoon and were pleasantly surprised how much the quiet streets of downtown Abilene had to offer.

Thanks for stopping in to say hi and God Bless.