Stopped to see the Treaty Oak (more than 500 years old), it is the last surviving Council Oaks, a grove of 14 trees that served as a sacred meeting place for Comanche and Tonkawa Tribes. In 1989 the tree was poisoned by a man who then bragged about it and was tried and sentenced to 9 years in prison for the vandalism. The tree was not expected to survive but did and in 1997 produced its first acorns since the poisoning.  Went by the University of Texas to see old haunts and then to the capitol where the girls spun around looking up at the dome (as their mother and aunt used to do) and then fell down dizzy. They climbed part of the way up and one can see how far up it is. Then they sat on the lawn and, over many minutes of very patient waiting enticed a squirrel to eat from their hands (again, as their mother says she and her sister did – their father must have taken them because I would have been too worried about RABIES). The capitol is taller than the one in Washington (as Texans love to tell you) and has lovely grounds with some interesting sculptures (like the one depicting all the different folks who settled the state).  The girls loved the bike rentals on the street but we didn’t rent one.