My Texas Journal
18 Nov, 2017
Ahhhhhhhhhh, Texas
We absolutely fell in love with
Texas and the people there. If we were ever to leave Florida, Texas would be
where we went...
Our travels have brought us all
around the "lower 48". We've tried to zip zag, circle through, and
around every state we could. Florida was where this endeavor started.
Enjoy your journal.
Thank you for taking this
wonderful journey with us. It has been absolutely incredible.
Please keep in mind that some
museums don’t allow photography.
Pambling Roads−My Texas Journal
Pambling Roads continues with
Texas. Our adventures kept us looking forward to meeting new people, seeing new
towns, and experiencing different foods from different parts of the country.
Well let me tell you, Texas is
huge!
Texas is awesome and we took our
time traveling through the state.
Galveston
We only stayed two nights north
of Galveston in Baytown.
On our first night in Texas,
after what felt like a long drive, we didn’t want to do anything. We dined at
the Tuscany Italian restaurant in Baytown. It was a family owned restaurant.
First thing in the morning, we
drove to Galveston. If you’re interested in learning about historical events in
the area, it’s an awesome and fascinating place to visit.
Pleasure Pier
We wouldn’t know what to tell
you. It looked like an excellent interesting and fun outdoor entertainment
facility for all ages. I probably would’ve loved writing about it. However,
they wouldn’t let us enter because they don’t allow water bottles, drinks, or
food. I understand the “drinks or food” completely.
A security guard was there to
make sure no one went through with any food or drinks. But, there was no way I
was giving up my water when it was steaming hot outside. The cloud coverage was
doubling the humidity making it feel like we were walking around in a hot
oven. I didn’t want to walk around for hours without my precious water in
90+ degree weather so we didn’t go.
There was no way I was going to
take a chance of getting overheated, or worse, heat prostration. I could see
the headlines…Floridian passes out from Texas Heat.
Sorry, but I’m not dehydrating in
that kind of weather and passing out for anybody. Unfortunately, they weren’t
customer friendly.
We took the Pink Trolley tour,
Treasure Isle tour train which was informative. The guide was polite and
interesting with a great sense of humor. The tour was about an hour and a half
and we learned about the infamous hurricane, the Seawall, why they built up/lifted
all the houses and historic buildings, the Moody Mansion, Jean Lafitte’s home,
and much more.
There was no kiosk or anything to
buy tickets. Take the tour train at the available hours of 9:30 am, noon, or
2:30 pm and if there was room, payment was given to the driver (cash only).
The Moody Mansion
We toured the Moody mansion,
formerly owned by one of the prominent Texas financial tycoons. This home has
been beautifully restored. The Moody’s were a prominent family in Galveston. No
photographs are allowed.
The home was absolutely gorgeous,
with great history behind it. It’s 28,000 square feet of breathtaking rooms
that have been restored to its former glory. If we ever go back to Galveston,
I’d definitely want to see this home again.
Some residents in the area have a
sense of humor and have created sculptures with old stumps.
San Antonio
The Alamo in San Antonio
Misión San Antonio de Valero, the
Alamo. We’ve all heard of the Alamo for as long as we can remember. The words
“Remember the Alamo” resonated in ours heads. When I was younger, I had no idea
what it meant. Now, as an adult, I understand that it’s hallowed ground, a
tribute to those who lost their lives, making the ultimate sacrifice for
something they passionately believed in−freedom.
It was originally a mission.
Depending on your history teacher, you learned it was a vicious battle over the
control of San Antonio in the Texas Revolution with no survivors—at least
that’s how I remember it. Sometimes, unless you personally dig deeper, you have
to depend on that vague memory, whether it be correct or not. The Alamo was one
of those places, where my husband and I remembered the history vaguely yet, not
quite correctly.
The Alamo’s located in downtown
San Antonio and not difficult to find. There were signs everywhere. Admission
is free. Of course, they accept donations. I was even lucky enough to get a
picture taken with a real Texas Ranger. (Sorry, didn’t get his permission to
use it for the journal.)
As we toured the Alamo, we didn’t
see any bullet holes or cannon holes in the remaining original structure. This
doesn’t mean there weren’t any, we just didn’t see any. However, inside the
original walls, we did see some marks from obvious bullet/ball holes.
There is a copy of the famous letter
written by the Commander of the Texan rebels asking for help to defend the
“People of Texas and All Americans” and signed “Victory or Death”.
Junction
The Kimble County Museum
The museum and was jam-packed
with history. We spoke with the proprietor and one of the other volunteers for
a little while. Just speaking with them about the area and Texas was wonderful.
They were both filled with historical information.
South Llano River Park
It was beautiful. They allowed
camping, swimming, and have tube rentals if anyone was interested. My husband
put his feet in the river, and we drove around the area watching and spotting
the different wildlife.
They have raw campsites for tents
and have sites for motor homes, too. There were several hiking trails, and a
small section where you can drive.
There were several turkey
roosting areas. They request hikers to take care while hiking through the area.
The park has limited hiking during certain times of the year to protect the
birds and their nesting areas.
At the park, we met a gentleman
and his little boy from the big bend area and chatted with them for a while.
Speaking with him was enlightening. He spoke about Texas, and you could hear
the love and pride he has for Texas country. He reminded me of all the books
I’ve read about Texas heroes, their gentle, yet a strong spirit. It was right
in front of me, exactly as it was written in all of those books about Texas
men.
Fort McKavett
The Fort McKavett historical site
in Texas Hill Country was next on our To-Do list. Located near the San Saba
River, it was a military command post in the 1850’s to the 1880’s. It had
almost twenty original buildings and ruins of the fort still standing. It was
an old western fort that played a major role in the settlement of West
Texas.
It was noted that General Sherman
considered it the prettiest post in Texas. It also housed four regiments
of the Buffalo Soldiers.
For a short time, it was closed
with a command to withdraw from the area and later reopened and reconstructed
by the army after the Civil War. There’s an abundance of history with this
fort, and well worth the time to go off the beaten path for a great historical
adventure.
Van Horn
It was 102 degrees the day we
arrived and didn’t get much cooler while we were there.
The movies, Blue Sky, Dead
Man’s Walk, and Lonesome Dove were filmed in Van Horn and in
portions of west Texas.
Van Horn has a unique saying
about its town. “The town is so healthy we had to shoot a man to start a
cemetery.”
Driving around looking for
adventure, we came across Lobo, Texas. A ghost town of sorts. It was obvious
that this was a privately owned property. However, there were several older
homes on the property leaving us with the impression that the town had been
abandoned.
We decided to head to the Wylie
Mountain area. We caught pictures of several dust devils. Some of them lasted
for several minutes. On our way back from the mountains, my husband hit the
brakes. A road runner had done exactly what everyone says they’ll do to you,
ran straight across the road in front of us.
We pulled over as quickly as
possible. I was able to grab some great pictures of the roadrunner…in the Wylie
Mountain area. Alas, we didn’t see any coyotes until we were in New Mexico. (Or
an Acme truck until we were near Dallas on the return trip home.)
Clark Hotel Historical Museum
This is probably one of the best
local museum tours we’ve been through. It was in the process of being
repaired—sort of, so what you see is what it’s become as it has aged in the
last one hundred-plus years. It was a large building used in the downtown business
district as a saloon, post office, and county courthouse, until it was
purchased and made into a hotel by the Clark family.
The museum has no admission
price. Donations are welcome. The elegant mahogany saloon bar in the main
entrance was well preserved with a few markings/swells from the heat of a fire
that had started in one of the rooms. There were several artifacts and displays
from different industries: mining, ranching, railroad, and furnishings to name
a few.
They were photos of petroglyphs
and a section of Native American artifacts on display. They even have a huge
dinosaur bone!
The tour of the second floor
shows the different rooms used for the hotel guests and residents. In the
rooms, they have displays of personal items from residents of Van Horn from
days gone by.
Patricia was our guide and she
was wonderful. Her patience with us was perfection, answering all our
questions, filling us in on the history of Van Horn from past to present. The
museum was a precious diamond. What an excellent opportunity it’d be to finish
refurbishing the building, and be able to use it as a hotel as well as museum.
Chuy’s Restaurant
Known for their excellent food
and the fact that John Madden bragged about them so much they ended up in the
Haul of Fame. Honestly, I had to ask my husband who John Madden was but that’s
me. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who recognize the name. It
was extremely busy so we decided to order take-out. The food was absolutely
delicious and now we know why Mr. Madden made such a big deal about the
food.
I hope you enjoyed this
Pambling Roads My Texas Journal. You may purchase My Texas Journal from
Amazon or your local book shop.
Got travel stories or tidbit and
trivia about any of the Pambling Roads places? Go right ahead and put them in
the comment section. We welcome your stories!
Pam
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