Tee EATS TEXAS....or - the Long and Winding Road Trip

[teesquare]

it was a GREAT day

The pleasure and honor were all mine Jack! Now - do the right thing - drag up to the Fall Gathering with Don !
Guaranteed fun or you ticket will be refunded...(of course there is no entry fee)

[teesquare]

There is a recently built tollway/expressway in Texas... you amy have heard about itIt has eased the traffic back ups when folks need to get from San Antonio to Austin an that area...The speed limit is...Funny thing/smart thing about tollways in Texas - they have no toll booths to slow you down. ( After all the objective IS to keep traffic moving - right?) The have high speed cameras that take a picture of your lacense plate and mail you your toll fees. Slick. Efficient. Texan.

And - I wanted to stop at a Buckee's but forgot and ran out of time...Anyone know some info on them? I saw a few of them - and they look like they must be the largest "truckstop" and convenience store - but not for trucks...for auto travelers. I mean - the building looks like it is the size of a Wal-Mart!


Went thru Kilgore, to show the Mrs. what living in the oil patch was like. We stopped at the Oil and Gas Museum. The name made her nervous, but I quickly explained not THAT kind of gas...She thought my "issue" was a result of being from Texas - and they had built a museum honoring my gastonomic marvel  .....

This is what the main street in town looked like during the boom. The population went form 800 to 8000 OVERNITE - as soon as the announcement of the oil find hit the papers!



THE DOWNTOWN "SKYLINE" of oil derricks.


Now - I want tot take Kaye to Jefferson TX. A riverport town, established by merchants a riverboat captains from New Orleans and other deep south cities. Look at the architecture...You can really see the NOLA influence here-





THe General Store...neat place




I drove from Nacogodoches TX to Jackson TN in one day - including the time spent in Kilgore , and Jefferson.  That made for a short second day...and then-


HOME AGAIN!!!!

[smokeasaurus]

Whoa, that barrel grill was only 90.00 bucks!!  They sell for around 250.00 here in Cali........   should had ya grab me 2 or 3, I could've sent one to Sparky.........

[deestafford]

Tee,  Thanks so much for the great commentary and photos.  I, perhaps more than most here, know and understand the difficulty of taking and posting such quality pictures as those you show here.   Dee

[Smokin Don]

WOW T, what a trip and great photos!!! TFS, I am envious! Looks like you ate high on the hog, or beef!!! All great looking food, how much did you gain?  Don

[teesquare]

Thanks Don!
The truth is - I way 1 pound less than when I left for vacation...I think I sweat it off

[IR2dum]

t², thanks for the great photo essay. It made me feel like I was there with ya'll. I do know a bit about Buc-ees. You should like this. They were started by a graduate of Texas A&M (who is now a multimillionaire) and they are famous for two things.....#1 and #2. Their restrooms are on the same scale as the Shoji Tabuchi Theater in Branson. MO. Now they don't have the fireplace, grand piano, the billiard table, or the 24K gold plated faucets and toilet hardware, but they have some mighty fancy restrooms with a lot of modern plumping. Not only can you buy pretty cheap gas there,  you can buy everything from kolaches to deer blinds to bbq grills and everything in between. They are great rest stops for weary travelers and very interesting to roam around and look at all the Texas souvenir stuff. Did I mention that they were founded by an Aggie?

[teesquare]

DANG!!!

Now I am miffed that I did not stop at a Buc-ees!!! O.k. - time to go back to Texas now.....

[Pappymn]

I really enjoyed your trip. Thanks for taking the time to post.

[teesquare]

Thank you Pap!

Since I could take all of you guys with me - I figured I could try to make you feel like you went along.

[teesquare]

I almost forgot...One of my favorite souvenirs from the trip....

This was the most famous quote from Davy Crockett - when after losing re-election as a Senator from Tenn. he said:



Of course - I don't really feel that way at all. But...I am going back to Texas soon.... 

[drholly]

What a great flask! Good for you!

[Don O]

That was one GREAT Trip.  Thanks for letting us tag along.
What awesome memories   

[teesquare]

My pleasure Don! It was such a good trip it is hard to describe.

[teesquare]

And - thanks David!  THe wife saw it - rolled her eyes and asked if I needed more than one!