Vacation summary - Texas Independence Trail

We went slowly, Sunday driving in the country. I had to pull to the side for people wanting to get somewhere. We went enjoying the farming and ranching countryside. On some of the FM roads though we did not have to worry, we were the only ones on the road on a weekday in the heat of the day.

We left the hotels at 11 AM, check out deadline and several times checked into the next one soon after the earliest you could check in. So it was often the a/c and internet and quiet time reading that was the real holiday. We made something like 200 miles per day, counting side trips.

The hotels were very nice, all except one. All had microwaves and refrigerators. Most had little coffeepots.

We drove through countryside to little towns that bragged about their historical houses post offices and courthouses. Several had flamboyant courthouses. I do not think I can add pictures to Blogger.

There were a lot of historical markers speaking of Stephen F. Austin and the Old Three Hundred that came to the Brazos Valley to farm. We saw where William Travis lived, where he gambled, where he drank his whiskey. A lot of this trail is in the Brazos River valley.

We took the tour of Shiner Brewery, well recommended. A idea would be to pick one of these small towns and book a B & B near the town square for a few days. It would be for me to walk and DW to go antiquing, shop hopping. A municipal golf course would be a bonus.

The first two days we followed the Gulf Coast. We got to see all the fishing places the outdoor radio guys speak of every week. I have a better understanding of where all the bays are geographically. We saw fisherman, boaters, and birds.

Coming off the coast we saw a lot of failed crops. Houston has gotten a lot of rain. I had heard that the areas around Houston had been much drier. We saw evidence of that everywhere. A few irrigated fields did make a crop. Along with failing corn and sorghum we saw some green bushy plants that I assumed were soybeans. But the last day we stopped at looked. There were no fences. We checked and were amazed to find these were cotton! Is cotton making a comeback in Texas?

I feel more a burden for praying for rain for the farmers that surround Houston now.