vacation

we have taken the week off to drive through little towns near the Brazos River. There is a brochure published by Texas Parks called "Texas Brazos Trail". We are following this trail with some side trips. We did the one called "Independence Trail" two years ago.

The first thing we notice is how green it is in the fields and along the side of the road. This area can be brown. But the spring has been pretty rainy for this area. Also all the man made ponds are very full of water. There is lots of corn fields doing well. There are few other crops in fields we are not sure the name of. We assume sorghum. I am pretty sure I saw a fairly new planting of beans, that would be soybean. But it is mostly corn.

We have seen cattle and some goats. A few vultures circle overhead. You hardly ever see big farm activity. Growing crops is mostly about planting and then lots of waiting and praying.

I love the unusual houses, the big houses, the turrets, the elaborate roofs, the county court houses, the town squares. We have been getting out to walk around the squares.

In Elgin we found the square curio shops pretty cheap. We did not need much, we bought a few familiar books to reread. Then we ate at a nice "buffet" restaurant off the square called the City Cafe. Not really an all you can eat buffet but the price is right. Different entrees offered each day, for the regulars so they won't get too bored. An entree and one side is $6.50. You get enough. The Dollar General Store is ubiquitous in these little towns. They serve as the center grocery store now and of course adds some other things. They are a little version of Wal-Mart.

We went to a Wal-Mart in Taylor. I got a nice battery charger for my phone. My old charger is acting up. But some of my rechargeables are bad. This new charger tells me which, that is very helpful.

We are staying in Salado today. This is the only motel we have seen here. This is called the Stagecoach Inn. Salado was a major stop for cattle trails and stagecoaches back in the day. Whether this was really an old stagecoach inn on not this place is playing off the nostalgia. We got in early yesterday and have been catching up on sleeping. Soon we need to move on.

I got a short walk this morning. There is a B&B next door but you have to know its there. There is a small artist area, very small and not very successful. But there is an active glassblowing place. That is neat. They have a wonderful flat statue of a man using a long pipe to blow a blue glass container. That might be nice to visit today before we leave here.

Pretty soon we need to check out and look for late breakfast.