Texas Thanksgiving Trip!! Days Four, Five & Six

When we last left the Geofamily...

It's now Thanksgiving Eve and nothing special on the docket for today.  The three of us do spend some time around Seguin, including a visit to the new public library building.  

Then Wednesday gives way to Thursday.  No turkey in this house, however.  

My folks were more than willing to break with tradition and serve BBQ brisket instead of a stuffed bird.  Fine with me!  I recall many years ago, going to a steakhouse in downtown Tempe, AZ expecting to munch on turkey and dressing only to learn that we could indeed order off their regular menu as well!  I returned home having stuffed myself on prime rib.  

We also enjoyed a visit from Geosister (the elder) and her family.  Good conversation, BBQ and beer.  What more could a guy want?  

Food scorecard:

BBQ
Tex-Mex
Chicken-fried steak

Does that mean it's time to head home?  

Actually yes.  I had long planned/intended to head back to Kansas on Black Friday.  The philosophy being that having both Saturday and Sunday to recover from the road trip would be optimal.  Plus there appeared to be a winter storm headed our direction on Sunday and we'd rather not chance any delays on the road.  

So-- family visit done, college visits done, and Texas cuisine consumed, we loaded up the Suburban and left Seguin at 6:55 a.m.  We know the way well, just get on Texas 130 and drive north until we merge with I-35, then it's through Fort Worth, Oklahoma City and finally Wichita before using Interstates 135 and 70 to get us back to Manhattan.  

Since we ate so much the day before none of us felt the need to stop for breakfast until reaching Waco.  Cracker Barrel made for a satisfying late breakfast/early lunch stop.  I got back behind the wheel until our next gas-and-bladder break, in Denton.  I also grabbed my last Texas gustatory treat, a bottle of Big Red.  Then it's into Oklahoma.  

Geogal took over the driving from Denton onward.  She surprised me by leaving the satellite radio right where it was, on the Texas-KU football game.  (I'll spare all of my readers a rant about how this matchup the day after Thanksgiving is all sorts of wrong.  This day is supposed to be Texas versus Texas A&M!  Grumble, grumble, grumble....)  

We decide to stop in Wichita and have the late meal at Applebee's.  Even though it's only a little after 5 the sun already said goodbye in the west and it feels later than it is.  

Meal was good and after topping off the tank it's time for the homestretch.  Podcasts and regular conversation help me stay focused (I again resumed the driving duties).  Soon we're back to familiar territory and then comes the dyad of Junction City and Manhattan.  

Pulled into the driveway at 8:35 p.m.  I also kept track of the miles.  765 odometer ticks since leaving Seguin.  

I can still do this.  I just don't want to do it often. 

I also came to this conclusion:  You will take Geoguy out of Texas but you'll never take the Texas out of him.

Texas Thanksgiving Trip!! Day Three

Day Three dawns.  

The hotel breakfast is only adequate.  Yep, this is one of those places that seems to think cheese is a required ingredient in the hot offerings.  I make do with the more “continental” alternatives (i.e. cold cereal and fruit) but decide this doesn’t have to dampen my day.  

I’m more concerned with how long it will take us to get from our location to Rice University.  Since the time I resided in Houston the sprawl and matching traffic have since taken on a dimension of their own.  

But before setting out for the next institution of higher education I got out the Sangean and took a listen to the terrestrial radio offerings, mainly on the AM band.  

I wanted to take time to do this, as Houston is where my DXing and overall radio listening as-a-hobby really took off.  As I expected, and since the Internet makes getting current radio listings a breeze I heard what I already knew:  while the frequencies are the same, most of the stations have changed formats.  And on the AM dial, which even back in the early 1980’s had several Spanish-language stations, I heard less espanol and more Asian.  

Time to put away the device and get the luggage into the Suburban for our venture into the university-heavy area of the Bayou City.  Turns out the traffic flow was smoother and faster than predicted and we got to the brainchild school of William Marsh Rice sooner than anticipated.  

Long story short:  After finishing the nearly hour-long introductory session, all three members of the Geofamily elected to leave and head to our next road-trip destination.  Sometimes you just know right away when a school won’t be a good fit.  Enough said.  

It’s only midmorning and we all agree that returning to Interstate 10 and heading towards Seguin is the plan!  And if we play the cards right and don’t encounter any significant delays it will allow us a little time to visit Texas Lutheran University.  

Back to the Katy Freeway we go!  I’m behind the wheel this time and can’t wait to see the sight of houses, apartment complexes, strip malls and industrial parks give way to brush and grassland.  Once we cross the Brazos River I know we’re back in real Texas.  

And for once, the audio accompaniment synced well!  Between Sealy and Columbus the classic country station on SiriusXM (Willie’s Roadhouse) offered Asleep At The Wheel’s “Miles and Miles of Texas.”  

Yes, I sang along.  The ladies probably rolled their eyes.  

High noon has come and gone and we’re all feeling hungry.  Now think:  On the road in Texas where should one have a fast food lunch?  

Of course—Whataburger.  

It wasn’t on my food scorecard list I shared in the previous entry but hitting Whataburger at least once was always part of my master food plan for this trip.  The Columbus location didn’t disappoint, either.  

Geogal takes over the driving task and in about 90 minutes we approached Seguin.  Rather than exit on 123 and head to Geomom and Geodad’s house we went straight to the TLU campus.  

This visit proved more worthy of our time than Rice, even though we didn’t have an appointment and would not be able to sit in on any classes much less get a formal campus tour.  No matter.  Suffice to say the admissions office was happy to accommodate us.  

Then it’s time to see the family members.  After relaxing and talking for a while, Geodad asks what we’d like for supper:  Mexican food at El Ranchito or chicken-fried steak at The Grain Bin.  

Choice for us was easy and it was north on 123, just past Geronimo.  So my scorecard now reads:

BBQ

Tex-Mex

Chicken-fried steak

Time to now truly relax!  No more hotels for the remainder of our journey….

Texas Thanksgiving Trip!! Days One and Two

Time to take a break from the mundane!

Thanksgiving week offered the whole Geofamily a chance to get away from the work or school routine.  Geoguy’s family in Texas was more than receptive to a visit and we also wanted to visit Rice University.  This institution (among many others) expressed interest in Geoana and dangled a nice offer to boot.  

Plans in place, we hit the road south during the early afternoon of the 18th.  Our destination for the evening was Sherman, in north Texas, a place I have never been.  Although it was tempting to take a more scenic and direct route given I like seeing new places and southeastern Oklahoma appears to be rather hilly and green, I instead chose the interstate 35-to-Gainesville-then-east-to-Sherman option.  Why?  

Two reasons:  Time and daylight.  

Since Geoana was wrapping up a 4H function on the 18th that meant we couldn’t begin the trip until her commitment was complete, which happened around one in the afternoon.  Had we been able to start earlier I certainly would choose the road less traveled.  And since we’re in November the sun sets just a little after 5 so we knew the latter part of this day’s drive would be in darkness.  Better to stay on the familiar and four-lane routes.  

Still, a bit of a shame as I would have loved to see the scenery along U.S. route 82 between Gainesville and Sherman.  Would not be surprised if it was reminiscent of Texas’ Hill Country region.  

Why Sherman?  

Since we weren’t able to get to Houston in one day we all agreed a Monday visit to Austin College would be worth our time.  It’s another school listed in the tome Colleges That Change Lives by Loren Pope and also fits the daughter’s criteria of a smaller institution with a religious focus.  

As expected, we hit darkness on I-35 around the vicinity of Purcell, Oklahoma.  And, as hoped, our drive was uneventful save for witnessing the recent remnants of what appeared to be a horrific accident along 35 near Blackwell.  

Arrive in Sherman, make a quick stop at Wal Mart Neighborhood Market for healthy supper salads (need to counteract the KFC we ate for lunch).  Then we check in a the hotel and settle down for repose.  

Monday morning arrives.  We finish the Austin College visit/tour in the early afternoon and begin heading south (again), this time with Houston as the destination.  But before we’re out of the greater North Dallas/Plano/McKinney region we need to grab some lunch.  Geogal consults her Yelp app and we agree on Tex-Mex.  

Thank you Yelp!  Anasofia’s Mexican Grill was a delight and we left with not only full stomachs but also enjoyed the conversation with the owner who was pleased we stopped in and mentioned we drove by no less than six Mexican restaurants between the freeway exit and his establishment.  

That meal also took care of one of my personal “important three” Texas cuisines, the other two being BBQ and chicken fried steak.  (Save the Asian fusion for some other destination…)

So for this trip here’s the food scorecard:

BBQ

Tex-Mex

Chicken-fried steak

I get behind the wheel again for the trek around Dallas (via 75 and 635) before intersecting I-45 and turning south toward Space City.  

Before reaching Corsicana (a convenient stop to switch out drivers and also view the offerings at the Collin Street Bakery store) I have the only “yikes!” moment of the whole trip.  I’m driving along, minding my own business when a pickup/fifth wheel combination encroaches into my lane with no warning or signal.  

Geoana perked up when she heard me exclaim:  “Aaaaahhhhh!!!”  Sometimes you can’t retain something in your inner monologue.  

Fortunately I had a free and open lane just to the left so no damage done.  Truck-and-fifth-wheel-combination moves back to the right and I pass him.  Geogal (who is riding shotgun) takes a casual look over and sees a, well, rather geriatric driver.  

I choose to shake it off.  We arrive at Corsicana and sadly realize that Collin Street Bakery no longer makes or sells their rum pound cake.  Rats!  I had my mouth all set for that gustatory delight.  

A bit of history:  For Christmas 1989, Geoguy, along with Geoparents and Geosister the Younger did a road trip beginning in Albuquerque, New Mexico with the destination of Houston.  Our first day saw us reach Wichita Falls on a freakin’ cold (albeit clear) day.  We got a good start the next day and stopped in Corsicana for a BBQ lunch (awesome!—wish I could remember the name of the place although it might not exist anymore) and then went to the downtown location of Collin Street Bakery.  Both the BBQ and Collin Street Bakery were a recommendation from Geomom’s coworker who grew up in Corsicana.  

We walked out the door with a fruitcake (natch) and a rum pound cake.  A few days later in Houston these items were a hit, to put it mildly.  Geobrother-in-law commented on the pound cake, “You could (or should) pour your morning coffee through it.”  

Another memory of my youth, now gone.  

The drive from Corsicana to Huntsville is routine.  Geogal took over behind the wheel after we left the Collin Street Bakery store.  Quick stop at Buc-ees for gas.  Us and about half the world.  Might not ever visit a Buc-ees again.  Never even had a chance to go inside and see the offerings.  

After Huntsville the traffic increases significantly on I-45.  By the time we get to Conroe we wonder if we will ever see Houston.  All we see right now are taillights.  

I navigate Geogal through the mess of cars/trucks/etc onto the Sam Houston Tollway and we finally get to our hotel on the Katy Freeway.  Which looks a lot different than the Katy Freeway I grew up with.  Fortunately our hotel has a social hour which has not only libations (including Shiner Bock!!) but also appetizers which we make into a meal.  

However Geogal is so stressed from the Greater Houston segment that she isn’t making casual conversation about anything related to the drive.  

Next segment:  Day Three—Rice University and one other institution of higher education!