Texas in Three Days - Day One

Wednesday, September 15  -  Texarkana to Dallas

This trip was a great idea.

I am having lots of fun.

My husband is an excellent driver.

I feel safe and relaxed in the passenger seat.

It's time for Positive Affirmations.  Either that or I pick out a lonely stretch of interstate somewhere and - well, never you mind.

The day started out well enough, with a visit to Jefferson, Texas about 60 miles south of Texarkana.

With or without what, exactly?

This was where Dan's great grandparents settled and no one quite knows why.  Great grandpa became a peddler and, once his mail order certificate arrived, a doctor.  He could sell you pots and pans, ribbons and bows, and then mend a broken bone or two, deliver a baby or pull out a pesky molar.

We were both surprised by the town. It turned out to be not so much a dusty cowboy town (alas!) but more of a leafy, lush, riverboat gambler kind of town.  More New Orleans than Laredo.  

Which maybe explains why Jewish immigrants landing in Galveston would end up here in what was then a flourishing commercial town.

Sadly, Dan could find no trace of his grandparents in the historical society or the Jewish cemetery, but he is now motivated to start digging through online resources.

The latest in dollar bill decor

I had my first taste of cornmeal fried catfish and hush puppies at the local lunch spot - delicious. 

Then it was on to Dallas.  With about 3 hours still to go Dan hit a piece of shredded tire and something went Clang!  A 5 foot piece of exhaust lay in the center of the highway.  Dan was able to retrieve what turned out to be the exhaust pipe for the generator.  We would have to get it replaced the next day at the RV depot 45 miles the other side of Dallas, but we were able to continue the drive safely.  Those were three of the longest tight-lipped hours ever, but by the time we rolled into Cousin Eric's place I'd hatched and refined the Lonely Stretch of Interstate plan. 

I'm sorry, Eric.  It can't have been much fun for you that night, especially as we couldn't stay in the RV (no generator and it was 94 degrees) and you had to give up your bed for us.  After a giant margarita things looked better, especially as I'd decided to rent a car for the day, while Dan got the RV fixed, and do some serious revenge shopping.  Cowboy boots, here I come!

You don't find these picnic tables on the NY State Thruway.