Well the final day of our trip has come. We spent the night in Corsicana. When in Corsicana, you have to make the trip to the Collins Street Bakery. I always thought that the only thing you could buy there was fruit cakes. Boy was I wrong. We bought a pecan pie, an assortment of cakes (including their world famous fruit cake), and some goodies to eat on the road. If you’ve never been there, it’s worth trip. Collins Street Bakery also has two branch locations: a second location in Corsicana and one in Waco. Speaking of Waco, we continued our trip (after eating our car snack from the bakery) and arrived in Waco in time for lunch. It has been a while since we ate at the Cracker Barrel. In fact, we had not eaten ... read more

We packed up and got on the road, first stop Longview. I have wanted a donut for days. When we hit the Longview city limits, there was no sign of a Krispy Kreme, but we found the Donut King! Now on to our first destination of the day, a historical marker at the First National Bank. Not a lot to see but this is the location of a bloody gunfight when the Dalton Gang robbed the bank in 1894. We next headed for Jacksonville and the Old Jacksonville Cemetery. Some of you may know about my connection to the Cokers. My grandmother, Fannie May DeKunder, was a Coker. My great great great grandmother, Malinda Brown Coker died in Cherokee County in 1853 and is buried there. Her husband, my great great great grandfather Joseph Coker then ... read more

We packed up and got on the road. I thought I would give the Texas State Railroad one last chance so we drove through Rusk on the way to Marshall. The train runs between Palestine and Rusk (when it runs). The depot was deserted and we decided not to wait until Saturday night to see if anyone showed up. Too bad, maybe next time. We then headed to Carthage. On the way into town, we passed a sign with information about the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame. What a delightful museum. I would not call myself a big country music fan but I can recall in the 50’s when radio stations played all kinds of music and there was no distinction between rock and roll and country. They played it all. But back to the ... read more

Most of the things we wanted to see were within walking distance of our hotel, the Hotel Fredonia , a treasure in itself. We liked the place so well we decided to stay a second night. The first stop of the day was the Oak Grove Cemetery. Some of you know that I am a cemetery buff. Although I am not yet ready to take up residence, I truly enjoy visiting old historic cemeteries. Oak Grove is one of those. It is the final resting place for a number of legendary Texans, including four signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Kay & I spent about an hour looking at markers and taking in the history. Our next stop was the Sterne-Hoya Museum and Library. The young lady on duty, Miranda, had recently graduated from SFA ... read more

We left Austin yesterday headed for Huntsville. Our first stop along the way was where else? Brenham and Blue Bell! I love to do factory tours. I have seen lots of stuff made: toilets, tubs, water heaters, beer, Fritos, ice cream. My preference is food manufacturing as they have better samples at the end of the tour (although beer is a close second.) Kay & I have been on Ben& Jerry’s tour and Blue Bell’s tour. Blue Bell wins hands down. The people are friendlier and you can actually see the manufacturing process. This was actually our second tour of Blue Bell. The plant is undergoing expansion with and a new enlarged visitor’s center. If you ever get within 100 miles of Brenham, go take the tour! Blue Bell also offers tours of their Oklahoma and ... read more