To find the "Real Texas," where should I go, what should I eat, drink, see, and do?

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by TexasTheKid

Whoa whoa whoa... Don't cast him/her as a liberal. I'm fairly liberal and I have a few choice words for that... er... misguided person. This person isn't a true Texan and his opinion shouldn't be acknowledged anyhow. A true Texan never lets his political beliefs get in the way of a polite conversation. That's the way Louisianians act, not Texans. Take TexasReb and I for instance. On the political spectrum, we're on opposite ends, but we've never gotten into a pissing match, not once. A real Texan respects another Texan's individuality, and even encourages it. This is a state, moreso than any other, that expects its people to disagree with each other... just as long as it's done politely.

I'd give you another rep point if I could, TK!

As it is, let me just give you a solid Texas handshake! Well said, my friend, well said!

[Houston3]

Originally Posted by YoungJournalist

This is gonna stir up a fight. . . And that's exactly what I'm looking for. I'm going to have the opportunity to travel around Texas for three months in the fall, and I'm going to be in search of the "Real Texas."

So, I'm looking for small towns that are oozing with Texas culture. Let's leave the big cities out of it. I know east Texas is very different from West Texas, so, if you like, you may classify a town as best in that particular region.

So, let 'er rip! Where should I go, what should I eat, drink, see, and do?

Dumas

Odessa

Sweetwater

San Angelo

Just ask the locals best places to eat...

[Houston3]

Originally Posted by jfre81

Hey, what's wrong with Dairy Queen?

Nothing......Do they still have the steak fingers and gravy?

[EasilyAmused]

Originally Posted by TexasTheKid

Whoa whoa whoa... Don't cast him/her as a liberal. I'm fairly liberal and I have a few choice words for that... er... misguided person. This person isn't a true Texan and his opinion shouldn't be acknowledged anyhow. A true Texan never lets his political beliefs get in the way of a polite conversation. That's the way Louisianians act, not Texans. Take TexasReb and I for instance. On the political spectrum, we're on opposite ends, but we've never gotten into a pissing match, not once. A real Texan respects another Texan's individuality, and even encourages it. This is a state, moreso than any other, that expects its people to disagree with each other... just as long as it's done politely.

Honestly?/ Most Texans are dead set in the MIDDLE, yet fiscally conservative. We don't want to government telling us how much and how we can make our money.

[Houston3]

To see small town Texas stay off of the interstate highways.

[wordiks]

Fine dining in most small towns really is the Dairy Queen, but that is where you'll find a lot of the 'real' people. You'll see the regular's coffee mugs hanging on the wall. The good old boys taking a break or a pep rally in the designated 'team room'. A great example of this is Anson, Tx. I would imagine a Friday night football game there would be something to see.

You might get a kick out of Crawford, Tx. The little diner has maps to George Bush's ranch. That's not really the highlight to me though. Ted Nugent is his neighbor. :-) Oh and the little diner isn't half bad.

Canton has first Monday trade days.

When going to any of these places, take the back roads and you'll have no shortage of small town Texas towns. Well, one every 30 or 40 miles in W. Texas. :-)

The Port Aransas area is quite nice if you want some beach time.

When you are tired of small towns, check out Fort Worth. Eat some Risky's bar b que.

I'd like to know where you are from. If you are from a 'regular sized' state then Texas will blow your mind. This place is huge, you know. So much open space. You could spend months driving around and not see it all.

[Former Odessan in Austin]

Originally Posted by wordiks

Fine dining in most small towns really is the Dairy Queen, but that is where you'll find a lot of the 'real' people. You'll see the regular's coffee mugs hanging on the wall. The good old boys taking a break or a pep rally in the designated 'team room'. A great example of this is Anson, Tx. I would imagine a Friday night football game there would be something to see.

You might get a kick out of Crawford, Tx. The little diner has maps to George Bush's ranch. That's not really the highlight to me though. Ted Nugent is his neighbor. :-) Oh and the little diner isn't half bad.

Canton has first Monday trade days.

When going to any of these places, take the back roads and you'll have no shortage of small town Texas towns. Well, one every 30 or 40 miles in W. Texas. :-)

The Port Aransas area is quite nice if you want some beach time.

When you are tired of small towns, check out Fort Worth. Eat some Risky's bar b que.

I'd like to know where you are from. If you are from a 'regular sized' state then Texas will blow your mind. This place is huge, you know. So much open space. You could spend months driving around and not see it all.

What a nice Norman Rockwell fantasy description you paint of small towns in Texas in 2009, but not an accurate description of small towns in Texas in 2009. Some of what you say was true in 1975, but not in 2009. Most small towns in Texas are burdened with financial problems because there are no jobs, and drug problems, particularly “meth”. Also most small towns in Texas, particularly the Panhandle, South Texas , Central Texas and West Texas have become or are becoming barrios with nothing downtown but empty storefronts.

[KerrTown]

Go to Brazoria County and go to West Columbia--"Where Texas Began." The Varner-Hogg Planation is the most famous site in the area. Two towns in the county were some of the five provisional capitals during the revolution. This part of Houston looks like the stereotypical south with the slow creeks and bayous and the green marshland supporting the antebellum mansion.

If I remember correctly, there are sets of china in different colors at Bayou Bend in Houston but the set in one color are in the plantation. You might want to visit Bayou Bend also since the is where the donor lived.

[Westerner92]

Originally Posted by Former Odessan in Austin

What a nice Norman Rockwell fantasy description you paint of small towns in Texas in 2009, but not an accurate description of small towns in Texas in 2009. Some of what you say was true in 1975, but not in 2009. Most small towns in Texas are burdened with financial problems because there are no jobs, and drug problems, particularly “meth”. Also most small towns in Texas, particularly the Panhandle, South Texas , Central Texas and West Texas have become or are becoming barrios with nothing downtown but empty storefronts.

When will you learn you have lost all credibility on this site? Stop trolling around.

If you can make it all the way up there, I would highly recommend Palo Duro Canyon. It's absolutely beautiful, especially when wildflowers are in bloom.