Shae and I recently left Texas having spent about 10 weeks in the 9th state on our 5 year, 50 state road trip.
It was our first time properly visiting Texas as we’d only ever stopped overnight when driving through. Given how highly Texans regard the state, I had high hopes for our time there.
To be honest, I was a little underwhelmed. It’s not a bad state, but it’s nowhere near as amazing as it’s built up to be – not based on what we saw anyway. Of the 10 states we’ve visited this year, I’d probably put it in my bottom three.
Having said that, it certainly wasn’t all bad and we had some excellent and memorable experiences during those 2.5 months. Here’s a look back at some of our favorite – and not so favorite – things from our time in Texas.
Favorite Accommodation We Stayed At
Stephen – I’m going to have to pick two different places that were a complete contrast. My favorite hotel was the Grand Hyatt San Antonio which was helped by the fact that it’s in a great location and we were upgraded to a suite with lounge access.
I also absolutely loved our six days in an off-grid cabin in Terlingua. It was peaceful, relaxed and it was the first time in our entire lives that we got to see the Milky Way.
Shae – I second the Grand Hyatt in San Antonio. It was a blast with a heated swimming pool and fantastic gym!
As a lover of tiny homes I also really liked the cabin in Terlingua but I can’t choose it as my top simply because of its remoteness. I loved the side effect of the stars, but all that quiet and lack of peopley-ness was too much for me after about 26 hours.
Favorite Meal
Stephen – I think I’ll have to go for Round Rock Donuts as they were pretty special. Honorable mentions go to La Popular in Abilene for its carne guisada and Tacos Chinampa in El Paso for its great tacos and insanely tasty collection of a dozen different types of salsa.
Shae – For me it was our lunch at Chuy’s in Houston with Larissa. She’s a friend from back home who I haven’t seen in at least 20 years. The entire lunch was amazing – the company, the drinks and oh my gosh…. the food. Enchiladas Ricas which was cheese and chicken enchiladas with this amazing tomatillo sauce.
I tried to order it again at another Chuy’s. I even called to remind myself of the name and found out that each location holds votes for the specials for each year. So I couldn’t get it but I got something similar and equally tasty at the Chuy’s in San Antonio.
I second an honorable mention for La Popular, thanks for the tip Aaron from Groovy Lube in Austin!
Most Disappointing Meal
Stephen – I don’t remember being particularly disappointed by any meals, although I did have higher expectations for their BBQ. I think I had BBQ a few times and none of it was as good as Swadley’s BBQ in Oklahoma City.
Shae – We tried Taco Bueno (full-disclosure on the suggestion of a teenage boy in Oklahoma who said it was awesome), a chain that originated in Abilene. As our friends Josh and Sarah say… Taco No Bueno. I’m now absolutely convinced that teen boys will eat anything.
Favorite Free Activity
Stephen – Easy – stargazing in Terlingua. Getting to see the Milky Way for the first time was pretty magical.
Shae – Toss up for me. I loved the Star Party in Terlingua.
But seeing the prairie dog town in Abilene’s Red Bud Park was right up there for me. I’m falling in love with little prairie dogs more every time I see them.
Honorable mention to the beach at Galveston where Truffles first found her love of water.
Favorite Paid Activity
Stephen – The Formula 1 US Grand Prix. I’d been looking forward to it all year and it didn’t disappoint as it was one of the most exciting F1 races in years.
Shae – The Grand Prix was amazing. I really enjoyed going up the Tower of the Americas in San Antonio for happy hour and I’d give an honorable mention to both Dr. Pepper experiences we had in Dublin and Waco respectively.
OK, so I got halfway down the post and remembered another thing I really loved – the Johnson Space Center. It was outside Houston and we got to see the plane that transported the shuttles, went into mission control and saw behind the scenes at astronaut training on their tram tour.
Favorite Pet-Friendly Activity
Stephen – The beach in Galveston. We visited at the beginning of November, so the beach was empty but it was decent weather that day. Truffles had so much fun chasing her ball through the water and several of the stores in the city were pet-friendly.
Shae – Yes. The beach at Galveston. Hands down.
Least Favorite Activity
Stephen – It’s sort of the opposite of ‘activity’, but being stuck inside in Dallas. It rained almost the entire time we were there so we didn’t really do much.
Shae – Controversial choice here… the Alamo. I wasn’t disappointed by it as many people are. It was interesting to learn about Texas history. But it was crowded with people who seemed to have no respect for where they were and as much as I like people, I don’t like crowds that don’t take important things seriously.
Favorite Hike
Stephen – I can only think of one hike that we did which was in Terlingua, so I guess I’ll go for that.
Shae – Despite falling pretty hard in Terlingua on the hike Stephen mentioned above, I did enjoy it in retrospect. On the day it was really hard, especially after my fall. But, I really enjoyed our two shorter walks/hikes at Big Bend Ranch State Park. I was moving a lot slower that day but the canyon and hoodoos rock formations were pretty cool.
Favorite Quirky Thing We Did
Stephen – Searching for story book sculptures in Abilene. It was a lot of fun and the sculptures were excellent quality.
Shae – Going to Buc-ee’s. Like 6 times. It’s not like our typical quirky things, but since Buc-ee’s is a giant gas station (oh, but it’s so much more) it’s pretty weird that we went there as many times as we did (without getting gas once) and that mom and I went there on Black Friday for some shopping!!
For the uninitiated – Buc-ee’s is a chain of gas stations in Texas known for their “world famous” bathrooms and mascot, Buc-ee the beaver. They offer great food (I had breakfast there twice), Beaver Nuggets which are an improvement on caramel corn and all the Buc-ee’s merchandise. Mom and I even got matching Buc-ee’s Christmas shirts!
Favorite Memory
Stephen – Standing outside our cabin in Terlingua staring up at the night sky.
Shae – I loved meeting new and old friends throughout Texas. Dinners with Meghan, Adam and their little girl in Dallas, to Rebecca in Fort Worth and Dublin. Lunches with Jeannette in Austin and Larissa in Houston.
Drinks with Arree Chung in Austin – he was there for the Texas Book Festival and I’ve been taking a class of his online. I was grateful for the 30 minutes he made for me to sit down and chat. My girlie sleepover with Nicole and meeting her ferret fur-babies in Corpus Christi.
Having lunch and drinks in San Antonio with Larry and Rhonda. Randomly seeing a friend from VA who moved to Texas 5 years ago in a parking lot in Waco, Texas – hi Helen! Getting to enjoy San Antonio with my mom and step-dad, especially our drinks at the Tower of the Americas. And dinner with Jennifer in Odessa was an unexpected surprise.
Besides all these great memories, my favorite with just Stephen, Truffles and me was our day in Galveston. It was perfection from start to finish and standing in the warm rain water while Truffles played and I tried to capture her image is something I won’t forget.
Funniest Moment
Stephen – Imagining the funny looks we get when people see our festive car lit up at night.
Shae – I almost listed this for my favorite memory and my favorite paid activity because it’s definitely right up there on both of those lists. But it’s also hilarious. When my mom and stepdad, who are nearing 60, rode Lime scooters with me for the first time. They’re good sports. They’ve tried Uber with us and Airbnb which not everyone who isn’t under 40 is up for. So the fact that they were willing to get on electric scooters in the dark and ride the few miles back was amazing.
Then we realized we wanted a movie, so we hopped right back on and went to Red Box because let’s face it, you can’t just have one adult go in a car around the corner when you can have three go on scooters!
Thing We Most Regretted
Stephen – Visiting Odessa. On the one hand it was cool as I got to go to my first drive-in movie and we went for dinner with Jennifer (one of our followers), but the city itself was kinda depressing.
Shae – Agree on Odessa but I did enjoy the drive-in movie (and the new Grinch at that!) and it was Stephen and Truffles’ first drive-in so I can only regret it so much.
For me it was staying in Houston rather than Galveston. I loved Galveston and think I would’ve enjoyed that as our ‘home’ for the week over Houston.
As for a thing we did that I regret? We tried to see the World’s Largest Jack Rabbit in Odessa (epic fail, they’ve been beat out in the last few years by another Texas city) and the largest Wind Turbine in the US. The wind turbine, while huge, didn’t seem as spectacular as I expected and certainly not 300 feet taller than other wind turbines we’ve seen across the country. I call shenanigans Texas A&M.
Also we were warned to skip Cadillac Ranch but we didn’t… we should’ve.
Something We Missed And Want To See
Stephen – Strictly speaking we didn’t miss it, but I’d say Galveston. We only took a day trip there when we were staying in Houston, but loved it so much I wish we’d spent a week there instead of Houston.
Shae – I have a list.
- Armadillos*
- ShangriLlama near Dallas (why yes, it is a castle in Texas with llamas named after famous people, like Prince Barack O’Llama)
- Most of Dallas actually
- The Fort Worth Stockyards
- We didn’t do any cowboy/cowgirl learning or experiences despite there being museums (mostly near Dallas)
- Going for drinks in Reunion Tower aka “The Ball” in… yup… Dallas
- Newman’s Bakery
- The Bluebell Creamery Tour
- Not getting to shoot a real gun (we did a game at Big Texan Steak Ranch but it’s not the same). We were scheduled to go to a shooting range with a real Texas Sheriff but duty called for her and we had to cancel.
- Not getting my postcard in two Texas locations… El Paso and… Dallas. (We don’t have room for souvenirs so I get a state pin at each capital and I send myself a post card from each place we stay. I’m a little behind on the writing and sending, but I’ve still been collecting them.)
- Not getting a second visit with Arree since Truffles was a little overwhelmed and over-tired (think toddler tantrum)
- Horseback riding
- Trying on chaps, a cowboy hat, boots and spurs
*live ones – preferably wild
Our Biggest Surprise
Stephen – How absolutely terrible Texas driver are. On a four lane highway, trucks sit in the third lane driving slowly. In the outside lane you have cars going 1 mph faster than the trucks, but still much slower than the speed limit. The second lane is taken by people driving even slower, so the inside lane ends up being the passing lane.
It was this way all over Texas – no one seemed capable of moving over when they’re driving slowly and not passing anyone. In completely unrelated news, I get a little impatient sometimes.
Shae – How impatient Stephen has gotten this year.
Just kidding… kind of.
How much I enjoyed the smaller towns in Texas like Abilene and Terlingua (sorry Odessa, no honorable mention here I’m afraid). I’m much more of a big city girl overall, but I really enjoyed both small towns and have some of my favorite Texas memories from both.
Also, how not great my steak was. We went to Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarilllo and while it was big – I went crazy and ordered a huge steak – and it was good… it wasn’t great. It wasn’t what I thought it would be. I think I built up the expectations too much. I’m also surprised how much I’ve grown to enjoy BBQ, especially the brisket BBQ in Texas. The Salt Lick’s was amazing.
My Texas Drinking Game Would Be…
Stephen – Taking a drink every time you see something being sold that’s Texas-shaped.
Shae – First off, you will be dead after 3 days (and that’s being generous) in Texas if you play Stephen’s drinking game, just saying.
Second, you’d think I’d have no trouble with this because we do actually discuss ideas for this as we go along but here I sit trying to think what I should choose.
Ummmm… take a drink every time someone says “why are you going there?” about Abilene (unwarranted) and Odessa (completely warranted).
Summary Of Texas In 10 Words Or Less
Stephen – It’s good, but not as amazing as Texans claim.
Shae – I saw no armadillos in my ten weeks there. Disgraceful.
Texas Cities We Visited In Order From Favorite To Least Favorite
Stephen – Terlingua, San Antonio, Galveston, Round Rock/Austin, Abilene, El Paso, Canyon, Corpus Christi, Houston, Dallas, Odessa
Shae – Galveston, San Antonio, Terlingua, Round Rock/Austin, Abilene, Canyon, Corpus Christi, El Paso, Dallas, Houston…
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Odessa.
Melanie Wagner says
Did you take spray paint to Cadillac Ranch and put your mark on a car? That’s part of the fun.
stephen says
I guess that teaches us to read up on something before we go along as we hadn’t even realized they were graffitied until we arrived!
Mikael Gunning says
I would be interested to hear about what you explored while in Houston. I am a Hoosier native and moved down here based on a successful long-distance dating relationship turned marriage! I had always heard great things about Dallas growing up based on the TV show and my mother taking trips there to hang out with girl friends. I didn’t know what to expect from Houston but boy have I been pleasantly surprised! It is definitely hot and humid here so we cope by eating AMAZING cuisine and enjoying the high-quality art scene here such as the Menil Collection which is free. Some claim that Houston is surpassing New York City in diversity and I can see why. The Chinatown here is amazing in addition to the numerous Tex-Mex and Mex-Mex offerings. I would suggest giving Houston another chance. I adore this city and it’s people! If you are all about the outdoors, then maybe not, but for food and culture, I think it beats many other large U.S. cities.
stephen says
We didn’t end up doing all that much in Houston in the end. From what I can remember, the weather was pretty bad while we were there, although still not quite as bad as our time in Dallas.
We went to the Space Center one day and did a day trip down to Galveston, but I can’t remember us doing much else. A couple of days I had to work most of the day which, knowing my luck, was probably when we’d have had good weather!