Texas - day 1 - narrative

On a recommendation from John's aunt, we took hwy 79 from Shreveport to Austin It was scenic. We drove through many small towns ranging in population from 230 to 20,000+. We took an early detour to "Grandpa's Farm - pick your own fruit" and came away with 3lbs of figs, 1.5lbs of blackberries, and a few onions. Back on the highway and not too much further down the road, we stopped at a stand selling watermelons. John then held the watermelon in his lap for the remaining 200+ miles to Austin.

The lunch stop today was in Palestine, TX population 17, 492, at the Old Magnolia Sandwich Shop - located in an antique mall. It was...nice - voted a "best taste of palestine" by the chamber of commerce. Overall, the old town/main st area (several blocks off the highway) was empty and most stores were not open. The patrons seemed like locals, except for a couple that drove up in their shiny H2 hummer, walked in and around the antiques for 5 minutes, and left - presumably for the next quaint antique store.

The highway, when not going through a town area, had a posted speed limit of 70. It ranged from 2 to 4 lanes, and mostly was traveled by trucks. We suddenly were back in traffic and strip malls on approach to Interstate 35 just north of Austin. "Drive 30 miles in any direction out of Austin and you are back in the real Texas" - quoted by John's aunt. There is much of Austin to see tomorrow.