It was to be our first real trip together. Sure, we'd been back and forth to Palestine (and missed the train all three times), but that had been an errand, an adventure, but one with an actual destination.
This time....this time would be our first escape....
It was shortly after the epiphany in Ennis that we all shared a love of adventuring and exploring the world, and we had chosen this weekend to give in to that urge.
Where were we going? No idea...
Where would we sleep? We'd find out when we stopped...
What would we do? We'd discover that along the way...
We loaded up the car with a change of clothes, some towels (in case we found somewhere we wanted to swim), and a bag with a few games. We quested around the house for the State Park Pass in the hopes that it would finally get some use, but alas, it was too soon after the move, and we failed to locate it...so we'd have to pay like normal people if we stopped at any state parks. With that decision, we were off!
Headed down 287 toward Waxahachie, we still had no ideas on which way we wanted to go or what we wanted to do, but it didn't matter...we knew that sooner or later, something interesting would present itself and we'd go to investigate. A random turn down a farm road in Ovilla took us past some stately ranch houses and a nice little pass through some trees overhanging the road, but so far our thirst for adventure was barely being dripped upon. As we looped around and ended up back on 287, we saw a sign proclaiming "Trade Days," with an arrow. Well, what were "Trade Days?" We followed the arrow to find out, but aside from that one sign, there were no further directions. Apparently, we were not worthy of "Trade Days," as it refused to be found. This did lead to a suggestion, though....
"Hey, what about that First Monday thing in Canton?" exclaimed Brandy. "I think this coming Monday should be the first one, so it would be going on this weekend, right?"
Worked for me.....with a possible destination in mind, we headed in the vague direction of Canton, first stopping in Ennis, where Brandy knew of a little bakery that served excellent kolaches. Jammed right next to a gas station, it's not easy to spot, but the food was worth it. They even had sugar-free stuff, so Angela got to enjoy some too. With pastries in hand, our next leg took us up highway 34 toward Kaufman, and then along 243 into Canton. Along the way, we saw lots of plains and not much else, although a billboard did catch our eye -- it was solid black, and in white lettering, proclaimed "Coming Soon," with two arrows pointing down near each corner. As we got closer, we could just barely make out in parentheses, "(mature audiences only)".
"I'll bet they are," was the cheerful retort.
As we entered Canton, we found that much like "Trade Days," it seemed to be assumed that you had some rough idea where in town the First Monday event happened. We drove around town aimlessly for a while, until we eventually spotted a sign for "First Monday Parking." So we parked. Beyond that, there was no indication of which way First Monday was.
That was okay....we were curious about the store with piles of colorful dishes out front. It turned out to be a Fiesta store. We spent the next hour exploring every inch of the store, marvelling at the wide variety of different types of plates, bowls, glasses, and even silverware. Saw some cool pottery, like a popcorn bowl that said "Popcorn is for sharing," and then at the bottom of the bowl, "That's all folks!" Of course, we hadn't been paying attention to when they were planning to close, and so were sheepish when they discreetly hinted that if we weren't going to buy something, they would like to go home soon. Sorry :)
Since it didn't look like we were going to find First Monday this time, we decided to head east out of Canton along 64 to Tyler, and go see the roses at a nursery Brandy shopped at, possibly pick out some new items for her rose garden. Started on our way, and lo and behold! First Monday grounds! Unfortunately, we were wrong, and it wasn't going on this weekend. Oh well....on to Tyler!
Ooooh....roadside fruit & vegetable stand....picked up some delicious strawberries.....started inhaling them as we went on to Tyler.
Rats....the rose place was closed....hm, what to do next then....well, we're on highway 69...let's go south! *thinks naughty thoughts and smirks* Goofy things seen on the way through town? An auto store selling "Snake Oil"...and on a whim we tried to find a game store, but discovered instead a model airplane store. Onward down 69, into the forests that east Texas is known for. We drove through rolling hills, with trees on either side as far as the eye could see. Stopped at another couple of roadside stands, but nothing really grabbed us, so no purchases.
Shortly after Rusk, we slowed down as we spied a man that appeared to be having trouble with his horse. He was standing in the middle of the road holding the reins of the jumpy animal and frantically waving a crude flag. As we stopped, he finally got the horse under control and got into the right lane. I start to give the car some gas again and he stepped back in front of us -- "I told you to stop!" he spat. Now, we had no idea what was going on, but we were about to just say the hell with it and pass this rude ass with the skittish horse, when the parade started.
An army of people on horses, bicycles, scooters, 4-wheelers, trucks, cars, and motorcycles all chose that moment to cross the road. Why the guy with the horse didn't let us pass before they started, I'll never know, but we were stuck there for some 15 minutes while they all made their way across and down the road a bit before crossing the other side. Finally, the first idiot made three attempts to mount his horse as it was trying to walk away, and eventually, he got out of our way, and we continued on, joking about the parade the whole way.
We debated going to check out the Big Thicket National Preserve, but decided it would wait till the next day, as it was beginning to get late, and we were about ready to find a place to stop for the evening and relax outside the car for a bit...maybe even get some dinner. Our stop for that day?
Lufkin, TX....
more next entry -- the evening, and the next day...
