Texas Footnotes

Some thoughts upon leaving Texas after ten days:

• Texas is big, bold and diverse. Wichita Falls and Galveston could not be more different and then there is everything in between.

• There is a slower pace in their socializing, but Texans drive very FAST.

• In some areas of Texas the highway system is like interconnecting roller coasters - not for the faint of heart.

• There is no "Texan" accent - it's as diverse as its population. But they do all say "y'all" and use "sir" and ma'am" when addressing you. (And that is true all over the South.)

• There is a large German influence in Texas. I had no idea. Apparently, by the mid-nineteenth century they constituted the largest ethnic European group in Texas. They rank third after Hispanics as an ethnic group. Towns with names like Bergheim, Boerne, Fredricksburg, Gruene, New Braunfels, Schulenburg all give evidence of their German settlers. (We visited New Braunfels and had the best pastries in Naegelin's German Bakery.)

• I loved our time in Texas and again am grateful that Frankie & Jess's wedding brought us there.

Tall Texas Highways

Naegelin's Bakery, New Braunfels - Oldest Bakery in Texas - 1868!