I left Waco by heading east. I went through a great big clockwise loop before ending back up in College Station. On the way I found three smaller towns, Corsicana 25k population, Nacogdoches 34k, and Lufkin 34k. All had their own bit of charm.
Corsicana has a ton of charm in the downtown area. I saw this City Jail which had been turned into a residence. If you look above the front door it has the City Jail title still there. It is exactly the type of place I would like. Little to no maintenance and right in the middle of everything.
I saw the below sign in downtown Nacogdoches and just had to stop in.
It was a killer cigar store…and so much more. Want memorabilia, check, vinyl albums, check, cigars….absolutely. I was inside their walk in humidor and began to listen to a couple inside. The wife was telling the husband about each brand and what she thought he might like. I mentioned that I should have her do the same for me! Turns out she used to have an interest in the store and paid close attention to what people said.
She indicated they had recently moved and when I asked where to she replied “Mena, AR”. I began to laugh and explained that Anita and I had gone to Mena to look the town over. At one point we considered buying property but decided against it. She said they love it there.
So three more towns have made it onto the “small town” list.
I got into College Station around 6pm. After a quick shower I walked (yes, I walked) to Red’s Ice House. I had breakfast the first time I was there and had a great staff waiting on me so I wanted to see if dinner would be as good. Turns out the same two waited on me for dinner and the rest of the staff was outstanding as well.
I even had a short theological chat with my bartender, Georgia. Hats off to her for her conviction. Also a thumbs up to Gabby who used to live in Tacoma and hasn’t looked back since she left. She commented she no longer has to be careful about what she says bothering others. She freely speaks her mind and not offending anyone. What a concept.
BrokenSpoken 