I took a few days off the last weekend of June to explore
east Texas. I moved to Texas almost 3 years ago and have slowly been trying to
explore this giant state. We ended up staying at Holly Lake Ranch resort which
is about an hour north of Tyler, Texas. This resort is in the middle of nowhere,
surrounding by country roads, little ranches, and small towns trying to make a
living through antique stores. It was
nice to get off the beaten path.
East Texas is very different from the surrounding Houston
areas. First thing you notice are the pine trees. Super tall pine trees.
Everything is very forested and green. Luckily our resort had a few walking
trails to explore some of the nature. I recommend taking the scenic route and
drive on all the country roads to get to East Texas because you get a feel off
how the scenery changes. Another thing to note is that cell phone service is
very poor in the area, so do not plan on having a lot of contact with the
outside world.
The big thing to do in Holly Lake Ranch is Saturday night
bingo at the fire hall. This place was packed. Only $2 a card that was reusable
the whole night, 50cents for hotdogs and homemade cake - this was a good deal.
We ended up winning $8 and broke even. A good night had by all.
The great thing about the area are all the little towns
trying to revitalize itself through revamping their "Main Street
America" look and all the little antique stores devoted to this image. We
ended up going to Mineola, TX which was about a 20 minute drive from Holly Lake
Ranch. Unfortunately we got there after 5pm and all the stores were closed but
it still provided many great opportunities for picture taking.
The best and most random find happened to be this old fire
truck with all sorts of plants growing around it. We decided to stop at the
Dairy Queen at the end of Mineola, TX and the fire truck was located in the
back of the parking lot. If I didn't have the urge for a dipped cone, I would
have never seen it. This is the great thing about driving around the countryside
and exploring because you never know what you'll find.
On our last night in the area, we happened to drive past
this young kid selling watermelons on the side of the road. I thought his sign
was adorable so we stopped. Ended up being he was the younger brother helping
out his older brother sell watermelons so he can save some money for college.
The younger brother was helping out because his older brother was having some
health issues and was going to have some sort of surgery the next day. The kid
was very sweet and excited to be selling watermelons. We bought two and they
ended up being fantastic. Fresh picked that morning and so sweet.
I am looking forward to going back and spending more time
exploring; hopefully when the weather is cooler and the bugs are not out in
full force.
