Did Long Duck Dong wreck Grandpa's car here? Probably not. Apparently the Big Lake was drained in 1975.
But because it was raining, I had my own personal big lake in front of my motel. Yeah, me!
And because I take a picture of the courthouse in every county seat I visit, here it is.
This is La Mula, the mexican food restaurant. Yummy!
Too bad, there weren't enough people to keep Poppa Joe in business. Sho-Nuff!
Mmmm, rusty water tower...
This is the courthouse. Exciting!
This used to be a place to eat. Now it is an out of business junk shop that still has a cow on it and a sign that says "eat." When I first saw the cow, I was excited because I found the place I wanted to eat lunch. I was sad to discover the truth. Instead, I ate lunch at La Familia and it was really good. You should eat there if you ever end up in Rankin.
This was the Yates Hotel, home of the Rankin Museum. It is closed like just about everything else in Rankin. Once upon a time, Rankin was a hoppin' little town with the Yates Hotel, a country club, places to eat, and so on. Unfortunately, the economy went South and so did the people.
Here is an odd piece of yard art in front of the former Yates Hotel/Rankin Museum.
And some more yard art next to the building. It makes you wonder what could have been inside the museum...
So I am driving down I-10 on my way to Houston when I hit something and the tire blew out. This is what it looked like after we took it off the car:
So here is the scary part. There was something else in the road and this is what made me lose control of the car. This is the point when I did a 180 across two lanes of traffic and ended up facing the wrong direction in the median. Of course, the car did not stop before it hit the fence in the center of the median. Here is the damage:
This was probably one of the scariest things that has ever happened to me. But now that I have had some time, I can recall a couple of things about this that were pretty damn funny. For instance, after the car started spinning out of control, MOTL told me that I should slow down. Gee, thanks! Then, when I called the handy-dandy number on the back of my license for road side assistance I was explaining to the dispatcher where I was and she said I think you are near the wreck that was called in. I told her that I didn't see a wreck and she replied that I was the wreck. Duh!
Disclaimer: Do not try this at home (or on a busy highway).
Do you think that they realize that chairs are, in fact, furniture?
Here is a close up of the broken glass.
and a pretty picture of the the future good times they will have gardening.
And the whole picture.
(Click Picture for BIGGER!)
I've never eaten at Home Slice Pizza. But when I do, I hope I get to meet the "Queen of Pies".
It seems like this sign implies that 2 Chronicles 7:14 says: "America, Unite in Prayer." I don't remember The Bible making any direct reference to America. I guess I could be wrong.
But my car isn't nearly as tall, so I'm not really sure why I was being warned about power lines...
The watermelon water tower.
The pump jacks in town have been decorated.
Welcome to Oil City!
UPDATE: I started thinking about why these trees are so important and googled them. Duh.
As per the Texas Settlement Region they are the Urrea Oaks.
Urrea Oaks
US 77, S of Refugio
Refugio
Year Marker Erected: 1973
Location: From Refugio, take US 77 south about 15 mi. to median park area.
Marker Text:
By tradition, camping place in March 1836, during Texas War for Independence, of Gen.Jose Urrea of Mexico. Strategically located, this was Urrea's staging area. Capt. Amon B. King came from Goliad with his Texas volunteers to support the Refugio townsmen, who were taken into the safety of Mission Nuestra Senora Del Refugio. Then Lt. Col. William also arrived on March 13, and the "Battle of Rufugio" began. Both King and Ward left protection on the Mission, and Urrea won final victories over them, capturing King's command on March 15 and Ward's on March 22.
This is the courthouse.
This is picture is for Henry.
And this is for my friends over at LBI.
