If you don’t believe me that Poteet is the “Strawberry Capital of Texas,” just look up. Towering 130-feet above this small farming community 40 miles south of San Antonio stands a crimson-colored beacon that can be seen from miles away. This strawberry-topped water tower salutes the fruit that put Poteet on the map, making it a magnet for strawberry lovers like myself.
The other weekend, I visited Poteet for the first time to attend the annual Poteet Strawberry Festival, a 95-acre fair filled with the usual carnival rides, stick-to-your-ribs foods, and live music, but I wasn’t there for all that. My goal was to OD on as many strawberries as possible. Luckily, that wasn’t too difficult. Vendors throughout the fairgrounds hawk anything and everything strawberry, be it flats of the fruit, strawberry plants, strawberry-scented bars of soap, strawberry apparel, and strawberry jam. Multiple booths were also selling strawberry shortcake, strawberry daiquiris, strawberry nachos, and chocolate-dipped strawberries.
Let’s just say that I tried a little bit of everything, and even walked away with a delicious loaf of strawberry bread and a flat of berries for later. Unfortunately, I was too late for the strawberry-eating contest. Instead, I opted to watch the strawberry auction, where a flat of the fruit sold for a whopping $7,250! (No, I wasn’t the buyer.)
Even though the festival has come and gone for 2007, there’s still a lot of strawberry-centric stuff to be had in Poteet. A walk along the town’s main drag showcases the town’s pride in their local crop, which amounts to about 50 percent of the strawberries grown in Texas. Store windows are painted with strawberry insignias and banners flap in the breeze in proud proclamation. There are even roadside vendors selling strawberries and a few farms where you can pick your own berries.
For more information on the Poteet Strawberry Festival, go HERE. I guarantee, as soon as you take a bite of this town’s juicy fruit, you’ll agree—life is certainly sweet in Poteet.

The madness has to stop: You absolutely must quit thinking of Amarillo as simply the place to eat an obscenely large steak in an hour for free. (See THIS.) It’s grown way beyond the one-horse-town image—actually, there’s a whole bunch of those fabulously painted quarter horses all over town—and morphed into a place you should really put on your summer vacation list. Most immediately, your plans ought to include buying tickets for TEXAS, the legendary musical drama playing on the floor of the Palo Duro Canyon since 1966. Plenty of thrills, music and special effects fill the night sky, June 5 through August 18, and the crowds are dependably huge. Trust me, it’s loads of fun and you don’t want to let another year go by without seeing it. Adding to the allure this year, the show’s producers have hooked up with the Big Texan, that giant steak place (I guess there’s no escaping that particular drawing card!), to provide a big ol’ Lone Star supper nightly before the show. You can have mesquite-grilled prime rib, the Big Texan’s signature potato casserole, fresh green salad, famous rolls and fruit cobblers. Tickets for TEXAS are $10- $27.50, and the steak dinner is $8.95- $13.25. And that doesn’t sound crazy at all.

The only way to describe the air inside Luckenbach’s general store/saloon is stifling—not something I’d come to expect when it’s a pleasant, 75-degrees outside. But alas, this is the middle of nowhere, and I’m standing inside a 120-year-old building with no air-conditioning. My only reprieve is a lone ceiling fan whirring overhead, its blades ping-ponging the stale stench of cigarettes from one wall to the next. Normally I wouldn’t last very long in such a place, but I’m on a mission: I must buy a t-shirt that says, “Everyone’s somebody in Luckenbach.” Anyone who has ever visited Luckenbach, a small community (population 3) 10 miles southwest of Fredericksburg (see THIS), can attest that a Luckenbach t-shirt is a necessary memento.
After waiting (I mean wilting) in line for about 10-15 minutes to make my purchase (“We’re not on New York time and we’re not on Los Angeles time, we’re on Luckenbach time,” proudly proclaimed the cashier), I head over to the adjacent saloon, which sells brewskies and other much-needed cold beverages. The cashier’s right, things are a bit slower in Luckenbach. While I wait patiently to order my drink, I scan through the old photos, rusty license plates, and tattered newspaper clippings plastered to the walls. One item in particular catches my eye: a moth-eaten deer head. There’s also a potbellied stove in the center of the room used to cook deer sausages during the winter months; in the summer it serves as a hen house.
During my afternoon stay, an improve jam session was taking place. On any day of the week, visitors can expect to hear different bands performing. (Past musicians include Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Waylon Jennings, whose 1977 hit “Luckenbach, Texas” put the sleepy hamlet on the map.)
Prior to becoming the little boomtown that it is today, Luckenbach was a settlement for German farmers beginning in the 1840s; by the early 1900s, the population swelled to nearly 500 people, but slowly declined over the next several decades. In 1971, John Russell (Hondo) Crouch, an entertainer/writer, purchased the town, dubbed himself mayor, and declared the town “a free state…of mind.” Today Luckenbach’s lure has remained intact, hosting events such as the annual “Hug-In,” chili cook-offs, and impromptu domino tournaments, making it a popular destination for free spirits and travelers alike. For more information, see THIS.

Let’s face it, spring break at the coast just isn’t for sissies. And if you’re somebody who wilts in the heat, you’ll melt twice as fast on the scorching sand in mid- summer. That’s why this time of spring, right now, is absolutely the best for hitting the beach. By going between spring break and summer, rates are low and you practically have the sand to yourself. But which beach is best? For me and my family, it was usually breezy Port Aransas, which we loved from the time I was small-fry, for its simplicity and small-town charm. That’s exactly the reason I typically choose it first today. My sister, Nell and I spent four glorious days there, mostly wondering why we don’t still return every summer. We walked from our little rented condo on the sand for hours on end, picking up bits of driftwood and laughing over funny growing-up stories. What impressed us most was the lack of pretense that characterizes Port Aransas, even now. Other beaches have gotten rather glitzy, but Port A sort of shuffles along with its old-style T-shirt shops, fresh-fish shacks and ramshackle beach houses. The poky pulse of the town seduced us the moment we drove off the ferry from Aransas Pass. The salty sea winds and the languid rhythms of the town forced us into a slower gear, where we dwelled in delight. We opted for one of the cheaper, plain condos, rather than a high-rise version with gorgeous swimming pools; all we needed was a clean bedroom and bathroom, completely equipped kitchen, living area with couches and chairs, and a picnic table on the deck, which overlooked the beach. The highlight of each day involved whipping up another meal featuring the big, sweet, fresh shrimp that we fetched for few bucks at a nearby fish market. Our big outing was making the 30-minute drive down to Padre Island National Seashore for a walk on one of the nation’s few barrier islands. (See THIS.) It’s one of the rare stretches of sand where you can walk or drive for hours and perhaps see only one or two other people. We happened upon a park ranger entertaining a group of kids with a story about Tammy the sea turtle, and we were tickled to find cool clothing items on a sale rack in the park store. You can book a deep-sea charter or some such, but that seemed like way too much activity for us. Our final night, we went out to dinner at a nice restaurant at the marina, where we ate lovely seafood plates and watched dolphins playing in the fading sunlight just a few yards from our deck table. Just like when we were kids.

Have a comment, question or observation about something you’ve seen in the print version of Texas Highways, or on our website? This is just the place to weigh in!

Lois M. Rodriguez, Web editor
Texas Highways, the official travel magazine of Texas

There are still some tickets left to the Saturday night throw-down at the Buffalo Gap Wine & Food Summit, and it’s something that should be on every food-lovers to-do list. Staged at the renowned Perini Ranch Steakhouse grounds, this gathering just south of Abilene makes my mouth water just thinking about it. The Cowboys, Cuisine and Cabernet party finds a bunch of folks in fancy western duds dancing the night away, between chowing down on plates of goodies made by Jon Bonnell, Tim Love, and Grady Spears of Fort Worth, Paula Lambert and Matt Martinez Jr. of Dallas, and host Tom Perini of - yep - Buffalo Gap, among others. Find out more about the event at HERE. If you’re not up for the trip this weekend and wonder why on earth anyone would go out there anyway, let me tip you off: Whenever I get one of those irresistible hankerins to run off to the Hill Country to get my batteries recharged, I realize I’d rather drive two hours than four hours for the same results. So, I head out to Buffalo Gap, a great overnight escape, sitting in the ancient oaks of a mini-valley cut through rocky outcroppings and reddish dirt by Elk Creek. Buffalo once used this as a watering hole —hence, the name— and a settlement likewise grew here. Today I can prowl through a village that holds the town’s old train depot, jail, blacksmith shop, doctor’s office and post office, all circa 1860, and shake off all that city nonsense. Inside the general store, there’s a good selection of Texana literature and gifts. Before my escape is complete, I have to hunker down over some of Perini’s good ol’ cowboy eats, whether it’s his roasted prime rib supper or his Sunday fried chicken dinner. Oh, if I’m lucky, I can snag a stay at one of the Perini’s new guest quarters, recently opened on the ranch.

Managed to catch a sizable chunk of Waterloo Records’ free 25th Anniversary Party at their 6th & Lamar parking lot in Austin on Sunday April 15. Gorgeous day. Happy crowd. Cool celebration. Terrific live sets by Grupo Fantasma, Brothers & Sisters, Joe Ely, and Eisley. Also, made my way a couple blocks east to spend some time at the Austin Fine Arts Festival at Republic Square, a nice event (with live music, as well) that I’ve enjoyed on several occasions.

If you’ve spent even a moment on Texas roads lately, you know that bluebonnets patches are painting the shoulders, and that Indian paintbrush and black-eyed susans have never been more radiant. Yessir, we have a bonafide bumper crop of wildflowers this season, and spring fever has me positively woozy. But roadtrippers cannot live by blooms alone, and all that energy expended on doubling back to take photos works up a powerful appetite after a spell. Lucky for you, I did your gastronomy homework so you’d know where to stop to eat between bouts of gawking at the posies north of Waco, south of the Red River, west of Cowtown and east to Waxahachie. My story is in today’s Fort Worth Star-Telegram (see it here). We included the classics, such as Ranchman’s in Ponder, the Koffee Kup in Hico, and Clark’s Outpost in Tioga, but there are newer destinations, too; these include Let’s Eat (meat loaf, pork chops) at Bluff Dale, the Stringfellow’s in Granbury (grilled salmon salad), and the Hard Eight at Stephenville (BBQ from giant pits outside, a la Cooper’s in Llano). If you’re into steaks, don’t pass up the Line Camp at Tolar, Wildcatter at Graham, or Fort Griffin Mercantile in Albany. My favorite finds were the chicken-fried French fries at the Busy Bee in Maypearl and the itty-bitty burgers at Oma’s Jiffy Burger in Waxahachie. Don’t forget how to find the good flower routes: call the state highway hotline at 800/452-9292 or visit TxDOT’s website.

At a vacation place called Texas Ranch Life, you can imagine that the conversations would naturally turn to livestock. So when John and Taunia Elick, owners of the Lonesome Pine Ranch near Bellville that encompasses the guest ranch TRL, told my travel party of four women about a new development amidst their animal population, we gave the typical reaction of city folk. It seems that a girl longhorn mated with a buffalo bull, and the resulting offspring didn’t look like anything roaming these parts of the range. Sadly, both mama and baby were being shunned by their groups – the calf for being such an odd- looking misfit and mama for having gone with a male not of her kin we guessed. We carried on about the injustice of it all, much to rancher John Elick’s amusement. Over the course of our weekend stay, however, we rose to the occasion of enjoying our time on this stunning, 1,600- acre spread and touring the historic homes that Taunia Elick has transformed into magnificent lodgings. When we weren’t soaking in the solitude of the rolling countryside and our lavishly furnished house, we wandered into Bellville for a fine dinner at Latigo, a restaurant occupying a 1920s Dr Pepper Plant, and we moseyed over to Brenham for shopping in the vintage downtown. After the weekend’s end, I was heartened to receive an email from Taunia Elick, who set our minds at ease regarding the outcast longalo or buffhorn or whatever he is. It turns out that Curly, as John Elick has christened him, has begun hanging out with the longhorn herd. And mama? According to Taunia, she’s “looking hot to the bulls again. Such is nature.”

While my habit is to stick to the back roads whenever possible, there is the moment when interstate travel can’t be avoided. But if you’re like me and find yourself in need of a pick- me- up when motoring between Waco and Dallas/Fort Worth, you’ve probably figured out that your eating options are pretty good. Better yet, sometimes these come with a little bonus: As I walked into the Czech Stop at West (exit 353) the other day, who should be walking out – signature stogie in hand – but Kinky Friedman? He couldn’t even get to his car, thanks to fans and curious friendly folk. As I collected my family’s requested stash of fruit- filled kolaches, I watched through the window as the Kinkster lit his cigar and visited with folks in the parking lot. Even if you don’t see a would- be governor at the Czech Stop, you can always count on great pastries, an excellent selection of locally made smoked sausage, a big case filled with sandwiches, and shelves piled with T- shirts – my favorite is the one that reads “Got beer?” in Czech. Just a few blocks into town, right over the railroad tracks, there’s the Czech American Restaurant, with a hearty menu of stuffed cabbage, meatloaf, sausage and sauerkraut, imported beer, and great coconut pie. A very short distance north of West, at the Abbott exit, the Turkey Shop has reopened, and it’s added Smokin’ Café to its name. Inside, you’ll find the same little cafeteria line, serving turkey and dressing and sides, that’s been keeping travelers happy since my grandfather first took me there when it was new, in 1965. If you’re in a rush, get one of the excellent smoked turkey sandwiches. At exit 355, just two miles north of West (how weird does that sound?), Yianni’s has been pulling in diners by the carload; I even know people who drive there regularly from Fort Worth just to have dinner. The Greek food (particularly the moussaka, dolmathes and lamb shank) is outstanding, and the service is better than it has to be.