About Texas Thursday Thirteen

All the crazy and not so crazy facts you ever wanted to know about Texas. Well, maybe not all of them, but I found quite a few.

1. Texas possesses three of the Top Ten most populous cities in the U.S. - Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.
2. Almost 10% of Texas is covered by forest which includes four national and five state forests.
3. State Flying Mammal: Mexican Free-tailed Bat
4. State Gemstone cut: The Lone Star Cut
5. Texas is the only state to have the flags of 6 different nations fly over it. They are: Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, Confederate States, and the United States.
6. The King Ranch in Texas is bigger than the state of Rhode Island.
7. The state was an independent nation from 1836 to 1845.
8. Dr Pepper was invented in Waco in 1885. The Dublin Dr Pepper, 85 miles west of Waco, still uses pure imperial cane sugar in its product. There is no period after the Dr in Dr Pepper.
9. Texas comes from the Hasinai Indian word tejas meaning friends or allies.
10. The Flagship Hotel on Seawall Boulevard in Galveston is the only hotel in North America built entirely over the water.
11. Texas is the country's biggest producer of oil, cattle, sheep, minerals and cotton.
12. The worst natural disaster in U.S . history was in 1900, caused by a hurricane, in which over 8,000 lives were lost on Galveston Island .
13. Texas is the only state which still has the capacity to secede and become its own country. The Republic of Texas still stands.

Cowboy's Ten Commandments posted on the wall at Cross Trails Church in
Fairlie , Texas :
(1) Just one God.
(2) Honor yer Ma & Pa.
(3) No telling tales or gossipin'.
(4) Git yourself to Sunday meeting.
(5) Put nothin' before God.
(6) No foolin' around with another fellow's gal.
(7) No killin'.
(8) Watch yer mouth.
(9) Don't take what ain't yers.
(10) Don't be hankerin' for yer buddy's stuff



 

From: http://www.trivia-library.com/b/places-in-world-most-likely-to-secede-texas.htm

If Texas were an independent nation, it would rank 5th in the world in petroleum production and 5th in cotton production, with a gross national product greater than Australia or Brazil.

From: Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/history/american/texas.asp

A clause in the document annexing Texas to the United States allowed for Texas to be divided into five different states

True!

What fun and colorful is our history!

What I did in Fredericksburg...

Fredericksburg is an old settlement town and filled with gorgeous historical buildings and history forward from the mid to late 1800s, from cattle drives to the first cars. At  one of the museums we stopped at, they had a mammoth tusk that they'd found just north of the town. A beautiful town, filled with (slightly) overpriced stores and fun stops. One of the fun things was a straw cowboy hat for the boy. Not one of those red or blue trimmed 'kid's' hats, but a cowboy hat. LOL

One of the other things we bought was well, of course, Fredericksburg Fudge. Quite a bit of it actually. So creamy and rich. Very good stuff. I also bought some of these:

Believe it or not, they are chocolate and candy coated Sunflower Seeds! Tasty things, although a bit on the small side. We bought peaches and some fresh veggies from one of the local stands. There's one practically on every corner too! From Stonewall to Fredericksburg, heading north. Just a LOT of them. LOL

Unfortunately we didn't get to walk around quite as much as I'd have liked. The boy got bored "shopping" pretty quick. *sigh* So I want to go again, maybe with a friend or two to check out the leather shops (gorgeous purses) or the knick-knack shops. And I'd like to get to more of the museums. We only stopped at one and while it was cool to see so much, I was hoping for a bit more.

I did pick up some pamphlets for the B&B's in town. Maybe I can talk the man into going down for a weekend and actually visiting the town right. LOL One can always hope.

So that's pretty much how I spent my day. Now I'm home and I have laundry-oh the fun! (Note the sarcasm. It's there.)

I'm in Fredericksburg today!

Which means I'm really not here today. I know. What a drag. I should be here. I have so much work to do, books to write, a workshop to figure out. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I'm going to be spending the day with the man and the boy, so it should be fun. It'll probably be exhausting too. It's going to be a LOT of walking.

Fredericksburg is close to Enchanted Rock. From the website: "It is one of the largest batholiths (underground rock formation uncovered by erosion) in the United States." I don't know honestly if we're going to make it there or not tomorrow. I haven't been since I was a kid, at least 15 years. Yeah, I'm really that freakin' old. I feel it most days too.

Anyway, so we're going to take a day trip down there to cruise the town, check out the Nimitz Museum, some of the shops and some recommended restaurants. Well, probably only one. Can only eat so much in one day.

Aside from that, I have one more winner to announce! Yep, I sure do. I'm going to give away any book of my backlist or if the winner is willing to wait, either of my pending releases, HIS MASTER PLAN or TRUSTING DELILAH. I would just hold onto your email and once I have the book in my hot little hands, I'd forward it to you.

So, with all of that said and done, and after a really fun and wonderful week, everyone's comments went into the hat and the winner for the freebie pick is.....

 

.........

 

 

 

*cracks the envelope*

 

 

 

.........

 

 

 

Karen!!!!

Wooohooooo!!!!!

Email me Karen and let me know which book you prefer.

 

I will be doing this again soon! This was a wonderful experience and I really appreciate everyone's comments.

Thirteen Myths about Texas Driving
A Driver's Rant




1. Blinkers are optional.
2. The slow lane is for access road speeds.
3. The fast lane is for those related to the Andretti family.
4. Stop signs are for decoration.
5. Yield signs are invisible.
6. Red lights are only another light at the top/side of the other two that mean go faster.
7. Passing is legal on the shoulder, or break down lane.
8. Passing over a double yellow line is okay, because the lines are decorational.
9. A 3 foot buffer between vehicles at 90 MPH is perfectly safe.
10. The law they passed to reduce speed when you see a cop on the side of the road, was a joke. It didn't really pass.
11. Swerving between vehicles at break neck speed is really training for the Olympic Slalom.
12. Coming to a dead stop on an entrance ramp is perfectly safe to merge with 70 MPH traffic
And lastly....
13. Another driver tailgating close enough to see the color of the eyes of the person behind you is being neighborly.

Sarcasm needs have been met for today. Thank you for reading!


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