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bedsitter23When I go somewhere far away, I do like to comment on what stands out to me as a visitor.
Of course, the big reveal is that every place pretty much looks the same nowadays. For the last 20 years or so, the expansion of the national chains, means everywhere you go there will be a Wal-Mart, an Appleby's, a Lowe's, some gas stations you will recognize, and the regional supermarket of choice.
You always hear about Texas swagger, but outside of places advertising 'Texas' size portions (and that's usually for the tourist), I really didn't find much of the way of Red State Conservatism or Macho Posturing than I find anywhere else.
South Texas, of course, has great produce. There's oranges (in various mutations like the recommended sweet pineapple orange, grapefruit, jicamas (which may be exotic for some, but have worked its way into the healthy eating section within the last couple of years, etc and more.
There are irrigation fields which look different, if you are not used to them; and a sugar cane crop, in which they burn the field to make harvesting easier, which makes sense, but is somewhat weird to me.
There are jackrabbits, of course, which are somewhat scary when compared to our Easter Bunny-style rabbit I am accustomed to.
These long ear creatures made me think briefly that a group of them attacking a town would make a great horror story. After that two seconds, I laughed at that idea.
South Padre island boasts Dolphins and all kind of sealife, up to and including Bull Sharks; though I didn't see any of those.
I saw pelicans which are still exotic to me when I see a group of them, and the signs as you cross the island are rather unique.
The local favorite burger chain is Whataburger, which is excellent, though it closely resembled Sonic quite a bit to me; but very tasty.
I made it to Pepe's in Harlingen, which Hispanic magazine called one of the 100 Best Mexican Restaurants in the US (It was quite good) and Los Asado's in Harlingen, which I liked even a bit more (amazing salsa).
I also made it to Willie's in Alamo, Texas, which made a Top 50 list of best Barbeque joints in the World, and it's hard to counteract that.
The loaded (with barbeque) baked potato was a real culinary memory and the BBQ smell got you from the second you walked into the door.
Of course, the big reveal is that every place pretty much looks the same nowadays. For the last 20 years or so, the expansion of the national chains, means everywhere you go there will be a Wal-Mart, an Appleby's, a Lowe's, some gas stations you will recognize, and the regional supermarket of choice.
You always hear about Texas swagger, but outside of places advertising 'Texas' size portions (and that's usually for the tourist), I really didn't find much of the way of Red State Conservatism or Macho Posturing than I find anywhere else.
South Texas, of course, has great produce. There's oranges (in various mutations like the recommended sweet pineapple orange, grapefruit, jicamas (which may be exotic for some, but have worked its way into the healthy eating section within the last couple of years, etc and more.
There are irrigation fields which look different, if you are not used to them; and a sugar cane crop, in which they burn the field to make harvesting easier, which makes sense, but is somewhat weird to me.
There are jackrabbits, of course, which are somewhat scary when compared to our Easter Bunny-style rabbit I am accustomed to.
These long ear creatures made me think briefly that a group of them attacking a town would make a great horror story. After that two seconds, I laughed at that idea.
South Padre island boasts Dolphins and all kind of sealife, up to and including Bull Sharks; though I didn't see any of those.
I saw pelicans which are still exotic to me when I see a group of them, and the signs as you cross the island are rather unique.
The local favorite burger chain is Whataburger, which is excellent, though it closely resembled Sonic quite a bit to me; but very tasty.
I made it to Pepe's in Harlingen, which Hispanic magazine called one of the 100 Best Mexican Restaurants in the US (It was quite good) and Los Asado's in Harlingen, which I liked even a bit more (amazing salsa).
I also made it to Willie's in Alamo, Texas, which made a Top 50 list of best Barbeque joints in the World, and it's hard to counteract that.
The loaded (with barbeque) baked potato was a real culinary memory and the BBQ smell got you from the second you walked into the door.
