My Birthday Weekend of Trials & Tribulations in Texas

On August 12, I celebrated my 58th year on this planet. It all started in the largest city in Texas, in Houston, where I was born. To celebrate my day, my husband and I decided to take a full week off and head to northeast Texas to spend time on some land we bought in…

Weekend at Buc-ee’s!!!

A few months ago, I came up with the idea of traveling around Texas and visiting all 34 of the Buc-ee’s stores in the Lone Star State. For those of you not familiar with Buc-ee’s, they are far more than a convenience store with fuel and snacks. Most are massive with at least 50 fuel…

We’ll Always Have Paris…Texas, That Is!

My husband, Dan, and I recently celebrated our 23rd anniversary. On the actual date, we were traveling back from a wedding of a family member. Knowing that would be the case ahead of time, we decided to celebrate our day together a week early. In looking at wedding gift ideas for our 23rd year, I…

The Hamburger – A Texas Culinary Creation

According to more sources than I can list, the hamburger was invented by Fletcher Davis from Athens, Texas, in the late 1880’s and introduced at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. “Uncle Fletch” is so beloved in Athens that they hold the Uncle Fletch Davis Hamburger Festival every September. In fact, the Uncle Fletch…

Celebrating Texas Farmers, Farmer’s Markets, and Those Who Can Can

From my Junior year in high school until my Senior year in college, I spent most of my summers working on our family’s farm in Livingston, Texas. Soon after the school year ended and I’d had a few weeks to enjoy the summer, my Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays were used for picking, washing, and loading…

Introducing the How Big Is Texas Podcast

It’s been in my head for a while and it was time to make it happen. Check out my How Big Is Texas podcast. I’ll share my Texas stories and interview others who can tell you about the many things to see and do in the Lone Star State. I hope you’ll follow along. Click…

How Texan Are You?

It’s been a whirlwind seven months since we moved to east Texas and back to my ancestor’s old stomping grounds near Tyler. My husband Dan has been working on the future Official International World Headquarters of How Big Is Texas. The heat has made it a slower process than he likes but it’s getting there….

How it all started when I drove the Texas perimeter. Good times!

In June 2020, I decided to drive the perimeter of the Lone Star State with two colleagues from the Texas travel and tourism industry, Morgan Taylor and Debra Bustos. That’s how the idea of my Texas blog started. I highly recommend it and would do it again. Click here to watch the video. Until next…

Reflecting on Life – Sweet or Unsweet Tea in Texas

This is sort of a post about my travels, sort of. A few years ago while I was driving to work, my radio was tuned to Sirius radio and various news stations, all telling their own versions of some truth. In just a few short minutes, I heard so much bickering, I had to turn…

My Favorite Murals in Towns and Cities across Texas

Living in the Visual Arts Capital of Texas in San Angelo, I am blessed every day to see some of the best murals in the state, in my humble opinion. So I started thinking about other cities and towns I’ve visited that feature this art form in such a beautiful way. Before I share those…