Last Saturday, November 12, was the last phase in my quest to visit all 41 of the Texas Harley Davidson dealerships participating in the Passport program. I started the 2nd week of the program in August and ends on November 20. Before I go any further, I would like to express my appreciation to my loving wife who was totally supportive in my efforts to go all over the State to get silly stamp in my passport. Perhaps she merely wanted me to spend more time out of town, but I choose to think it was just because she loves me.
Of course, as I have mentioned before, much of my dealership visits were made in conjunction with my business travels, but there were two or three trips made just for this purpose. Either way, Sharon was always behind me. I only had to endure a bit on good natured ribbing over the t-shirts I kept coming home with...I had to have a souvenir of my visits didn't I? Well, now I have a shirt for all occasions!
Now to the road trip. I started my day with three objectives in mind...1) be in Beaumont by the time the dealer there opened; 2) drive to Nacogdoches and have lunch after visiting there dealership; and 3) be home by early afternoon To go out on a date.
I left town at 6:20am headed south on Hwy 6...a road I have taken many times. I made good time in the dark and before long I was on the other side of Houston on I-10. The last time...and perhaps the only time in recent memory...I was on this stretch on interstate I was on my motorcycle coming home from Florida. The road definitely looks different from a car. Either way, there isn't much to see between Houston and Beaumont except miles and miles of open land...perhaps much of it low, marsh land.
It is 180 miles from College Station to Beaumont but it isn't a bad drive. I crossed several rivers and creeks with names such as Goose Creek, Lost River (not sure where it went), Old River, Trinity River, Turtle Bayou and Taylors Bayou. I also went through or by several interesting towns with names like Winnie, Wallisville, Anahuac (famous from the days of Texas fighting for their independence), Gator Junction and Hankamer. Once I arrived in Beaumont, it was fairly easy to find the dealership.
I arrived shortly after opening, did my thing and headed up Hwy 69 towards Nacogdoches. Mostly there wasn't much to see that you can't see in most large cities in Texas, except for one establishment that I had seen advertised for several miles prior to hitting town...Starvin Marvin's. Sounded like a good place to eat but I didn't have time to find out.
Hwy 69 between Beaumont and Nacogdoches is a part of Texas that I had never traveled before. The 120 miles was much different than the road inbound to Beaumont...tree s, water, etc. Again, it is so obvious to see the differences between east and west Texas. I passed over several creeks and rivers like Cypress Creek, Sour Lake (that may be a town versus a lake...or both), Village Creek, Hickory Creek, Big Cypress Creek, Little Turkey Creek, Big Turkey Creek, Wolf Creek, Neches River, Angelina River and Shawnee Switch (anyone know what a switch is?). I also went through some towns with interesting names, such as Woodville, Chester, Douchette, Colmesneil, Zavala (sounds like it should be in south Texas doesn't it), Jasper, Huntington (where the high school's teams are the Devils and the Devilettes), Shawnee Prairie and Lufkin.
I also drove through some beautiful wooded areas, such as the Angelina Forest. Logging is big business in this part of the state and I saw several small saw mills and I passed the Woodville location of the Texas Forest Service...didn't even know there was one.
As I entered Nacogdoches from the south, the traffic began to get heavy. I figured the relatively narrow street that goes by the SFA campus is always busy, especially around lunch time on a Saturday, but this was a little heavier than I anticipated. I decided to go to the dealership in town and then hit the campus for a little reminiscing. I drove around the loop a few miles and shortly after I passed over Hwy 21 I found the dealership...nothing exciting but adequate for my purposes. The weather was pretty good and there were quite a few riders coming and going.
After getting my last passport stamp, I headed toward the university. I wanted to see if I could find a nice polo shirt or something similar and then I would find a place to eat lunch...perhaps at one of the historic BBQ joints that Sharon and I used to eat at back in the '60's. As I entered the campus, I noticed that almost every parking place was taken and that's when it hit me...it must be their annual preview days and probably a football game as well. I was right on both counts as it turned out.
I found a parking place about 200 yards from the student center and hiked back to find the bookstore. The student center is quite a bit different than it was when I was attending...even different than when Courtney graduated in '06. There were several nice fast food restaurants...all totally filled with parents and prospective students. I blocked out the hunger pains and headed for the bookstore...I assumed it was still in the same place...and it was.
I was on the road home by 1:00pm...140 miles on pretty nice road that I had driven many times. I passed through several very familiar towns like Douglas, Alto, Crockett, Madisonville and North Zulch, but then I noticed for the first time towns with not so familiar names, like Salem, Cold Springs, Weeping Mary, Grapeland, Mapletown and Sand Ridge. As with the first two legs of the trip, I crossed several creeks and/or rivers, such as McLean Creek, Bracken Creek, Cedar Creek, Big Creek, Trinity River (again), Ivey Creek, Pooles Creek and the Navasota River. Once past this river, I knew I was almost home.
Two very unique areas of interest were on this particular stretch of road. First, the Davy Crockett National Forest...a beautiful piece of land with a nice lake near Crockett. Second, the Caddo Indian Mound historic site. If you haven't been to either, they are worth a day's drive to East Texas.
I made only one stop on the way home...Buckee's. It's hard to resist stopping, especially if you're thirsty or need gas. I hit the little boy's room, bought a coke and got back on Hwy 21 to home...only 30 more miles.
Once again, I offer my thanks to my beautiful wife for her understanding and encouragement for me to enter into the passport program...and to get all 41 of the participating Harley Davidson dealerships in this year's program. I don't know if I'll ever do it again...unless next time I do it on my motorcycle...which I regret wasn't possible this time.
Well, until the next road trip, this is Papa Jax signing off. Thanks for listening.
