The following is an excerpt from my upcoming quirky travel book, Unexpected Texas: Salt Palace in Grand Saline While the French equivalent of “window shopping” translates as “window licking” this is something that literally occurs every day at the Salt Palace in Grand Saline, Texas. The unusual building, which houses a visitor center and museum for the town and the nearby Morton Salt Company mine, is built entirely out of salt crystal bricks held together by a salt/mortar mixture. This strange combination proves tempting to many visitors who satisfy their curiosity by taking a tiny lick of its walls. The…
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My Gift to You: North Texas Paranormal Resource Guide As a thank you for signing up to my newsletter, subscribers can download a copy of the North Texas Paranormal Resource Guide, a 50-page ebook I created. What to expect from Tui Snider’s Offbeat & Overlooked newsletter? If you sign up for my newsletter, I assume you are interested in quirky, offbeat, and/or haunted travel and lore – in other words, the same wacky, weird, and overlooked stuff I share on this blog! How often will I receive your newsletter? Good question! My motto for the newsletter is to keep it…
The Old Man & the Polydactyl Cat Not only was Ernest Hemingway fond of cats, but his name has become synonymous with a particular feline genetic mutation, one that causes cats to have extra toes. While these polydactyl cats are not an actual breed, they are often referred to as, “Hemingway Cats,” in his honor. It all started down in Key West, where Ernest Hemingway lived in the 1930’s with his second wife, their kids and, rumor has it, a polydactyl Maine Coon named Snowball. The cat was given to him by a local sea captain. While it’s unclear how…
The following is an adapted excerpt from my Amazon Best Seller: Unexpected Texas. Enjoy! Wild West Toys in Azle, Texas If you enjoy retro collectibles, Wild West Toys in Azle, Texas will knock your socks off. This funky shop is stocked with vintage playthings from the 1950’s and 60’s, as well as specialty sodas (sarsaparilla and the like), candies, turquoise jewelry, western-themed dishes, housewares, and play clothes for kids. Made in the USA Wild West Toys is also the only place in the USA to manufacture metal cap guns. They must be top notch, too, because even Chuck Norris owns…
Who am I? My name is Tui snider. I’m a globe trotting writer currently based in north Texas. My passion is… …researching, photographing, and exploring the world, then sharing what I find with readers. I write about… …offbeat sites, overlooked history, cultural traditions, historical cemeteries, haunted places, scientific anomalies, Mom & Pop shops, quirky travel destinations, and other FUN stuff. Books I’ve written: UNEXPECTED TEXAS I released my travel guide Unexpected Texas on March 2, 2014 and it quickly became a number one Amazon Best Seller. Check it out! (For review copies, guest posts, interviews and other contact information, email…
High Tide in Venice Italy Venice is known for seasonal flooding called Acqua Alta. This “high water” is especially strong when wintry high tides coincide with a Mediterranean wind called a scirocco. Normally, I would avoid traveling to a city during a flood, but Venice is different. Acqua Alta is something Venetians have dealt with for centuries, and visiting the city during this time makes you feel like part of some ancient rhythm. As you can see in the photo below, they sell rubber boots for travelers who show up unprepared. I like how they made that W, too. Does…