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Tag: road trip

Quirky Texas: Grand Saline’s Salt Palace & Salt Festival

Salt Palace in Grand Saline The following is an adapted excerpt from my award winning travel guide, Unexpected Texas:  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 taste of its walls. A…

Want a Road Trip Postcard from Me?

Do you love postcards, too? I love getting postcards from friends. If they’re funny or interesting, I either tack ’em to the wall for travel inspiration or I use them for bookmarks. Plus, it’s such a pleasant surprise to get something in the mail besides a bill – and to see someone’s actual handwriting! So, here’s the deal: I’m taking a writing research trip soon and would be delighted to send some postcards to friends along the way. Any takers? How to get a postcard If you’d like a quirky postcard from my upcoming road trip, all you have to…

Jefferson, Texas: Simple Pleasures, Ghosts, & Bigfoot in the Little Easy

The following is an adapted excerpt from Unexpected Texas – my best-selling travel guide to quirky, offbeat and overlooked places near Dallas and Fort Worth. Check it out if you enjoy learning quirky facts, or are looking for offbeat road trip ideas in north Texas. Jefferson, Texas aka the Little Easy With its brick streets, horse drawn carriages, wrought iron railings, and abundance of Greek revival architecture, a visit to Jefferson, Texas can make you feel like you’ve stepped onto a movie set for New Orleans in the late 1800’s. This town’s resemblance to the “Big Easy” is no mere affectation, but a genuine…

How to Visit the Munster Mansion Replica in Waxahachie, Texas

The following is an adapted excerpt from Unexpected Texas – my best-selling travel guide to quirky, offbeat and overlooked places near Dallas and Fort Worth. Check it out if you enjoy learning quirky facts, or are looking for offbeat road trip ideas in north Texas. Munster Mansion Replica While there is no official address for, “1313 Mockingbird Lane,” in north Texas, there is an excellent replica of the Munster family home over in the town of Waxahachie where, in 2001, Sandra and Charles McKee built a replica of the house depicted in the classic TV sitcom. Since it’s a fictional house, the pair watched and…

Paris Texas Day Trip – Visit the Other Eiffel Tower

The following is an adapted excerpt from Unexpected Texas,my fun travel guide to quirky, offbeat and overlooked places near Dallas and Fort Worth. Check it out if you are looking for fun road trips in north Texas. Also, for a *FREE* 50-page guide to ghost hunting groups and haunted history tours in north Texas, sign up for my infrequent-but-interesting newsletter by clicking here: Why Take a Day Trip to Paris Texas? While several Texan towns share names with European cities (London, Athens, and Dublin to name a few) what makes Paris so special is how the town plays up its…

Haunted Texas: The Beckham Hotel in Mineola

The following is an adapted excerpt from Paranormal Texas, my fun travel guide to haunted places near Dallas and Fort Worth. Check it out if you are looking for road trips to paranormal hot spots that are open to the public. Also, for a *FREE* 50-page guide to ghost hunting groups and haunted history tours in north Texas, sign up for my infrequent-but-interesting newsletter by clicking here: Beckham Hotel During its boom years, Mineola, Texas was a bustling railway terminal for train crews and featured two railroad hotels, one on either side of the tracks. (For more about Mineola’s history and…