Man that brings back memories! I have not been to Jefferson in years! Does the train still run there?

 

You mean the Ghost Train? The station is there, but never SAW the train...


Well, it's time to load up and hit the road!!

 

There used to be a steam locomotive that ran around there as a tourist attraction. Maybe it was too expensive to keep it going. That was >15 years ago.

 

I'm originally from Louisiana. Nice to see some swamp pictures, but I'll definitely pass on those wolf spiders.

 

After 3 weeks, I finally got time to post the results of our past Good Friday trip!

We left the house at 130 or so, on the way to Cedar Creek lake, about 80 miles SSE of Plano.
Weather was very nice – around 80, low wind, and was very sunny.

I should have used sunblock, as I was hurting later!
Wildflowers had come early this year, so they were already in decline when I went. Still, lots of bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, and buttercups. Here is a shot on a crossover along I175…


I arrived at my cabin at around 3pm. Lady rested under a large cedar tree…




These are pretty rustic cabins. Clean but they feel a bit unfinished. However, they had all I needed.
There were 6 of them, and all were booked.

My view of the water was great; only about 100’ to the shore. Very quiet, wind was only a breeze.


I decided just to stay there a while and relax since noone else had arrived yet. There were many great places to sit and watch the water, birds, and the occasional boat.
I hung out on the pier a while, getting even more sun. SOOOoooooo quiet and relaxing!

 

Nice descriptions Rob, sounds like a great trip. You forgot to insert the images though....

 

They had pedal boats so I took one out and just enjoyed the gentle rocking on the water. It was very smooth in the beginning but a breeze started up later.




Here is looking back towards shore before I got too far…


I stayed out there for several hours. At 6 or so I drove up to the “Western Café” and had a big chicken fried steak dinner. It was not as good as I expected, but still not bad. I brought half of it back to the cabin for breakfast!
I got lots of conversation on the car while I was there, too.

I got back as the sun began to set…

 

I sat out on the dock and gazed at the lights from around the lake, just like how I used to do when I was young. The moisture and air currents tend to make the lights twinkle… After another hour, as night fell, I was able see the bad-moon-rising!



Never before had I seen a moonrise like this! So huge and orange…


As time went on, it brightened up.

I stayed out there on the dock and also on the porch, watching the lights and listening to the sounds of hundreds of frogs and toads.
It was pretty chilly now, almost too cold for beer!

Finally it was bedtime. Lady got covered up and I called it the night.

The next morning I was awoken by a nice sunrise…

 

Beautiful Rob, Thanks for posting

 

I made my coffee and sat out on the porch until noon.



I finally got dressed, Lady was uncovered and we were ready to roll!


I visited some of the big flea markets there and bought a dozen or so LPs and some other stuff I did not need. Had to stop at THE Walmart for gas. This musta been the biggest city in the town… Got lots of comments about the car again and thumbs up from other drivers.
From there I went to Richland Chambers lake. It was a nice drive, and the lake was pretty. The pastures were a deep green – almost unusual for Texas!


I checked out a couple “resort” areas but was disappointed in them. One was nasty - not even worth stopping to check out!
So I had lunch at a lone café for fishermen – had a burger there and got one to go. Darn crown came out, too – glad I did not swallow it! This only happens on vacation trips it seems…

So we get back to the cabin and I take the pedal boat out again for a few hours. I watched the sunset from the water and it was very relaxing.



Only complaint were the million bugs out there, even 400’ from shore! After I finished my beer and the sun had sat, I pedaled on in...





I popped another beer and sat around watching across the lake, listening to the chorus of amphibians.

At about 9 I got the weather report and rain was supposed to move in during the morning hours. Rather than have to drive in it or on wet roads I just decided to come home that night. I ate the burger I brought back, finished my beer, and packed up. At 1130, I was on the road towards home.
It was short, but enjoyable and certainly worth going back to!

 

Didn't forget them. I had to resize them cause I musta have my camera mis-set to make them too big...

But wait - there's more!
Yes, it was nice out there, and so close to home!

 

Very pretty scenery and (gasp) desolate. Don't see any other peoples in those shots. Sometimes you just need that kind of quiet time to yourself. Do any fishing or alligator shooting? I hear you got some bad *** gators and giant rattlers down there.Hope you kept your .45 close by......

 

Dang - Glad I did not see those kind of critters!
In this area, snakes maybe. But no gators here, unless maybe from a loner baby that survived being flushed down the plumbing...

When i was in Jefferson, I did see the eyes of a baby gator - thats it. I saw more gator on the dinner table that evening!

I tend to go to quiet, secluded places. Living in this city, it is a real treat. I need quiet time to relax and figure out how to smooth out the bumps in life. Being along (or in) a body of water cheers me up in ways nothing else will.
Heck, give me that, a fast car, a boat, a hot woman, and some cold beer and nothing else matters!
I have been a loner since birth, so that explains a lot, too...

 

I get it, and understand. Next time LMK and I'll go along to help you drink the cold beers and play 'pull my finger'

I'm glad you had some soothing time to yourself. I know how important that can be. I grew up in a family of 6. In spite of that I also have been pretty much of a loner - mostly cause I didn't see eye to eye with the others. Had different dreams I guess. No regrets.

 

Rob, awesome pictures. It's that time of year in Texas to take out the olds for a drive. As once July gets here, it will be in the triple digits, and driving the 'w' machine is out of the question.

 

This thread makes me ache for a road trip, thanks for sharing. I hope to get out of town (I really don't live in anything like a town) in the next few weeks, the North California coast is the plan......Tedd

 

Cool pics, Rob! It really looks relaxing!

 

Had two cases of beer, so that woulda taken a lot of chugging!
I only drank 4 of them, so naturally the rest came home. I always buy my alky out in that area and take home because its a LOT cheaper than in the dallas MPX.
I'll pass on the 'pull my finger' gags...

Thanks... I think you mean May or June there. June for sure. Might get out again this weekend! It is in the low 90s now, so better suck up all the miles I can!

Geez - THAT is where I want to be. That is beautiful coatline up there for sure. Point Reyes is one of my favorites, just takes a while to get there.
In all I loved it all, mile by mile...

Yes it was - will return soon.


BTW, I just noticed my number of posts is 8888. Did not know I was such a blabbermouth....

 

i know i'm a few months behind on this thread but i think the rims look beef-ier/tougher looking...it's a good look powdercoating them a good idea,look real sharp and gives a great look....now if you want the trim maybe the thing to do would be a silver powder "ring" over the white.


mike

 

Alice and I usually celebrate her birthday, Chinese New Year, and Valentines Day all in one big day. She likes visiting far away small towns on a weekend, and this year was no exception. Only this time, it was even more fun than either of us had expected!
We left about 1pm, a bit late. After what seemed to be only 10 minutes (really 1 hour!), we passed through the old downtown of Greenville.
Here is the Hunt county courthouse, and a view down Main Street.




Here is Central Christian Church that was in stunning condition…



After a walk down the block and back (not too much to see and do here), we continued towards Sulphur Springs.
Here we enter the town square on Main street.


We find a place to park, here in front of one of the many antique stores on the square.

 

This had to be the most beautiful town square of any city that we had ever been to!





It has been rebuilt just a year ago, and they are just now finishing up the details.
The Hopkins County courthouse is the beautiful building in the background, originally built in the late 1800s. This current building was built in 1912 (I believe) to replace the old one after it burned. The new one is still used for city business.
The star in the foreground is a water fountain used in summer – you can walk through it, too! It is lit up with RGB LED floodlights when operating.
Each of the lamp poles has a security camera and a JBL speaker, which constantly plays 40’s and 50’s music! It was great.

The city is investing in itself to hopefully bring more businesses and visitors like us from far away big cities.


The square also is a tribute and memorial to the Hopkins County men and women in the military, whom served during the wars.

 

It was very inviting here in the new park.



There is a little something for everyone, and there is no need to hurry.

Care for a game of chess or checkers?


Or perhaps enjoy a picnic lunch at one of the many bistro tables and chairs.


We sat out here a while and exchanged gifts. It was about 54* with a light breeze – felt nice to be in the sun.

So what are those mirrored boxes for?
Something we’d never guessed:


A restroom made from one-way mirrors!

Yep, that is a cop car out there!


These quirky loos actually made national news because they are the only ones in America. There are a couple in Switzerland that brought about the idea. The SS mayor wanted restrooms that blend in to the surroundings and mirrors helped make it possible.
I used it and it is a weird feeling. You can tell who is waiting in line, so you can either hurry up or take your time. At night you can be on the lookout for pranksters with a bright flashlight!
They are heated and cooled and are lit from the outside at night to help prevent being seen from outside. They cost about 56k EACH! Wow…………….

 

After a quick lunch, we walked the town some more. Most all the streets were new red brick (pavers).

No expense was spared in this square…

Strange trees they have, eh?


We checked out the historic First Methodist Church, too.

Why can’t new churches be half as nice??

We then drove a few miles north to a small lake…


We were just in time for the sunset!

 

Lady took on a rosy hue…



She always photographs well against a serene lake in the background!


We watched the sunset over the lake, and the moon rise behind us. It was so still, so quiet…….



One last shot of the sunset reflecting in Lady’s ivory skin…


After another 10 minutes, night fell and the evening chill came about. We then headed back to town.

 

Very nice pics Rob! Looks like a very relaxing trip.
BTW, those SS pay toilets also do a cleanup on the entire inside after you vacate them. Dry and sanitized for the next user. I saw that promo on them when they came out. I think NY was looking at them, but decided against for a number of reasons - mostly the cost and infrastructure changes needed to install.

 

Town square took on a whole new look at night!

RGB LED floodlights lit up the trees. I bet they can control the color via remote programming, to offer all sorts of special lighting effects throughout the park.

Main Street was not exception!



We had dinner at a little restaurant called Lou Viney’s. They were about the only place open for dinner.

The picture was taken during lunch when it was not crowded.

A local musician came in to play and we had accidental front row seats.
***
His music was a combo of blues, bluegrass, Cajun, and country. It was upbeat enough to keep your feet taping, but soft enough to relax to – it was great.

We stayed long after eating to enjoy the music. We finally left at 10 or so, in between songs.
I had to grab a final shot of Lady and ol’ Glory.

I bet I was responsible for some of that lighting technology from when I worked at TI…
It was cold out so we appreciated Lady’s seat heaters and powerful heater. After we got warm the temp lever gets moved to 1/3 of the way from cold!
It was a fun drive home under the star-lit sky. Alice thanked me a hundred times or so afterwards. We both had a unique journey that will be remembered for a lifetime…

 

Nice pictures Rob! Yeah, I remember seeing those toilets on the news. Tempting to moon everyone but they'd never know so where's the fun in that?

Glad to see Lady's out getting some exercise, I hadn't seen too many threads from you since "Lady's Front End Job".

 

Those in SS are not all stainless steel, but one-way mirrored glass on 3 sides! For the most part, you cannot see in from the outside, but can see out from the inside.

Do it at night when there is a line. Put your cheeks near the door when there is a line and shine a bright flashlight at them!


I have not been online here much since I got a new job - not enough time. The hours suck and they ban personal use of the computer. I am hoping to find something better soon.

 

Rob, I have to commend you. Your always do such a classy job on your stories and posts. What a great trip and what a great job of showing us how nice it was. I did not know Sulfur Springs had such a nice downtown.

Thanks

 

Great pics Rob. Thanks for sharing your trip. This is what the cars are supposed to be about. Getting out on the road and having a good time. I enjoy the wrenching and workin on em but I can not wait to get out on the road and drive the Cutlass.

 

Thanks... The pictures speak louder though. It was tough to narrow down to only a handful of pics. I chose this town by looking at the aerial pictures on google. It looked interesting, so I went to their city website. I found a construction blueprint PDF of the square and was impressive enough to make the decision. It just happened to be nicer than expected when we got there.

Thanks - I agree with you 100%. This is the reward for our large amounts of labor. With the age of the buildings and shops, the red 'brick' roads, the antique-looking poles, and old music playing, this place is just calling us old-car guys and gals!

I am toying with an idea to maybe see who in the DFW area would like to get together and make a small convoy up there some Saturday...

 

Looks like a very nice road trip.

Great pics.

Had to call my Wife in from the other room to see the mirrored restroom,never have seen anything like that.

 

Your subject matter and photography is superb, I'm truly impressed every time you post a trip, please keep up the good work....Tedd

 

I knew there was a reason I subscribed to this a while back...you rock Rob! I am envious of your adventures! Someday I'll take the vert on a cruise like that...someday lol!

 

I don't think I'd be able to "go" in that mirrored restroom. It would feel like "doing your duty" out in public.

Cool pics, though.

 

I never have either!
A google search on "Sulfur Springs restroom" brings up more than you'd ever want to know about them!

Thanks for the complements. This trip really deserved some public sharing, as it is a perfect place to cruise to in vintage cars! Lots of unexpected details just fell into place as well.

You should do it - just pick an adventure and go. Should be some cool places not too far from Houston. Holler at me if you plan to come up here again - we can meet up again like last year!

Hey I used it without feeling TOO strange. As long as no one was trying to look in, it was okay. In fact I just HAD to use it, just to say I did!

 

I'll be up there the week of April 2nd for the same thing Staying at the Embassy Suites in Grapevine

I'll post an event notification in Steers and Oldsmobiles.

 

The Hot Rod Power tour starts in Dallas this year. That's a road trip!
You should go for it.

 

Nice! I enjoy all the photos of the architecture and other sights. Makes me want to take a trip!

 

Thanks for posting your adventure....yes, I admire your photo skills! Mine are truly non existent!.......


Ted