I’ve seen miles and miles of Texas

***Warning, this post is full of statistics, facts and all manner of brainy info I got from Wikipedia*** You will (possibly) be educated and probably be annoyed by all the facts I’m spewing. You’ve been warned.

This is part one of _____. (not sure how many posts I can milk out of our vacation adventures).

Texas has an area of 268,820 square miles, and I can’t say I’ve seen them all. I have seen a good many miles of Texas, though…by car on trips….yep…miles.

We live in a big state, a BIG state. Here’s a little Texas info via my IB (Info Bestie) Wikipedia….don’t judge me, I like me some Wikipedia.

“Texas is the second largest U.S. state, behind Alaska, with an area of 268,820 square miles (696,200 km²). It is 10% larger than France and almost twice as large as Germany or Japan, though it ranks only 27th worldwide amongst country subdivisions by size. If it were a country, Texas would be the 40th largest behind Chile and Zambia.”

So yeah, it’s a big state, with a friendly name…

” The name, based on the Caddo word “Tejas” meaning “friends” or “allies”, was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in East Texas.^[8]”

We’ve got some great neighbors…..“Texas is bordered by Mexico to the south, New Mexico to the west, Oklahoma to the north, Arkansas to the northeast, and Louisiana to the east.”

There have been 6 different flags flying over Texas over the years. Six Flags over Texas, more than just a theme park.

“The first flag belonged to Spain, which ruled most of Texas from 1519 to 1685 and from 1690 to 1821. The second flag was the royal banner of France from 1685 to 1690. The third flag flown (1821 through 1836) was the flag of Mexico. The fourth flag belonged to the Republic of Texas from 1836 to 1845. The fifth and current flag is that of the United States of America, which Texas joined in 1845. Upon secession Texas abandoned this flag for its sixth, until readmission to the Union in 1865.^[3] The sixth flag belonged to the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865. During this time, the Confederacy had three national flags.”

So Six flags, 268,820 square miles, good neighbors and a friendly name….:)

We drove from Dallas to Corpus Christi. (377 miles one way) We stopped in our State Capitol, Austin on the way to Corpus Christi.

We stayed in Austin for one night. We stayed at a cool hotel, that looked like an apartment complex, but it was not an apartment complex…I was told this with much gusto. The Hotel Allendale….not an apartment complex…trust me.

We toured the State Capitol, beautiful…large…hot.

I saw squirrels beg people for food, seriously they get up on their hind legs like a dog and beg. It’s very cute, but I had no food. Lucky for me they are not too upset when you don’t feed them.

I saw people strumming guitars and singing for money on street corners.

I saw a grocery store in downtown Austin, very strange to me. Downtown Dallas does not have a grocery store. Hey WHOLE FOODS, we need a downtown grocery store too!

My daughter ate a guacamole taco….brilliant.

We saw segway tours of downtown Austin. Funky, but cool.

I saw a group of people gathered with signs asking for equal rights for people who are gay and lesbian.

I saw so many bicycles on the roads…so many. The streets have a bicycle lane, very cool, but it felt dangerous to drive next to a person on a bicycle.

I enjoyed Austin.

We drove on to Corpus Christi on day 2.

To be continued……..

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• Posted in: blogging ♦ Family ♦ Texas ♦ Vacation
• Tagged: Austin Texas, Corpus Christi Texas, Family, Texas, United States, vacation