East Texas

So I'm in Tyler right now for the Region XIV basketball tournament, and since we won yesterday, we don't play again until tomorrow, so I've been doing a little exploring. I love Texas! This state is amazing. Where else can you be in a city (yes, Tyler actually has some tall buildings and people walking around in suits and ties downtown), and drive 8 miles south and be in the middle of the country? That's what I love about Texas. And East Texas specifically. The hills are beautiful! Parts of West Texas are like this as well. And there are wineries here! I'm making notes... this could be a fun girls trip.

Some other observations from my first-ever trip to Tyler:

• All of the churches. They're everywhere! This isn't a bad thing, just an observation. I never realized that they were so prevalent in this neck of the woods. I saw a beautiful church sandwiched between the post office and a hamburger joint right on the square downtown.
• Tons of antique shops, which I am loving. Lots of "mom and pop" shops, which I like even more. Don't get me wrong, Tyler has its fair share of chain stores and restaurants, but when you get on the outskirts of town, it's all about the mom and pop stores.
• Brookshire Brothers. I was first introduced to this grocery store chain won my first trip to Hemphill, but this store is everywhere up here. I think the main office and warehouse / distribution center is in Tyler. I saw a complex that looked like it could be the main hub. Just like Starbucks is on every other street corner in Houston... Brookshire Brothers is almost just as bad.
• And here's my favorite observation... Every weather report on the television news starts with the fishing report and then the burn ban update. You don't see Gene Norman, Frank Billingsly or Tim Heler doing this on the Houston news channels. Apparently the crappie fishing in Lake Palestine is really good right now.

That's it from Tyler for now.

Update on the house: the slab was poured yesterday. Wahoo!!!!