What I learned from the A to Z Challenge

The month of April was filled lots of many interesting details along the highways and bi-ways of our great state of TEXAS.

I came across ghost towns that have faded from memory, farming communities that have not changed at all since they were incorporated and many historical places that are still as famous as when the founding fathers of Texas started them in the 1800’s.

I traveled to most of the different areas from the top of the Panhandle to Piney Woods of East Texas to the rolling hills of Central Texas and to the very tip of Texas!

Each town was unique and filled colorful history and fun facts or interesting buildings!!

I learned about some towns that I did not know anything about (Ziperlandville, O’Brien, Mt. Vernon, Yorktown, Japonica, Kalagary, Utopia)

Ironically, the towns named for cities in Europe or  foreign countries were actually named for cities that the explorers had been born in here in the United States not for those exact places: Lebanon for Lebanon Tennessee, Mt. Vernon for a man that settled there first, Virginia City for an early settler,Japonica for the flowers around it not for Japan, Nazareth for the fact that it was a small town that stars could be seen clearly from.Turkey was named for the flock of birds not the country.

I learned that Canadian is actually named for the river and has nothing to do with Canada!

Happy is the happiest place on earth and there is not a frown there!! Couldn’t we all learn from those townspeople?!?

I learned that there are two ways to say Quitquae: kit-ta-kway and kitty-quay and that it means “end of the trail!!

Dublin is the home of the original Dr Pepper bottling plant, while Shamrock has a huge St Patrick’s  Day celebration and has original authentic piece of the blarney stone!

Florence, Geneva and Italy, Palestine, Athens, Lebanon, Richmond and Yorktown are nothing like their sister cities or countries. They started off to be carbon copies but growth and technology were not kind.

Washington- on- the -Brazos has the most history of all of the towns visited. It could have been the capital of Texas.

All in all, the virtual trip was lots of fun and I can’t wait to travel back to a few of the towns and spend more time in Utopia, Edinburg and Washington- on -the- Brazos.

Thanks so much for being my travel buddy!!

Happy Trails and enjoy your travels where ever they may take you!