State motto: the sun done ris, the sun done set and we're still in Texas yet...
or
when's this years Fry St Fair, man???
Alrighty then...
Might as well start in DENTON on I-35. The ONLY cool thing that ever happens in Denton is the Fry St. Fair - a music festival in the spring put on by the former Sigma Alpha Mu house and now a totally independent renamed the "Delta Lodge".
Don't ask how they lost their charter it's too bizarre...
Rumour is quite a few national acts have signed a&r contracts w/major labels at the Fry St.Fair: Edie Brickell - Geffen -Rev Horton Heat - Subpop, etc, etc....
Other Denton oddities: draft beer to go at Metzler's convenience store on University Drive,
Igloos drive thru margarita stand on Eagle Drive,
the C&S drive thru beer store near the junction of I-35 e & I-35 W in one of Denton's 2 occassionaly dangerous neighborhoods - "Cement City" (southwest side of town) & 'Helltown' (southeast side of town).
But I hear they got a bus system now and rumour is a few people have JOBS now so it may be improving.
HERE are my Denton endorsements:
The only texas based comic book company in existence that I know of: B.S. Productions (publishers of *Mr. Average* comic books).
Inquiries send SASE to 115 Forest Denton, Tx 76201.
Rick's Cybergrill (haven't been there but they helped me out w/a Fryst Fair inquiry.
They can be reached at cybergrill
or surf@cybergrill.com.
(Editor: these links may be defunct)
BTW about TIME Denton got wired...
JIM's DINER on Fry St. - gotta love a coffee shop that serves DRAFT Shiner Dock (THE Texas beer and fountain dr.pepper w/breakfast!]
FLYING TOMATO PIZZA (FRY & HICKORY)
THE CLAYTON HOUSE MOTEL 20 bucks a nite 3 mile walk off I-35 (or bus in, guess) on U.S. 380.
THE SONIC DRIVE-IN at 1-35E & Ft Worth Drive (the true flavor of Texoma) reasonably priced. Ask Justin to serve ya ft long coney & a Rt 44 dr.pepper and tell 'em Rob sent ya!
The Taco Bueno on the same intersection...
My Denton slams: Texas lesbians - whoops I mean Texas Womans University - you ever see the movie "Spaceballs" where Joan Rivers character has a 'virgin alarm'?
Well, the resident assistants @ TWU are JUST LIKE THAT just 'cuz nobody wants to have sex w/THEM they ride herd on the girls there whenever THEY (the straight chicks @TWU) want to get laid...
Making dating a remarakble effort for college age people of both sexes in Denton..
The stench of corruption & patronage in local politics...
Yahoo's that throw beer bottles at Billy when he's walking home...
Incidentally Denton can be a dangerous town - Billy was jumped in HIS OWN FRONT YARD ONE NITE BY KIDS WEARING GANG-STYLE CLOTHING AND ROBBED OF 50 DOLLARS (his house is in what to casual observer does not look like a bad neighborhood- Fry St area.
DALLAS can BE even more dangerous & HOUSTON IS 3 TIMES AS BAD - Billy's brother was shot by a cop on drugs or somethin' while wating for a bus in downtwn Houston...
He was unarmed and not wearing loose clothing...
(I've had people unsuccesfully mug me in the same neighborhood (Fry St.) got my nose broken, then got back up and scared the living sh** out of them...]
Good exit is from Denton north on I-35 (the jct of U.S. 380 (University Drive).
Loves Truckstop near 'Sanger'
Southbound toward Dallas loop 288 'Golden Triangle Mall' exit.
35 W - toward Ft. Worth - out by the Peterbilt truck plant...take a d.pepper, it may take awhile here...
(Between D/FW and Denton is a crapshoot, sometimes you catch rides fast, sometimes you don't .
I'd say on the north side of Ft. Worth I would recommend the Circle K truckstop.
And the first exit north of loop I820.
Points south of D/FW are a crapshoot too, just stand in whatever doesn't look like a bad neighborhood w/a convenience store on it's exit and you should get a ride.
In Dallas use I-635 if you're goin on I-20 to Louisiana; use 1-35 and switch to I-45 downtown for Houston travel (trust me on this).
There is a rumour that Dallas mass transit is improving little by little but the last time I was there suburban service was spotty...
But you could still get a ride from the 6 Flags/Wet & Wild/Arlington Ballpark exit to the west end entertainment district in under an hour...(West End Mktplace an obnoxiuous downtown mall - Sonny works there part-time...)
P.S. DALLAS can be even more dangerous...(always be aware of your surroundings thru-out Texas...)
Other places of note thru-out TX:
THE BIG TEXAN Steakhouse next to I-40 in Amarillo (eat it in an hour 72 oz steak dinner free - 50 dollars if you lose).
Thanx to Rich Hall for this tip...
It's not illegal to walk on the interstate in Texas (there aren't even any fences separating it from the rest of the world...) but you should ONLY use federal or interstate hiways to minimize police encounters...
U.S. 287 from Decatur to Amarillo is a good shortcut to Albuquerque and you'll catch rides fairly easily...
(Decatur is @ jct of U.S. 380 & U.S. 278, go up I-35 to Denton and turn left (287 also leaves Ft. Worth but it's hard to get out of)...]
87/287 north out of Amarillo (at the jct w/TX loop 385) is also a good exit to Colorado.
Weird things happen west of 'Pecos' on I-20.
If you're gonna go to jail in TX on bullshit charges, "Pecos" is where it'll likely happen.
A street light almost fell on me in 'Van Horn'. Guy hit it w/his van, the light fell down across the hiway and he beat feet...
(Van Horn is on I-10).
TX alcohol laws are WEIRD: some bars you gotta pay an extra 5 dollars to become a 'member' so you can get a drink...
And one person can't buy a pitcher for themself...which means you make friends fast???
But they pulled the ultimate crock - you can't renew a drivers license w/out proof of car insurance - EVEN IF YOU DO'nt OWN title to a car?...
Pissed a lotta people who walk to work and drive gravel trucks, school buses, etc for a living off...
Actually that reminds me, on U.S. 380 WATCH OUT FOR GRAVEL TRUCKS. THEY DRIVE REALLY FAST & TAKE NO PRISONERS!
Ok beach - Corpus Christi is preferred...go down I-35 to I-37, take a left...
Overrated beach: South Padre Island
Friendlier town than it looks on the surface: Nacogdoches: U.S. 287 in southeast TX...
Good El Paso spot for EASTBOUND TRAVEL in the El Paso metro area WESTBOUND travel - Anthony N.Mex.
Oh yeah, thru-out TX & N.Mexico are SUN POWER truckstops that used to have free showers available...unknown now...
They are in Denton, TX, Deming, NM and other places...
Rob's final 3 TX endorsements:
Allsup's Burrito's (a small west TX/east New Mexico convenience store chain).
The Dallas Morning News even tho they crushed the Herald like a bug when they stole their funnies...(put the Herald right out o' business it did...)
Molly Ivins - Ft.Wth columnist, Joe Bob Briggs drive-in movie critic of Grapevine, TX,
the dr.pepper co...in Dallas on U.S. 77 (central expwy).
coolness 35
avg crossing time:
Denton to Dallas/ FW: 1-3 hrs
D/FW to Waco: 3-5 hrs
D/FW to Austin: 5-6 hrs
" " S.Antonio: 6-7hrs
" " C.Christi: 7-13hrs
Dallas to Houston via I-45: 3-4 hrs...
Denton to Wichita Falls via U.S. 287: 6-8hrs
" " to Ammarillo: 8-12 hrs
" " to Albuquerque N.M.: 7-16 hrs...
Dallas does have a bus system but it's not especially convenient except for travel betwen the west end (Re-union Tower area) and Starplex Ampitheatre (Dallas's two major concert areas).
Yeah you're right, I thought Reunion Tower looked like one of THOSE too...)
Compared to hitchiking you gotta go downtown to get from suburb 'a' to suburb 'b' so it's correspondingly inconvenient...
And I'm sure Houston is worse...+ it's humid there and the grease in the air gets in your hair...
Final note, a key northbound I-35 E exit is up by the 'Word of Faith' "CHURCH" (the right revernd Bob Tilton - I can't wait til Christ returns and gives him what he so richly deserves..;)
Don't even get me started...
But the EXIT is a good one for travel.
Shoot the bird at ol'bobs armed guard for his tax - exempt piggy-bank (whoops I mean "church")... for me willya...?
Ok Utah next ...
TEXAS UPDATE: FRY ST FAIR URL: deltalodge.
Inexpensive friendly grocery store on us 287 - in HEDLEY , Texas: CAN-WAY.
Write to Legendary Rob.