Awakening on another gorgeous day in East Texas, we had only one required item on our agenda preventing us from unfettered fooling around. We went into Columbus and had the oil changed in Charlotte but, with our task completed, we were free.
We elected to take another series of back roads toward Bellville, county seat of Austin County and location of our new favorite meat market. Bordering the roads on the way there and in Bellville we passed many gorgeous Texas buildings, none of which seem to have foundations. Apparently, builders here believe that an adequate foundation consists of widely-spread mortarless block assemblies without pesky steel reinforcement nor tie-downs of any type. Sometimes the corner piers under these gorgeous buildings are large almost round stones. I guess the folks here consider a foundation a needless expense although almost all the collapsed elderly structures we have seen in the area are the direct result of foundation component failure. It is tragic that so many precious structures have been lost to the cost-saving concept of omitting adequate foundations beneath them.
Nevertheless, there are many beautiful structures, still standing despite their crummy support systems. Much rehabilitation is in progress on many old structures. Large curved verandas, lots of columns and intricate woodwork and gingerbread on the exteriors make for an amazing variety of architectural styles. The redbud trees and bluebonnet flowers are in full bloom along the rural highways. We even saw a 5-legged burro in near Bellville. See today’s pictures.
Once in Bellville, we stopped again at the terrific Bellville Meat Market. We had their brisket sandwiches which could quite possibly be the best sandwiches we have ever consumed. They cost less than $7. Peggy let me off the fiscal leash for a bit and, by the time she got it re-attached, I had found a way to spend $70 at the meat counter. I’m glad she got me out of there before I purchased more than we could cram into our dinky RV freezer.
This part of Texas is scenic and has great meat, good restaurants, wonderful architecture (of the buildings still standing), plenty of wildlife, many creeks and rivers and good roads. I am delighted we selected this part of Texas to malinger until the freeze breaks north of us.
Check out the pictures. Click here