A little biased information about Texas from the owners of Truly Texan - the best online mall for custom furnishings, jewelry, commercial & fine art, gifts & collectibles in the entire world!

Tex-Mex Food - Tex-Mex is not native Mexican food or typical Southwestern Mexican food.  It's identified by the American cheese component, or occasionally Velveeta or mild cheddar, none of which were typical in Mexico.  Our favorite Mexican food restaurants vary from time to time, but if you're in Austin, you can't beat Maudie's (3 locations at last count) or for Tex-Mex that's really old-fashioned, try El Patio on Guadalupe, where you're served saltines as an appetizer instead of tostadas.  Ninfa's has fantastic hot flour tortillas, but we like our Tex-Mex a little greasier and cheesier than most of their entrees.

Garner State Park - Located on the Frio River, this has been a favorite of Texans for generations.  Dancing on the pavilion every night, tubing down the river, climbing the "mountain" and exploring the caves, and just generally taking it easy surrounded by cypress and oaks and the occasional water moccasin.  What could be better? 

Galveston - Yes, a lot of people prefer Padre Island for its dunes and less cluttered feel, but Galveston feels like early, early Texas to us.  When we were little, we would go spend the day and eat at one of the pier restaurants.  A certain father we know took great delight in dousing a cracker in Tabasco and then throwing it out the window to the waiting seagulls who would fight over it until they got an actual taste.  We know, it was cruel, but it was funny, too.  (Please, no animal rights activists complaints.  Times were different then.  And, really, no seagulls were permanently harmed.)

Barbecue - Gee, where do we start?  There's Kreuz's (pronounced "krites's") in Lockhart, Coopers in Llano (pronounced "lanno"), and Railroad BBQ in Kyle.  With sauce, without sauce, as long as it's fall-apart tender and served with pickles and onions and cole slaw, we'll be happy.

Piney Woods - Pine trees, red earth, critters... It's like another world, especially if you grew up in West Texas.

Bob Bullock State History Museum - Great exhibits thoughtfully put together and great films and theatre experiences, all focusing on what's important to Texans, i.e. Texas.

And, of course, Big Bend, Palo Duro Canyon, the Medina River near Bandera, Del Rio for day trips, Barton Springs, Possum Kingdom Lake for fishing, ditto for most other lakes, anywhere in the Hill Country, Fort Worth Zoo, the Backyard (for live entertainment) outside of Austin...

I don't know the photographer but would be happy to give credit if anyone does. (I have learned the bull is named Oreo and his owner is Crazy Craig. Thanks for the info, Kelly)

Texas Pronunciations
Burnet:  burn-it
Llano:  lanno
Buda:  byoo-duh
Llano Estacado:  yah-no es-tuh-cah-doe
Mexia:  Muh-hay-uh
Amarillo (the town): am-uh-rilla
Guadalupe (the street in Austin): gwah-duh-loop
Plano: play-no
Boerne: burny
Pecan: pih-con’
Refugio (ree-FYUR-i-o)

(Yes, this close to Mexico, we know the proper pronounciation of Spanish words, but I guess we're just set in our ways.)

Common Texas Sights:
Dead armadillos.
Turkey buzzards (vultures) circling.
People wearing shorts and tee-shirts when going out for dinner (except in Dallas).