Waxahachie, TX

 We arrived in Waxahachie, TX, after leaving the Frisco area of the DFW Metroplex. Our destination? The Flying Dutchman RV Resort in Waxahachie, Texas. This is a new park, with concrete roads and rv pads, and site 75 suited our needs very well, and has a pure Texas view.

On the way south to The Hatch, we passed through the High Five, one of the first of the highway confluences that abound hereabouts. Five levels! Kinda concerning to be on the lowest level!

As usual this time of year in Texas, the wind was blowing a bunch. 20 to 35 mph kept us indoors the afternoon we arrived.

The next day we contented ourselves with a drive into downtown Hatch, a trip to the local HEB grocery store, and a cup of coffee at the world’s most well known coffee chain. The wind was still blowing….

We located the Ellis County Museum and explored the local historical home tour, courtesy of a map they provided. The homes include a variety of architectural styles and features, dependent on what was popular at the time of construction or remodeling. Many of the larger homes have incorporated the original carriage portico into either sunrooms, patios, or kept them as a path to the carriage house in the back of the  main house. Verandas were popular to take advantage of the evening breezes, and for the most part, they have been kept intact. But first, we needed to walk around the Ellis County Courthouse. Still in use, this 19th century structure is a great example of the over-the-top architecture of the day. The wind was still blowing.

Cotton was king at the turn of the 19th to 20th century and had been a hugely profitable enterprise for decades, resulting in a huge residential and commercial building boom. Cotton lost it’s importance rather suddenly, resulting in many of the downtown commercial buildings remaining in frozen animation as businesses moved to the Dallas area. While we did not investigate each and every building in the downtown neighborhood, most have dates of construction in the 19th century and remain as they were built.

The home tour begins at the courthouse and heads both east and west of downtown.

Rounding a bend, we looped back toward downtown and checked out other examples of gingerbread houses.

Here’s a wonderful example of a carriage portico having been turned into a sunroom. 

There are quite a few Craftsman homes in tow. Thank you, Frank Lloyd Wright.

This perfect Craftsman style home is being restored.

Of course, some homes need a bit of work to bring them back to their former glory!

The wind is still blowing, but the temp is near 85…

Ellis County has a reputation for having the best spring displays of Texas Bluebonnets, in particular, the town of Ennis, just 30 miles southeast. Ennis is also famous for a polka band called The Moravians, a group of young Czech musicians from Texas Tech keeping traditions alive. Unfortunately, the weren’t playing, so we contented ourselves with a drive through fields of flowers. US 287 took us directly to Ennis and the Visitors Center, where we picked up a map showing us where the best Bluebonnets were located, and the routes to find them.

The map got us started on what turned out to be a most enjoyable afternoon drive through the rural Texas countryside. The Bluebonnet is the state flower of Texas, and blooms in April, giving rise to Bluebonnet festivities from one end of the state to the other. Ennis is no different, but we missed their festival by a few days. Just our luck.

It’s not often that a nice, green plant grows well on the top of a metal fence post! It certainly deserves praise for the most unusual place to set up a home!

Did you check out the way it got to the top?

We thought we should make a memory or two.

Our favorite photo of the day!

Well, everything’s bigger in Texas, right? As we drove through the countryside, we saw gated entrances to large ranches. Sugar Ridge Ranch, and Win Ranch among them. There wasn’t room to stop for a photo of those two, but this entry caught our fancy!

Back in Ennis, we had to stop at Buc-ee’s for fuel and a snack! This photo shows one of three fueling areas. These places are huge!  

The wind continues….

Back at camp, we watched the storm clouds roll by.

Rustled up some fajitas on the Blackstone for dinner. What a great day in Texas!

And at least the wind was warm…

We’re approaching the end of our stay in Waxahachie, TX, so we ventured a bit farther afield and headed toward Corsicana, TX. Highway 287 got us to Ennis, where we picked up I 45 south. Passing through Rice, we noticed a sign advertising Casita trailers. Our son owns one, so we decided to stop in and have a look. These compact, fiberglass jewels are a cult classic, and are much in demand. Two families took delivery as we were watching in the parking lot. These people had ordered five months ago, and arrived from Montana to pick up their “Baby”.

I thought that this location was simply a dealer for Casita, but this is the manufacturing location!

These miniature Airstreams are awesome!

Guess what? The wind is still with us.

Another ten miles south brought us to Corsicana, TX. Named by an Italian immigrant in honor of his fathers home on the island of Corsica, the town of 25,000 was the first place west of the Mississippi where oil was discovered in 1894 and the location of the first commercial oil field in Texas. Today Corsicana is beautifully positioned between Dallas and Houston on a major Interstate, and is a major commercial hub.

However, we have another reason to visit Corsicana. 

Last Christmas, we were gifted a selection of goodies from the Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana by good friends Debbie, Larry, and Max. The food was so delicious that we had to visit the bakery in person! 

Founded in 1896 by a German baker, August Weiderman, the bakery was an instant success and soon outgrew its building. In 1914, Ringling Brothers Circus came to town and ordered dozens of fruitcakes to be sent worldwide. And instantly, Collin Street was in the mail order business! Today, Princess Caroline of Monaco, Hilton Hotels, and Vanna White are among their longtime customers. The bakery refused only one order in its history, a request for a fruitcake to be sent to Irans Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979. Collin Street Bakery ships to every country except Iran and Cuba.

We didn’t take any photos of the inside of the bakery because posting such mouthwatering photos would have provoked a rush on the bakery not seen since Ringling Brothers traveled through.

Content yourself, dear reader, with visions of brownies, pies, cakes and bread, fruitcakes and hot coffee! And be mindful of the online presence of the Collin Street Bakery…..

Our last day in Waxahachie introduced us to the full power of a midwest thunderstorm. For more than 18 hours, “…the thunder rolls and the lightening strikes…”, local weather reports note rainfall of 1 to 2 inches per hour and wind 10 to 30 mph. Oh yeah, that wind…

We’ve enjoyed a nice week in Hachie, but look forward to more adventures. 

Till next time,