travel diaries : Palestine, Texas part 2

Kelly and Kyle provided a nice list of things to do while in Palestine, but since we didn't have much time before I was supposed to report for duty, we decided to just do a little 'organic exploring' on our own. In other words, we wandered. 

We didn't sleep in much on Saturday and woke up around 8am. We had some time to relax and then went downstairs for a delicious breakfast at 9am. From there, we grabbed my camera and started the short walk into downtown Palestine. 

As mentioned, this old Methodist church was across the street from the B&B. It was a beautiful, albeit humid day. 

Palestine is packed with historic markers and old houses. It's one of the oldest towns in Texas. I loved seeing the history, but it was surprising the small amount of homes that had been remodeled and restored compared to the huge restoration that has happened in Dallas. My guess is population drives growth. Genius, right?

We happened upon a train just starting out so we got to hear and see the steady departure. It was LOUD! So cool to see against the old town backdrop, though.

Many of the store fronts were empty, which made Mark and I start the discussion on how that happens, and what it would have been like in the 1950's or even earlier. Our major thought when walking around was how this was just the epitome of 'small town America'. It was refreshing! 

We stopped at this antique shop/sandwich shop/coffee shop that seemed to be the main hangout in downtown. The lady behind the counter was the nicest person EVER.  She had the slightest East Texas accent that lured you in, it was bizarre! She told us how she worked as a teacher for 19 years but now she was "retired" even though her son made her work in the shop. Mark told her that he had 6 hours to spare without me before the wedding and she invited him back for lunch and free wifi. She was so nice!

The town was eerily quiet for a Saturday morning.

We enjoyed walking around and popping into the few antique and specialty shops. It's amazing that they stay in business in such a sleepy town, but they seemed to have a steady stream of customers whom the shop owners recognized and called by name.

We came across another train on the way back to the B&B, this time loaded down with cars. Our walk downtown was so pleasant and helped us appreciate small town Palestine even more than before. 

One more post coming on Kelly and Kyle's wedding!