Living in High Cotton

Friday evening I was texting a.Fox on our drive out to Lake Sommerville State Park and said that it was a bummer to leave out later than we had hoped, but when the universe gives you the gift of a sunset sky like that? Yeah, can't really be upset about it. 

It's been a very intense month at work as my business unit is going thru a reorg, new role for associates, and manager realignments which impact my team... and me.  There's so much in flux and only so much I can control; I'm just trying to say focused and worry less.

Even with the upcoming changes, there are still lots of positives at work this season - it's open enrollment and the company is doing "Benefits Boardwalks" in the regional centers; for those of us who are remote, we had the opportunity to have a 'benefits fair in a box' sent to us.  UPS delivered the SnackMagic box as we were just about to leave, so I brought it along. RDB and I have loved snacking on the goodies I picked out! 

Late Saturday morning we went into town to have brunch.  Y'all - sometimes we stumble upon the BEST little places, and this weekend was no different. We went into town to the Blue Willow Cafe and were super happy with our expereince there.  Have the blueberry lemon curd muffin - it is worth every single carb!

Afterwards we drove the give-or-take two blocks over to the Texas Cotton Gin Museum.  We've seen the sign advertising it on 290 every time we drive past Burton, and so it only made sense to drop in today and check it out. 

I'm glad we did! Steph was on staff and gave us a quick introduction - you can tell she is both knowledgeable and passionate about the place. We watched a short movie about the historic Burton gin and the community around it that keeps it in running, functional condition even today - 108 years after it was first built!

Interesting fact: cotton fibers can hold water 24–27 times their own weight and a typical cotton bale weights 500lbs. 

Interesting fact: Tall cotton bushes are easier to pick and yield higher returns, so if you're living “in high cotton,” you feel successful and well off.

Interesting fact: cotton "gin" is short for engine - the power that separates the seeds from the fibers. 

There's no cost to tour the small museum, but donations are accepted; you can pay a small fee for a guided tour of the actual gin itself (we chose not to this time) or you can come back on the third weekend of April for the Annual Cotton Gin Festival where they not only show off all-things-cotton but fire up the engine (Lady B) and gin a few bales of cotton.  Doing this each year keeps their designation of the oldest operating cotton gin of this vintage in the county.

It was a neat walk down memory lane for me as I thought back to childhood with the cotton fields near our house and the way I thought it looked like "snow" on the sides of the roads during harvest.  Occasionally Mom would pull over and let us kids pick up a few of the bolls of cotton that had flown off the harvesting trucks, so I've seen the natural, raw material up close and personal before.  I couldn't help but wonder about the history of the long-defunct community cotton gin there on the outskirts of town that we passed every day of my youth. 

It's a real treasure that the Burton community has made such an effort to keep this part of Texas heritage alive for so long. RDB and I are already considering coming back for next year's Cotton Gin Festival. 

Keeping with the historic theme, we drove the short distance over to Giddings to visit the Lee County courthouse.  The entire block around the building, erected in 1898, is fenced off as there appears to be construction taking place.  Such a bummer, because this one, like the Ellis County courthouse we visited last weekend, is unique in that the entrances are at the corners of the building rather than on a side. (I still managed to get a semi-decent picture with my phone held on the other side of the chainlink fence.)

Back at the campsite, we set up the hammock and a chair and spent some time (achoo!) in the beautiful (achoo!) fresh country (ACHOO!) air.  It's ragweed season and though I've diligently been taking my Claritin every night, I didn't notice the ones here in the camper are expired.... so this weekend I'm suffering thru the sneezes. And the watery eyes. And the itchy ears (what is UP with that?!)

But it's worth the seasonal allergies to get to enjoy moments like this:

Saturday we got up and made a day of driving the two units of Lake Somerville SP for our Park n' Drive YouTube channel. Between the two we drove into Brenham and had lunch at a little place on the square: 30 North Gastropub. It was a neat little spot with decent food and a great atmosphere.  We're always happy when a place has cauliflower crusts for the pizza, and theirs was really crisp and delicious!

We walked over to the town square, having not realized till we drove thru town that Brenham is the county seat of Washington county.  So, another courthouse picture to add to the collection. (I wonder at this point: how many courthouses out of the 254 counties in Texas have RDB and I visited? And why does Texas have so many counties anyway?)

We made our way back over to the camper and started packing up for the drive home, grateful to have a park so close that we can spend the better part of Sunday enjoying ourselves and still be home at a decent hour.  Looking at my work calendar for the next few days (12 back-to-back meetings on Monday, 14 back-to-back on Tuesday) has me really wishing we could just stay at camp and rest and relax, but change is in the air.... here's to hoping it's not as frustrating as the ragweed that is still driving me nuts! 

Achoo!

We were at Lake Somerville State Park - Nails Creek Unit Site #50.  See that big tree to the left? It got a haircut when we got in late Friday night (and just a note: being on a ladder perched against the side of the camper, trying to prune off inch-thick branches with hand shears while fighting off hoards of flying bugs is NOT my idea of a good time) but the next camper who pulls in will be grateful we took that extra step to clear the roofline.  And see the clump of trees on the right? Yeah, those suckers got the tail end of our camper leaving when we swung wide to miss the tree we pruned.  Sometimes, y'all, spaces just fight you! Patience pays off, though, because the view out our windows was worth it. 

Coming soon:

For more camping pics....

For a drive thru video of the park...