More on the road trip - Mary's Restaurant in Strawn and historic downtowns

We took this road trip as a chance to get out of the house. We hadn't done anything lately outside of our normal routine so it was a chance to get out and see something different, without spending a lot of money. So Bill and I and two of three children hopped in the car and headed west, with no particular destination in mind. (The youngest saw her chance at unimpeded computer game and TV time at home with her grandmother and grabbed it with both hands.) We stopped for photos of the courthouse in Meridian, where we got the Dr Peppers, then headed more northwest, passing through Stephenville and winding up in Strawn at suppertime. For those who don't know, Strawn is a small community at the intersection of Texas 108 and Texas 16, just north of I-20, about midway between Fort Worth and Abilene. It's also home to some of the best chicken-fried steak you'd ever want to eat, at Mary's Cafe. We'd seen Mary's featured on Texas Country Reporter (episode #1050, aired Oct. 13, 2007) before so we decided to stop and see for ourselves since we were there. Wow! Not only were the chicken fries very good, they were HUGE! The large that Bill and our 14-year-old son ordered covered virtually all of the platter-sized plate that they came on. The fries and salad came in separate dishes. Everything else may seem to be getting smaller for the amount paid, but not these. Wow.

We also drove up to Graham before heading back this way and were impressed with the way the community has maintained its downtown area around the Young County Courthouse. Besides being clean, there are shops and stores and a restored movie theater.
Graham became a Texas Main Street City in 1994, according to the city's Web page. It's an example of what we could do here in Palestine with the architecture that we have to work with. (We've seen this in other communities of similar size, such as Bay City, a 2003 National Main Street City.) Seems like when we take our occasional road trips, we come back reminded of what could be done here given our heritage, location and remaining historic structures. If these places can accomplish all that they have, why can't we over the next few years?