Frommer's Texas
Chapter One
The Best of Texas
by David Baird, Eric Peterson & Neil E. Schlecht
Texans are a unique bunch, unapologetic in their swaggering embrace of the place
they call home. "It's flat and dry," you say. "Yup, parts are," they reply. "It's hot," you
say. "Hotter 'n hell," they confirm. "Texans talk funny," you say. "Y'all do too," they
retort. Self-confident and independent almost to a fault, Texas seems to embody all
that's good, bad, and especially big about the United States. The former independent
Republic of Texas-which shook off the landlord claims of Spain, Mexico, France,
and even the United States-has diehards who still wish Texas would suck it up and
secede.
Texans don't seem to mind too much if outsiders get caught up in the myths and
cliches about Texas (that way they get to keep the truth to themselves). A 10-gallon
hat doesn't hold 10 gallons of anything, nor is Texas flat, dry, and featureless, filled
with cowboys on the range, oilmen watching their backyard gushers spit up black
gold, and ... read full excerpt from Frommer's Texas ebook
