Touring Victoria Texas in our 2X2

Friday November 29^th

Victoria County Courthouse - built in 1892

The Victoria Convention and Visitors Bureau designed a driving tour of significant historical buildings in and near downtown. It was a glorious walk (2 feet x 2 feet) in the warm (60F+) sun - about 2 ½ hours for the green half (red tour next visit). Maybe if more folks walked the tour more folks could walk the tour.

Because this was Thanksgiving it was like a ghost town in the core…

Nobody!

This way too. We're right downtown

… but there were a few residents around as we walked the route.

This is a local joke - right?

Nope!

Mural of past businesses in this location (done in 1985)

Many homes echoed the styles we’ve seen in Galveston, Charleston and Savannah. Sumptuous and, in most cases, huge.

T.M O'Connor house (1889). What's on the front door?

Somebody has a fascination with spider webs.

This one (J.D. Mitchell house) was a mortuary for decades.

Ah thank ah'll have ma sweet tea on the upper balcony today dahlin'.

This was a 1908 wedding gift from rancher J. Ferdinand to his daughter Emily (MCCan).

Stone houses are rare here.John Donaldson had the stone brought down from the "Hill Country"

The Tour describes this as one of the city's most significant bungalows.

Looks like a full time painting project.

Victoria is wise to encourage the preservation of these beauties. Completely impractical in the little chunk of arctic we’re from but they look right at home here.

Managed to keep Norene out of the orange tree. Reminded her most Texans are armed.

Today’s little outing was not exactly an adventure but it was picturesque and showed us there is a lot more to Victoria than Wal-Mart and HEB (she wasn’t too keen on HEB after all – said it was too big and she couldn’t find stuff as easily as Costco). My experience was the usual – I was just as lost as anywhere else.

I will understand if you have drifted off day-dreaming about shopping as you look at the pretty houses. To spice things up for our next entry we’re on the hunt for savage wild animals, tall mountains or raging white waters on the way to Mission tomorrow.