Okay, so Chris and I had plans for this last Saturday, but they were changed the night before and we were left with a full day and nothing specific to do. Besides the fact that we both have a very tight budget, we wanted to find some cheap entertainment outside of Longview. Yes, I know that this city is exciting and all, but it seems like everywhere we go we end up running into people we know and can't get away.
Our plan: be spontaneous. Ironic, huh? =)
As of 9 AM on Saturday, we had decided to find a random festival or event happening in East Texas. I came across a website for Nacogdoches' annual Blueberry Festival and so we packed a picnic and took off.
( check it out for yourself! http://visitnacogdoches.org/blueberry.htm )
It was only an hour drive and we arrived in "the oldest town in Texas." Chris and I decided that it was just another excuse to throw a party and sell stuff. One would think that a blueberry festival would be full of, yes, blueberries. However, there was only one or two booths selling blueberries. We did see T-shirts for the event and blue beer, but that's about it. We stopped a girl wearing a blue formal dress and huge crown thinking that she was the blueberry queen, but nope, she was the Nacogdoches Queen or something. No blueberry queen...how disappointing.
We had fun anyway walking around in the sun and humidity looking at all the endless rows of vendors, signing up for prize drawings, listening to a South American band, munching on real kettle corn, and chatting.
Cooling off in the air conditioning of a coffee house and playing Rack-o was fun, too. It's always nice to talk without interruptions and not worry about the usual things of the day. We then opted out of the "Big Cynthia" concert because it was $10 a person...we figured we could rent a movie for less than $20 and have more fun.
So, overall I had a great day hanging out with Chris and had fun experiencing East Texas up close and personal, even if it is a little redneck. I guess I don't have a lot of room to talk being from Iowa--the land of corn and pigs. =)