My journey to Texas began late Thursday morning. Instead of
sticking solely to the interstates, I decided to traverse the state highways in
eastern Texas because it was a more direct route than driving through Dallas. On top of that, my timing would have landed me in the thick of the city at rush hour, and I had no desire to sit for hours in traffic.
Texas is
one of the most geographically diverse states in the country, largely due to
its size. In the northeastern part of the state, the vegetation was very green
and lush, complemented by a vivid, brick-colored soil. Thick woods provided
precious shade from the beating sun as I passed several tree farms interspersed
among the cattle ranges. The road rolled over hills and plains, lending one
spectacular view after another. It was a gorgeous day. The sun was shining, and
the sky was deeply blue and endless. Although I would not drive through the
western half of Texas on this particular trip, I knew that it was a very
different world from the green paradise of the east. West Texas is a desert
with little vegetation, infrequent rain, and an unrelenting sun. I was thankful
to be driving from Arkansas.
I passed
through countless towns as the day grew older. After several hours on the road,
I found a Tex-Mex restaurant called Mercado’s in Tyler, so I decided to stop
for dinner. When the restaurant came into view, there was no doubt in my mind
that I had made the right choice. The entire building, inside and out, was
thoroughly decorated with lights and streamers, but the large dining room
itself was dimly lit and the music was a little loud. I was seated immediately, and then chips and
salsa arrived promptly afterward. My server was very friendly and one of the
most talkative people in my travels to date. He explained that after several
years working for the restaurant, a job he loved, he would soon be moving on to
greener pastures. I told him briefly about the trip, making a mental note to
write my website down on the check when it arrived. He made a recommendation
for a particular burrito, so I decided to order it. When it arrived hot and
steaming, I dug in, eager for the first real Tex-Mex that I’d had in several
months. I surrendered long before I cleared my plate, lethargic but very satisfied.
I left just as the huge orange sun was beginning to set.
Many hours
later, I finally arrived in Austin. It was the second weekend of the famous
Austin City Limits music festival (ACL), and downtown was as lively as I’d ever
seen it. Austin is ‘the live music capital of the world,’ meaning that there is
more live music going on in Austin at any given point than anywhere else. That
night certainly reinforced that claim; at each intersection I could hear the
music of a different band, and the festival didn’t even start until tomorrow!
Thinking that I couldn’t have received a warmer welcome to Austin, I made my way
home to my Dad’s where my family was waiting to greet me.
Over the
next several days, I went to ACL to see some music, but I mostly spent time
with my family. On Monday, I caught a plane home to New Jersey for ten days to
spend some time with other relatives and catch up with friends before flying
back to Austin. When I returned, I planned to spend a day with my grandmother,
who was a docent at the Bullock Texas State History Museum, and used to be a guide at the
Texas Capitol as well.
First we
went to the museum, where we explored the illustrious journey that Texas
underwent to become a state. The first floor is mainly dedicated to Native
Americans, pioneers, and early explorers of the land that is now Texas. The
second floor is dedicated to the formation of the state of Texas, as we know it
today. Texas is the only state to have been under the control of six different
nations throughout the course of its history. Those countries are France, Spain,
Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America, and the
United States of America. You don’t have to spend too much time in Texas to
appreciate which governing body holds the utmost loyalty of its inhabitants. By
far, it is the Republic of Texas. Texas is one of the only places in the
country where state loyalty far surpasses national loyalty. If you meet a Texan
anywhere else in the world and ask where they are from, they will not say that
they are from the U.S.; they will say that they are from Texas. It is an almost
unheard of pride that borders on mild insanity. For instance, almost every
overpass in Texas has the lone star emblazoned upon it. Buildings, businesses,
and bridges all display the lone star throughout Texas. In fact, I soon found
myself questioning whether the “lone star” was truly an accurate description,
given how often it is displayed throughout Texas.
This kind of regional obsession is
not only about the state of Texas, but about the cities as well. If you have
been to Austin for any amount of time, then you are familiar with the phrase, “Keep
Austin Weird.” This is a movement born from its loving citizens who are
motivated to support local business. Indeed every place worth visiting in
Austin is locally owned, and the undying love that Austinites have for their
city makes it contagiously enjoyable. The passion leaks from the resident to
the tourist, which is why Austin has experienced near-migration conditions for
the past few years. Combined with an economy that is growing faster than the
rest of the country, Austin’s “good vibes” have people coming back to stay.
Long before
the Republic of Texas formed and the lone star mania had fully set in, French
explorers and Spanish conquistadors journeyed through the land that is now
Texas, usually in search of some kind of riches. The first explorer known to
have landed in Texas and map the coastline was a Spaniard named Alonso Alvarez
de Pineda who was traveling from Jamaica.
From 1540 to 1542, another Spanish
explorer named Francisco Vasquez de Coronado searched for the famous SevenCities of Cibola, which was said to be a vast metropolis of gold. Friar Marcos
de Niza told Coronado that he had seen the cities from afar in the land that is
now New Mexico. Accompanied by hundreds of men and several Native American
guides, the journey covered nearly 4,000 miles in what is now the American
southwest, including a large portion of modern-day Texas. When they arrived to
the hills that the friar had described, there was only a small adobe village
that held no riches. Severely in debt
and empty handed, Coronado was forced to return to Mexico City with a damaged
reputation. One theory about the failure is that de Niza saw the adobe villages
in the afternoon sunlight, which may have made the buildings shimmer as if they
were made of gold.
Over the next two hundred and fifty
years, Spain remained in control of Texas. In many ways it served as a buffer
between French settlements in Louisiana and the Spanish settlements in modern-day
Mexico and American southwest. After the Louisiana Purchase, the US gained
control of the area to the east and north of Texas, once again making Texas a
buffer between the Spanish and a foreign territory. Two years before the
purchase, Spain and France had signed a vague agreement with each other that
failed to specifically draw the borders, and previous assessments were
contradictory. Thomas Jefferson used this ambiguity to question whether or not Texas
was truly their territory. Despite this, Texas remained in Spanish territory.
When Mexico gained its independence
from Spain in 1810, Texas fell into Mexican control. Soon after, the Mexican
Government passed the “General Colonization Law” which allowed any head of
household to own land in Texas regardless of race or immigrant status. American
colonizers began flooding in, and by 1830, Americans outnumbered Mexicans in
the region by a considerable majority.
Samuel Houston is one of the most
important people in the history of Texas. Born in Virginia on March 2, 1793,
Houston spent the majority of his childhood playing with Cherokee Indians in
the mountains of Tennessee. He enlisted in the army in the war of 1812 and rose
to the position of 1st lieutenant. He resigned in 1818, and went back to
Tennessee to become a lawyer. After practicing law for a few years, Houston
became involved in state politics. He served in the U.S. Congress from 1823 to
1827, after which he was elected Governor of Tennessee by a significant
majority. After a failed marriage, Houston resigned from Tennessee politics and
moved to Texas with several friends. He quickly became involved in important
Texas matters, undoubtedly because of his experience as a soldier, lawyer, and
statesman. On the brink of the Texas Revolution, Houston was named
commander-in-chief of the Texas forces. He led the Texans to victory when he
defeated Santa Anna at the battle of San Jacinto in 1836. Houston was the first
President of the Republic of Texas, and also served in its Congress for several
years before being reelected to the Presidency. In 1845 it was clear that Texas
could no longer fend off repeated attacks from the Mexican government, and they
petitioned the United States Government to join the union. Houston served in
the United States Congress as a Senator from the state of Texas, and also
served as Governor of the state of Texas. In 1861, in the dawn of the Civil
War, Houston vehemently opposed seceding from the union, but he remained in the
extreme minority on this issue, and he was removed from his position. This
decision ended Samuel Houston’s decades-long career in politics.
Another notable individual is also
preserved in time by the name of one of Texas’ biggest cities, Stephen F.Austin. Austin was born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri. He
began his career in state politics at age 21 in the Missouri legislature. His
father, Moses Austin, received a land grant for colonization purposes in Texas,
which was still under Spanish control at the time. He perished in 1821 before
he could make full use of it, and the senior Austin bequeathed the land grant
to his son. Because the Mexican Revolution happened during the time that his
father was unable to make use of the land, there was a large amount of chaos in
the Mexican government. After many years of delay, Stephen Austin moved to Tejas
with 300 other settlers, which is what the land grant allowed. Austin was in
charge of the colony because he was the person that the grant was given to, and
it was the first legal American colony in Mexican-controlled Tejas. Tensions
had been mounting for a long time between American settlers in Tejas and the
Mexican government, largely due to corruption in the Mexican government. Austin
was a passionate believer of a peaceful solution with Mexico, and vehemently
opposed revolution in Tejas. He went on trips to Mexico City and acted as a sort
of ambassador between the Tejans and the Mexican government. On one of his trips,
Austin was sent to work out terms about the separation of Tejas from Coahuila,
which were joined Mexican states at that time. He sent several letters home to
Tejas, including one that urged citizens to begin declaring statehood without
permission from the federal Mexican government. His letters were intercepted,
and the Mexican government threw him in jail where he remained for a year and a
half. He was never charged with any crime, and he never received a trial.
Ironically, Austin was one of the
few Texans that supported a peaceful solution with Mexico. He was often in the
minority on this matter at home, where tensions were mounting intensely. When
Mexico threw him in jail, it was the final nail in the coffin for their
relationship with Texas. By the time Austin was released in 1835, Austin no
longer felt that the Mexican government would adequately protect the rights of
his people, and he believed that independence was necessary.
A pivotal
point in Texas history was the battle of the Alamo. About 100 troops were
stationed at the Alamo mission in 1836 when a Mexican army of 1500 soldiers
marched into San Antonio. It was the first step by Mexican forces in a campaign
to retake Texas, having been driven out previously by Texan forces. There were
skirmishes on and off for ten days, with few casualties, though the Texans knew
that they could not withstand a siege from a force that large for very long.
Despite repeated requests for reinforcements, only about 100 arrived. On March
6th, Santa Anna and the Mexican troops advanced on the Alamo. All of the Texans
were slaughtered. It has been estimated that anywhere from 180 to 250 Texans
died, but most experts agree that around 600 Mexican soldiers were killed. It
was the fierce desire for revenge that led the Texans to victory at the Battle
of San Jacinto in April of 1836, hence the phrase, “Remember the Alamo!”
The Alamo
is the basis of Texan loyalty. When faced with a corrupt, turbulent, and
ineffective government, the people of Texas rebelled and took matters into
their own hands. In that way, Texas has possibly the most “American” origin of
any state in the union. It is even more “American” that the people’s loyalty
remains with the Republic of Texas, since that was the nation they went to war
to create. Because of their fierce commitment to freedom and self-determination,
it was only fitting that Texas was admitted into the union in 1845, when the
Republic of Texas no longer had the forces to ward off attacks from the Mexican
government. If Texas was going to be a part of any country, it would have to be
a nation that was just as dedicated to personal liberty as the Texans
themselves.
After learning about some of the
most crucial parts of Texas history, I realized that along with state loyalty
comes a passion for state history. The Bullock Texas State History Museum is
one of the most extensive history museums that I have visited. Furthermore, if you have ever spoken to a
Texan historian about Texas history, you know that their eyes take on a rosy
sheen as if they were speaking of the love of their life.
We walked a few blocks down the
street to the State Capitol. My grandmother had also been a docent at the Texas
Capitol, and every member of the staff greeted her with enthusiasm. One thing
that I have noticed about Capitol buildings is that the tour guides know
everyone, and they also know pretty much everything that is going on. In this
way, docents can act as the common ground for everyone from the pages to the
legislators. It is a very interesting place to be.
First we walked around the first
floor, taking in the statues, paintings, and other decorations. Just off the
main entranceway is the old state treasury, which no longer acts as such, but
has been converted to offices instead. My grandmother took me inside to see the
vault (which is now empty). The vault doors are painted beautifully on the
outside, as well as functional.
We went upstairs to the House and
Senate chambers, both of which are large and well lit. I have found that my
favorite House and Senate chambers have large windows on either side, giving
them an open and airy feeling. Although I
have found in other states that the House and Senate chambers are not generally
the most impressive rooms in the building, the chambers in the Texas Capitol were
exceptional. The House chamber is the largest room in the building, and the
decorations in each of the rooms were similar. In the Senate chamber, there are
two large paintings done by the artist Henry Arthur McArdle called “Dawn at the
Alamo” and “The Battle of San Jacinto.” Neither of the paintings is supposed to
portray precise historical fact, but rather they show an artist’s
representation of the events. Both paintings instantly drew me in, and I felt
the deep significance that they must hold for Texans.
Although
the Republic of Texas only officially lasted for ten years, its influence has stubbornly
remained. The loyalty to the “Lone Star” is seen throughout the entire Capitol building.
Almost every chair, doorknob and light fixture bears the Lone Star emblem. When
you walk into any room, you can rest assured that there is going to be a Lone Star
somewhere in that room. It is kind of ridiculous, but if one wanted to count
all of the Lone Stars in the building, it would probably take them several days.
Also, most Capitol buildings have their state seal directly below the dome on
the floor of the rotunda, but the Texas Capitol had the seal of the Republic of
Texas. If that isn’t a symbolic gesture of loyalty, I don’t know what is.
We also
explored the Governor’s reception room, the Supreme Court chamber, and the Law
Library. There were a few items of interest in the Governor’s public reception
room. One piece of furniture was called a “courting chair.” It consisted of two
seats facing each other that are joined by an armrest in the middle. The reason
why it is a courting chair is that it was used a long time ago for young men
and women who were interested in each other. The armrest in the middle was there
so that they would be separated adequately from each other.
The Supreme Court Chamber no longer
serves its original purpose. The room was used as a courtroom until 1959, when
the Supreme Court moved to its own building near the Capitol. Now, like in so
many other Capitols, the room is now used for congressional committee meetings.
We took a peek into the Law Library, but it is not terribly interesting. It is
available as a reference for legislators and other government officials, but it
is no more than practical.
After
seeing the original building, we went downstairs to the underground extension,
which was completed in 1995. Though many other Capitols have tried something
similar, none of them did it as well as Texas. The extension massive, and along
with offices and other official rooms, it also contains a cafeteria and gift
shop. The hallways have skylights at street level that make the area feel
inviting, and if you are at the right spot, you can look up through one of the
skylights and see the Capitol dome.
After a
long afternoon, we went to lunch at an iconic Austin company, Whole Foods.
Whole foods has changed the game for grocery stores. Not only do they provide
organic, cage-free, grass-fed, non-GMO, gluten free, vegetarian, and vegan
options, but they also have some of the highest quality goods around. The big
catch, however, is a price tag that can make even the most financially
comfortable cringe. Nonetheless, Whole Foods has played a major part in the
animal rights movement and the natural food market. It has a range of options,
1 to 5, for the level of food-conscious that you are. The basic is cage-free
with no antibiotics, but it goes all the way up to completely grass-fed and
free-range. The price is comparable to the level of care, but simply given the
option of how one’s food is raised before it is killed is a big step toward
becoming closer to what we eat. In the past century, Americans have gotten
farther and farther from the source of their food, and Whole Foods is helping
to reverse that trend.
There are a
number of other Austin eateries that are worth mentioning. Because I travel to
Austin fairly frequently to visit family, I have become acquainted with a much
larger range of restaurants in this capital city than I have in other states. One
permanent fixture in Austin food culture is Austin Java, the locally owned
coffee house. There are locations all around the city, and it has the
popularity in Austin that Starbucks has in other places. To be honest, I think
it is much better than Starbucks. Not only is the coffee better (and cheaper),
but also the food is leaps and bounds above what most coffee places ever have
to offer. Mainly, it’s all about the breakfast tacos.
There are a
few other places that come to mind. Kerbey Lane Café and Magnolia Café are good
for breakfast, but only Magnolia Café is open 24 hours a day. Chuy’s is a good
stop for any Tex-Mex craving. Another iconic Austin stop is Gordough’s, which
has a donut-based menu. Imagine anything that you could put on a donut, and you
can find it at Gordough’s. If the name doesn’t tell you first [Gordo means fat
in Spanish], this is not exactly a low-calorie stop. It is delicious and oh, so
Austin.
Austin has
charmed me, as it has so many others. The Texas enthusiasm, the delicious food,
and the live music make Austin a wonderful place to be. Austin was so in love
with itself that it was hard not to become similarly enthralled. People who
have claimed the land of Texas to be their own seem to feel very strongly about
how awesome it is, more so than almost any other place I have ever been to.
Texas history plays a major part in the cultural mentality of Texas, which
claimed independence before joining the United States. If there were one
defining fact that puts Texas in a category of its own, it would be its
revolution and the Republic of Texas.
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