It was a family event on Saturday to attend the 20th Annual Blueberry Festival in Nacogdoches, Texas. Founded on the El Camino Real (now state highway 21), one of a series of roads linking the Spanish colonies in the Americas, Nacogdoches' history is intertwined with the founding of the Republic of Texas. The town is now a delightfully quaint, tree-filled, college town (Stephen F. There are all sorts of family-friendly activities, free ice water supplied by local churches, and, of course, the Deja Blue Classic Car Show. Certain things you see only in East Texas. For example, the Austin State University), with brick streets and a thriving regentrified downtown. There are great coffee shops, tea rooms, and live jazz at the Hotel Fredonia each Friday evening, but on the second Saturday of June the focus is always on the blueberry. Streets are blocked off, booths pop up, live music blares, lines form before 8:00 AM for the fresh blueberry pancakes (here is the line when we arrived at 8:10 View this photo), and blueberry-themed entertainment is everywhere (View this photo, View this photo and View this photo).
various downtown banks open to the public as venues for shows or activities--Cowboy Max (View this photo), Blueberry Cooking Shows, and the Blueberry Soda Shoppe. But, without a doubt, the most moving reminder that East Texas is not like other regions of the country, is illustrated by the photo at left. The gentleman pictured in the photo wandered among the crowd conducting interviews and asking attendees if they had a favorite song they would like to sing over the public address system. When the woman in the photo volunteered, took the microphone, and proceeded with a rousing rendition of "Jesus Loves Me", the gentleman immediately removed his hat and sang the entire song with her, after which he put his hat back on and the crowd responded with a loud ovation. I witnessed this and immediately recalled why I selected East Texas over Washington, D.C. to finish out my life.














