Once, Teri overheard Tom talking to someone as she thought Tom said “Me and my old lady”, but Tom told Teri that he would never call Teri an old lady, and Tom claimed that he said “Me and my Old 80”.
U.S. Highway 80 is “The Broadway of America”. U.S. 80 was the first all-weather coast-to-coast route available to auto travelers. It’s history is second only to U.S. Route 66 “The Mother Road” in American highway folklore. More on U.S. 80 history, including it’s relation to the death of Bonnie & Clyde in Louisiana, as you read on through this Journal post.
There have been times that we’ve taken the Historic U.S. Highway 80 (instead of I-20) during our journeys west to Texas Motor Speedway, and stop at some of the places along the way. Teri has her notebook of hundreds of places that we’ve been during our 25+ years of RVing, and Tom has been busy looking through Teri’s notes and putting them in our website Journal section. In this Journal post, we’ll cover a stop off U.S. 80 in Gladewater, Texas
“pilgrim you caused a lot of trouble this morning. There’s a “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On”. The bedroom propane furnace heat quit working on a cold (34 degrees) Friday night. The front furnace worked, as well as the electic heaters. And now, more on how we solved the bedroom furnace issue….
When we make the Hwy 80 run, we will go a little beyond Terrell, Texas before getting on I-30 or I-635. One destination along U.S. 80, that we’ve been to several times over the years, is Gladewater, Texas. This is a wonderful town that is full of history and fun experiences. If you support “local”, as we do, and enjoy shopping in locally-owned stores & enjoy local-flavor restaurants, then Gladewater is a great location. It is known as the Antique Capitol of East Texas. Gladewater is just 13 miles west of Longview. When we get to Gladewater, we stay at the Antique Capitol RV Park . They offer full hookups, and we’ve even used their propane services to fill up the TomsMaHauL motorhome tank. We enjoy winter RVing, and along with our “fireplace” electric heater, we do use the onboard propane heat to keep the tanks and plumbing from freezing. This is a great rv park for walks, and has a pond that you can get some fishing time in, along with geese that may follow you around the pond.
To get some history of the Gladewater area, a good place to visit is the Gladewater Museum.
Tom is a ham. Folks across the street in Gladewater are staring at Tom as he sings these words: “Blessuh my soul – whatsuh wrong with me – don’t you let me catch you climbing up my apple tree- uhuhHUh – Yeah…Hey Hey”. Tom enjoys making up his own lyrics to popular songs.
The “Man in Black” with the “Man in Shorts, Truck Stop Bargain Shirt & Down Home Meats Cap” keeping an eye on the situation. Johnny, Elvis and many other top stars through time, have ties to Gladewater, Texas
While in the Gladewater area, we enjoyed a beautiful Saturday at Grumpy’s Garden Party (Union Grove, Tx). Teri bought some items from various booths, including plants, necklace & a few other things. Tom enjoyed a few items from the food trucks & talking to Grumpy (property owner, Steve, who is not really grumpy at all). We toured an old-timey chapel and listened to an outdoor show with Harvest Moon Countrygrass. Teri thought it was time for a new Trippin’ w/ Tom & Teri video.…
Many local & regional entertainers joined the Texas Smoke band on stage, and the experience was enjoyable. It is a “do-over” as we say, which means that we’ll plan to attend a show there again. UPDATE: The Gladewater Opry House changed ownership, & is now known as Jackson’s Theatre with many weekend events. More on Jackson’s Theatre HERE
While downtown, we stopped for a bite to eat at Central Station Brick & Brew (now known as Booshay’s Central Station Bayou Café). They offer delicious brick oven cooked pizzas, as well as many other tasty dishes, along with serving many craft brews from around the state of Texas. This building was, originally, an old corner gas station, that has a history of it’s own. Now, though, this location has been expanded with an upper balcony bar area, and downstairs stage where bands often perform.
We explored many other places in, and around, Gladewater. We found nearby Lake Gladewater. Several jet skis and some boats were out on the lake, as well as many kids enjoying the park at the lake.
Oh yeah. We almost forgot that we were going to reveal more on the history on the legendary U.S. Highway 80. This article was posted on a wall, while we dined in a restaurant near Hwy 80, and it has some information on this historic highway.
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We welcome you to check out some of the places that we enjoy exploring around the ArkLaTex region and… beyond the outer parameter. Visit our Journal page HERE
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You’re Trippin’ With Tom & Teri. Our location is a space in time. No matter where you go, there you are, and at the moment, We Are HERE.
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Tom shares some of our motorhome preparation, maintenance & projects…along with expecting the unexpected. Visit our Projects page HERE
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Also, visit us at TomsMaHauL on Facebook HERE
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