mary.pellie: 1st Family Christmas Vacation, Part 3

Part 3

Serendipity Stops

Some of my favorite vacation memories are stops that were not "planned", things we did either because we chose to stop or because we had too (car trouble, bathroom break, etc). They were serendipitous stops. We made one of those stops this trip in Sulphur Springs, TX. We have driven through that community more than once and each time were struck by the beauty of the courthouse and town square. We decided to stop there on the way home for lunch and I'm glad we did. We enjoyed a walk around the square, a closer look at the beautiful court house, a fierce game of giant checkers, photo opps, a quick look in a few shops, & an impulse purchase of 4 used children's books from a used books-and other things-store (children's books are a weakness of mine). The town center is very charming with most of the old buildings in use or being renovated. To add to the experience, everything was decked out for Christmas and the season's music played to us from speakers on the lampposts. Our last stop was The Pioneer cafe, located in one of the old buildings not far from the town square. It served good southern home cooking. We split plates of the specials-country fried steak & catfish, along with broccoli & cheese casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potato, green beans (sadly, they were out of okra), cornbread, rolls, hush puppies & sweet tea. Even tough we were stuffed, the owner convinced us to try her bread pudding, a recipe she had gotten from New Orleans. My goodness! Surely this recipe can convince even the non-bread pudding eater to change their ways. Delicious!