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S2S 2017 Summer Road Trip Pt. II

Part 2 of a 4 Part Series

(Sideline 2 Sideline's Grant Goodwin and Kevin McPherson embark on their annual summer road trip to experience the food, hospitality, sights and sounds of towns rich in Texas high school football tradition.)

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Day 2 (Friday)

This was the longest, yet most worthy, day of this trip. We took the scenic drive via U.S. Highway 77 and found many notable stadiums of interest. In Cameron, where many teams have come to meet their destiny with the Yoemen, we found Yoe Field to embody the long history of success of the program.

Home of the Yoemen

The large bronze buffalo statue is the first thing we saw outside Buffalo Stadium in Giddings, where another playoff-bound team is expected in 2017. The black and gold are winning colors on the synthetic turf.

Once we passed under I-10 we officially found ourselves in South Texas, at least that’s what we declared. The landscape changed, but the destinations were worth it. City Market in Schulenberg is a true meat market (hard to find these days in the suburbs and urban areas), which makes its own sausage and wieners, among other things. Hallettsville also boasts its share of meat markets and bakeries, thanks to the German-Czech influence of the area.

Our lunch stop was also an audible, as Momma’s at Senglemann wasn’t opening until later in the day. Our cuisine changed from German to Tex-Mex, but the second consecutive Plan B was another winner. At La Ribera in Refugio, the outside won’t impress travelers, but the food on the inside certainly will. Between the homemade tortillas and chips and the unique beef gravy poured over our cheese enchiladas, we agreed that we had struck gold—albeit black and orange. A Refugio assistant coach also dined while we were there and we listened closely as he discussed the prospects of a repeat state championship to other diners and at least one employee.

The highlight of the day was spending the late afternoon until sundown on the beach at Port Aransas. The beaches are well kept and not overly crowded. We did not want to leave the breezy air, the salt water, and the soothing sound of the waves, but our stomachs were reminding us of our need for fresh seafood. At Beach and Station Street Grill, we were not disappointed. Many in our party bragged about the crab, the grouper, the red snapper, and the jumbo gulf shrimp. We were not cheated.

The only thing left was to wash the beach sand from our swimming trunks. It was not hard to fall to sleep, our minds dreaming of Czech sausage, Bulldogs, and beaches and our bellies full of tortillas, crustaceans, and fish.

by Kevin McPherson & Grant Goodwin

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