Oxbow General Store: The Oxbow General Store is home to Oxbow Bakery. Pies and other pastries were the stars of the store, which also featured a selection of antique items. We learned that the Oxbow Bakery was named one of the best places in the state for pie by Texas Highway Magazine, a hidden gem by Texas Monthly Magazine, and was featured on the cover of Southern Living Magazine. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Hambones: Hambones Cajun Grill was a perfect stop for lunch the day we discovered Old Town in Palestine, Texas. The casual diner served some of the best seafood and fish, which we always enjoy when in Texas. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
For the Los Alamos Daily Post
While traveling from Tulsa, Okla. last October we traveled through the eastern portion of Texas before angling to southwest of Houston where Marilyn’s parents live. Along the way we passed through Palestine, Texas, an old town deep in the heart of the piney woods of East Texas.
It had been years since we last traveled through this part of the state, especially around the Palestine area. It was mid-afternoon and we had not eaten lunch, so we decided to explore the older downtown area and see what was available.
When driving into town, we stumbled across the Historic District of Palestine where we discovered “Old Town Palestine” and we knew we had to stop. What we found was a delightful small grouping of businesses and historic structures filled with shops and restaurants.
One of the restaurants was Hambone’s Cajun Grill, which sounded like lunch for both of us. The exterior of the restaurant was a tin material with wood trim and a front facade of wood and tin with a wooden covered walkway outside of the entrance.
Inside we found a typical small town restaurant with various beer advertising signs lighting the walls surrounded by advertising posters of some of the same beers. There was only one other table of customers and one individual sitting at the bar as it was after 3 in the afternoon now. We enjoyed a delicious lunch, which was a thrill. We knew we were back in fish and seafood country.
After lunch we strolled around the small area of Old Town, which was only a block or so long. Another stop we made was at Oxbow General Store, which was home to Oxbow Bakery as well as a selection of antiques displayed around the store.
The pies on display in the case were way too tempting but since we had just eaten lunch a short time before we ordered two slices of pie to go. We should have ordered two pies because they were that good. We found out that the Oxbow Bakery was named one of the best places in the state for pie by Texas Highway, a hidden gem by Texas Monthly, and had been featured on the cover of Southern Living. It was that good!
After checking out the area for a little longer, it was time to get back to the van and “hit the road”. What a surprise that a lunch break in a small East Texas town turned out to be a real treat. I don’t know when we’ll be back in this part of Texas, but when we do return, we will route ourselves through the town of Palestine and visit “Old Town Palestine” again. Maybe our next visit will be a longer stay.
These are the simple surprises that we enjoy while traveling around the country in our RV. The unplanned stops are often the highlight of a travel day!
Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country, and he shares his photographs, which appear in the “Posts from the Road” series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.
Old Town: A metal sign welcomes visitors to the area of ‘Old Town Palestine’ in Palestine, Texas. The original site of the town of Palestine when it was named the county seat of Anderson County in 1845. Historically, a cotton gin, blacksmith shops, a saw mill, and a feed store filled the buildings of Old Town. Today, Old Town is a vibrant area featuring restaurants, shops and antique stores all housed in the old structures that make up this special area. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Shelton Hall: Shelton Hall is a bar and dance hall in the old cotton gin building in Old Town Palestine. This is one of the larger buildings in this section of the Historic District in Palestine, which features 1,800 historic structures. Live music and other entertainment options give guests a great evening out. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Shelton Brothers: A vintage faded pickup with faded lettering on the door stating ‘Shelton Brothers Palestine, Texas’, welcomes visitors to Shelton Hall in Old Town Palestine. The bar offers live entertainment, a dance floor, many TVs, pool tables and a variety of drinks for patrons, which all provide a fun evening when in Palestine, Texas. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Sculpture: A sculpture outside a business in Old Town Palestine is typical of this historic but eclectic area in Palestine, Texas. The sculpture features one end of a kayak standing vertically with a metal butterfly resting on top. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com