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BL: Willie Nelson, Neiman Marcus Fuel My Texas Road Trip: Travel

By Catherine Smith

Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- In the immortal words of Willie Nelson, “Texas, it’s where I want to be.”

I don’t live there anymore, but it’s my home state and most of my family is there. It’s the land of Dr Pepper and Bob Wills, Neiman Marcus and Billy Bob’s, not to mention Bingo Momma, a red 2003 PT Cruiser.

The car, its name emblazoned on the windshield, was a loaner from my Aunt Frances of Willis, about 50 miles north of Houston. Bingo Momma created a stir everywhere as I drove, visiting family, friends and the places I miss.

First stop: my hometown Austin, a quick 150 miles west of Willis. I played “Deep in the Heart of Texas” from the “Best of Bob Wills” CD I dug out of the glove box, while recalling all there is to love in the Austin area: migas (a scrambled egg dish) at Cisco’s Bakery, sunsets at the Oasis on Lake Travis, craft beer at the Dig Pub in Cedar Park.

My first job was lettuce washer and bun toaster at a hamburger joint called Whataburger. I graduated to the register, where orders were taken on paper bags and handed back to the grill.

First opened in Corpus Christi in 1950, Whataburger now has more than 700 locations in 10 states. I still order mine with a double-toasted bun, two slices of cheese and grilled onions for about $3.50.

Real Sugar

With my burger I always have a Dr Pepper, which was invented in Waco 125 years ago. The Dr Pepper Museum, also in Waco, serves an original-recipe fountain drink made with Imperial Pure Cane sugar instead of corn syrup. Admission is $7.

Heading north near Hillsboro, I pulled off at Willie’s Place at Carl’s Corner. At first I thought someone was trading on Willie Nelson’s good name. When I walked in, I realized he was trading, and trading big, on his own good name.

It used to be Carl’s Corner truck stop. Rebuilt in a three- year, $10 million project, the family-friendly complex includes a cafe, saloon, theater, music store, gift shop and travel center selling gas along with Bio Willie’s biodiesel fuel. Heck, they even have a biodiesel refinery on site.

After scanning the memorabilia lining the walls, I bought a few souvenirs from the gift shop. I’m still kicking myself with my homegrown Lucchese boots for not buying Willie Braids, a bandana with two long pigtails attached.

Billy Bob’s

By now I was ripe for a Willie concert, so I headed on to Fort Worth, home of Billy Bob’s Texas, the world’s largest honky-tonk. To set the mood, I played Wills’s “Big Balls in Cowtown.”

Part of the Fort Worth Stockyards Historic District, Billy Bob’s was an open-air cattle barn when it was built in 1910. Opened as a concert hall in April 1981, the space holds 6,000 people for stars like George Strait, Delbert McClinton and ZZ Top.

There’s no mechanical bull, but they do have live professional bull riding on Friday and Saturday nights. There are two huge dance floors and everyone moves counterclockwise. If you go, remember that even if you don’t know how to Two Step, move with the crowd or they’ll run you down.

The house was packed for Willie and Family. They played a 90-minute set including “Whiskey River,” “Me and Paul,” “Crazy” and “I’ll Fly Away.” Tickets were $20.

A couple of yee-haws later we were on the road again, driving east back to Dallas when I realized I hadn’t shopped enough.

Shop Shop Shop

I swear, Dallas has the most shopping per capita of any U.S. city. I can’t go anywhere near DFW International Airport without stopping at Last Call Neiman Marcus, in the outlet mall in Grapevine. Half my wardrobe comes from the century-old Neiman Marcus but I only buy on sale. Once I found a Carolina Herrera blue silk skirt, regularly priced at $1,000, for $60. This time I got a pair of Paige jeans for half price.

Some of the best Dallas shopping is resale. At Clothes Circuit, I met Carolyn Carson, a classical harpist who has played at Carnegie Hall. She got a $4,760 Valentino jacket with jewel-like sparkles embroidered around the waist for $175.

A margarita is the logical choice after a tough day of bargain-hunting. Mia’s Tex-Mex Restaurant has happily poured me a half-frozen, half-rocks margarita since I first decided I liked the consistency, about eight years ago. These days a ‘rita will set you back $7.

Jerky for the Troops

On the road back to Willis, I made one last stop in Centerville at Woody’s Smokehouse, the jerky capital of the world. The kid behind the counter gave me lots of samples and told me they ship their vacuum-packed smoked meats all over the world, including to local boys stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. I gassed up, bought some barbecue and pecan pralines and got on my way.

By the time I had passed the prison at Huntsville, Bingo Momma had added 1,000 fresh miles to the odometer.

At the airport in Houston the next morning, I had to cool my boot heels till noon to have my last Shiner Bock. There’re a lot of things I miss about Texas -- but the blue law isn’t one of them.

Here’s more information on the places I miss when I’m not in Texas:

Cisco’s Bakery, 1511 E. Sixth St. in Austin. Information: [phone].

The Oasis, 6550 Comanche Trail on Lake Travis in Austin. Information: [phone]; http://www.oasis-austin.com.

Dig Pub, 401 Cypress Creek Rd. in Cedar Park. Information: [phone]; http://www.thedigpub.com.

Whataburger has locations all over the Southwest. Information: http://www.whataburger.com.

The Dr Pepper Museum, 300 S. Fifth St. in Waco. Information: [phone]; http://www.drpeppermuseum.com.

Willie’s Place at Carl’s Corner, Exit 374 off of I-35 in Hillsboro. Information: [phone]; www.williesplacetexas.com.

Billy Bob’s Texas, 2520 Rodeo Plaza in Fort Worth. Information: [phone]; http://www.billybobstexas.com.

Neiman Marcus, 1618 Main St. in downtown Dallas. Information: [phone]; http://www.neimanmarcus.com.

Clothes Circuit, 6105 Sherry Lane in Dallas. Information: [phone]; http://www.clothescircuit.com.

Mia’s Tex-Mex, 4322 Lemmon Ave. in Dallas. Information: [phone]; http://www.miastexmex.com.

Woody’s Smokehouse, I-45 at Highway 7 West, Exit 164 in Centerville. Information: [phone]; http://www.woodys-smokehouse.com.

(Catherine Smith is a writer for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are her own.)

To contact the writer on the story: Catherine Smith in New York at [e-mail].

Last Updated: February 12, 2010 00:01 EST