Trip Report Part Eight

Our last stop on the way home was at the Lazy Armadillo RV Park in Teneha, Texas.  Teneha is a small East Texas town whose only claim to fame is that it is one of four tiny Texas towns listed in a Tex Ritter song from the 40s – not much of a claim, since my wife had never heard of it.

For our purposes, the big attraction was that the Lazy Armadillo was almost exactly half way between Crater of Diamonds and the old Boggy Thicket.  The park itself is very small, with a few open sites and only two other trailers.  One of those seemed to be a permanent resident, and the other appeared to be unoccupied. 

We were a little worried about what we’d find there – there had been tornadoes in the area the day before, and one had hit a power distribution center in Carthage, TX, the closest town north of our destination.  The whole town of Carthage was without power, and they didn’t expect to have it back for another couple days.  The RV park had not had any damage, and their power was fine.

Maybe it has something to do with my years in radio, but I’m always amused when I meet someone who doesn’t sound anything like he looks.  A few days ago, I mentioned the Indian fellow with the Georgia accent – this time it was a Vietnamese kid who talked pure East Texas. 

We had gone into Center, TX, to fuel up and get some dinner.  I went into the station to tell the attendant I needed a fill up.

“Hep ya?” he asked.

“Need a fill up on Diesel.” I replied.

“Okay - goanout an Ahl turn it on fer ya.”

When I went back in to pay, he asked if there was anything else and I asked if he could recommend a good place to eat.

“Whacha wont?”  he asked, and I told him I was in the mood for barbeque.

“Waayul, Darrell’s is OK.  It’s purty good.”

He was right, too.  Brisket that would literally melt in your mouth, and ribs that were falling off the bone.  Lots of it, too.  If you’re ever in Center, Darrell’s is a great place to eat.