Lufkin → Lake Tombigbee → Port Arthur

[amw]

Ah, finally i had a day in East Texas that didn't feel like a chore. I still got chased by a couple of dogs, but this time it was literally only a couple, and they gave up quick

Comments

[carriea31]

I have to finish reading this later, but right away you made me jealous. I love the pastries from the Mexican places. My favorites are the pig shaped cookies.

[amw]

I got one of those! I'll write a bit more about it when i get the bandwidth to do a picture post, but one of the things i like best about Mexican pastries is that they aren't too sweet. It feels more like eating bread that happens to be sweet than eating candy that happens to have flour in it, if that makes sense.

[jenndolari]

Breakfast Tacos are usually a more Central Texas thing. Dunno if you'll find them in East Texas, but if you do, they're pretty good. If you find a Taco Cabana, they have decent breakfast tacos, although they're a chain

[amw]

I didn't have time to go to the visitor center on the rez, but i did read some of the plaques, and from what i understand the Alabama-Coushatta were rewarded with the land because they fought in the War of Independence.

Sadly, i missed out on the breakfast tacos. I actually passed a breakfast taco place around lunchtime on my way south, but i didn't bother stopping because i figured all the good stuff would be sold out already (like when you go to a Texas donut shop at noon).

[dadi]

That sure sounds dismal! I really hope you'll be on more hospitable and interesting grounds soon! But then, as you said an entry or two ago... this too is part of the experience!

[browncouch]

I'm so glad you're recording this journey, I've never been to these parts of the states.

I'm curious about Steel Beach, might give it a listen.

[amw]

I'm curious what you think! I haven't read it in years. I think it's probably dated a lot, if i recall it's a bit from that ultra-libertarian futuristic post-human/post-gender/post-everything school, but it still is one of the few sci-fis i've read that really went down that route. Other books have done takes on gender, but they're more about imagining a new gender, or imagining if the roles were different, than making it unremarkable.

[amw]

My goodness, i didn't realize they put feeders out there too. That almost makes it like farming. Although, i guess, hunting big game in many parts of Africa is like that too, where the animals are bred and kept on a reserve specifically to get "hunted".

I think some of the hardcore outdoorsy types i met up in Canada were more like foot hunters, where you need to hike out to the back country just to get to the areas where hunting is allowed. To me that feels more like the "authentic" experience of hunting. I feel like if it's too easy and comfortable it kinda defeats the point. At least, if the point is about rediscovering your inner warrior or whatever.

[amw]

I also put hunting above regular cattle slaughter in the hierarchy of ethical eating. I do think it's better for animals to live theoretically "free" in a wildlife reserve over getting branded and corralled on a ranch (not to mention factory farms). I think the part of hunting that most bothers me isn't the eating part, it's the killing for entertainment part. I suppose you could make the same case against cattle ranchers, but one would hope that for them it's purely a job and not something they do for fun. I do still find it a bit creepy that some people find ending a sentient being's life to be thrilling and not just a sometimes-necessary last resort to ensure our survival.