Geotourism

Jon and I took the family to Houston this weekend. One thing about the way we travel, if we have the time, we always take the back roads. I really think that it gives you such a good feel for the area.

As we left for our trip, I picked up our paper to read in the car. There was this article on "geotourism." What? Basically, it is a made-up word to describe pretty much how every person over the age of 30 traveled when they were 22. It's learning where the locals eat and play. It's going to Australia and instead of hitting your Starbucks (yes, they have them there, I saw them), you can find where the locals go for their coffee. For some reason, the world is so homogonized, we need a word for that.

So, back to Saturday. We hit the road early and headed down I-45. Jon had looked on a website to find where people had blogged about a good restaurant for us to have lunch off the beaten path. Boy, did he find one.

In Huntsville, TX, the New Zion Missionary Baptist Church has a BBQ restaurant attached to it. If you go there, please do not be confused with the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church. As we found out, they have no restaurant.

I called the restaurant to get information on where they are. I was told to exit 45 at Montgomery Street, turn towards the Dairy Queen and drive until I saw a smoker on the side of a church. Now, I knew I was going to love it.

We followed the directions and sure enough, they were correct. It was a shack with a smoker in front right next to a church. AND was the food good! In addition, I give it an A++ on atmosphere.

Having spent much time in New Orleans, I always follow the rules that the more run down the restaurant, the better the food. That is definitely the case here.

I asked the guy how long they had been in business, he said, "well, there were some folks who started it when they were young. Then, they got old. Then, they gave it to the church."

So, if you want to experience "geotourism" right here in Texas, I highly recommend it!