History, Schmistory

In our travels we're always on the lookout for state historical markers.  You never know what tidbit of information you're going to stumble tumble upon.  Downtown Roanoke, TX seemed like a great place to find a few.  Might as well stop and eat too since they claim to be the Unique Dining Capital of Texas.  In fact something unique can be found at the Babe's Chicken franchise which is housed in a historic building that's over a century old:

It was here that we found the only fake historical marker (or "hysterical" marker, if you will) we've ever seen:

Commemorating the date of Texas Independence, the marker also makes note of the building's nonexistence at a certain point of history.  And hey, that's worth mentioning.  It's also worth noting that the word "hysterical" is misspelled.  I'll chalk it up to a typo since I love stuff like this and would love to see more of it.

As a bonus, on the side of the building you'll find a mural of depicting downtown Roanoke by artist David Larcom:

If you stop by, I recommend the chicken.

McDowner

Sadly, Dallas got a little less interesting lately:

Tile Samples

If you haven't had the opportunity to use the restroom in the Deep Ellum location of Baker's Ribs then you've missed out on some old school State Fair of Texas shout outs.  Here are some of the historic tiles you can find in the men's room that show off some of the retro themes of State Fairs past:

If you have the chance to relieve yourself in these surroundings I recommend picking up some ribs (or fried pies) while you're there.

High Noon

Downtown Grapevine, TX has loads of shops, restaurants and historic attractions.  As of 2012, they also have their own glockenspiel clock.  Instead of yodelers or cuckoos, this one has gun fighting and train robbing cowboys.  You can find the cowpokes making four daily appearances at the Cotton Belt Hotel Clock Tower (which is also home to the Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau):

There is more than one outcome to the gunfight so it may be different depending on when you see it.  Here's what we saw on a Saturday at High Noon: