cassian brooks author at My Family Travels
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This Old-School Texas Steakhouse Still Cooks Ribeyes Over An Open Flame

Some steakhouses try to feel classic. This one clearly decided to actually be classic. Inside the smell of steak over an open...

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This Vintage Texas Amusement Park Has Been Welcoming Families For Nearly 100 Years

Some places are built for thrills. Others are built for memories. Just steps from San Antonio Zoo sits a tiny amusement park...

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Dine Underwater At This Ocean-Themed Restaurant In Texas With Sharks And Rays Gliding By

There are restaurants you visit for the food, and then there are restaurants you visit because they feel like stepping into another world entirely.

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This Texas Treehouse Stay Is Straight Out Of A Childhood Dream

I still remember the feeling when I first spotted those treehouses perched among the towering cypress trees along River Road. They looked exactly like something I would have sketched...

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A Drive-Through Safari Ranch Right In The Heart Of Texas

Seeing zebras and longhorns in the same pasture is not something I expected to check off in Central Texas, but that is exactly what happened at Topsey Exotic Ranch & Park....

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11 Texas Brunch Spots Locals Try Not to Reveal Until You Ask

I've spent enough time driving through Texas to know that the best food rarely announces itself with flashy signs or tourist buzz. The brunch spots locals actually visit tend to...

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This Texas Diner Is Loaded With Homestyle Favorites And Locals Hope It Stays Under The Radar

A packed parking lot before 8 AM usually tells you everything you need to know. Mama's Daughters' Diner has that kind of early-morning pull.

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A Tiny Texas Town With a Historic Square and Local Festivals

Some towns barely register as you pass through. Cuero makes you slow down and take a second look. With a population of around...

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This Texas Barbecue Institution Locals Can’t Live Without

Lockhart has a way of announcing itself before you even park. The faint scent of smoke hangs in the air, and it naturally leads straight to Kreuz Market on North Colorado Street.

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This Remote Texas State Natural Area Has Some Of The Clearest Water In The State

There are easy parks, and then there is Devil's River State Natural Area. This is the kind of place that makes you double-check your gas tank and accept that your phone is about...

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12 Texas Date Spots That Feel Hidden From the Crowd

Texas is huge, which should make finding a romantic spot easy, and yet somehow it feels harder than it should. I got tired of places where you spend more time dodging crowds than...

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This Easy Texas Hike Delivers Views You Would Never Expect for the Effort

I was expecting a quick, easy walk and maybe a decent view or two, not the kind of scenery that makes you stop mid-trail and double-check where you are. Cedar Ridge Preserve sits...

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This Texas Hill Country Town Feels Peaceful Even on Busy Weekends

There is something about Johnson City, Texas that slows you down the moment you cross into town. The air feels different here, a little warmer, a little quieter, like the Hill...

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Texas Hole-in-the-Wall Burger Shack That Serves a Patty Melt Locals Swear Is the Best Bite in the State

Blanco Road stays busy, but Chris Madrid's has a presence you notice right away. The colorful exterior, steady crowd, and hum of conversation spilling outside make it clear this...

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The Homemade Tortillas At This Texas Spot Are Drawing Praise From Locals

There are meals you forget by the next morning, and then there are meals that stick with you for weeks. Walking into Lupe Tortilla on Southwest Freeway in Houston, I had no idea...

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This Texas Farmers Market Is a Weekend Ritual for Fresh Produce and Local Treats

Sunday mornings in Austin have a certain kind of magic, and I found mine at the Texas Farmers' Market at Mueller. The smell of fresh-baked bread drifting through the open air hit...

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This Family-Run Texas Hole-in-the-Wall Serves Tamales That Sell Out Before Lunch

There are some places you hear about before you ever set foot in a city, and Delia's Tamales in McAllen, Texas is absolutely one of them.

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The Biggest Weekend Flea Market Adventure In Texas With Hundreds Of Vendors

There is something electric about arriving at a flea market before the sun has fully warmed the sky, and 77 Flea Market in Brownsville, Texas does not disappoint on that front....

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These Texas Indian Restaurant Are the Real Deal According to Locals

I've always believed that the best way to understand a place is through its food, and Texas has surprised me more than once with its incredible Indian restaurant scene. From Houston's...

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This Tiny Texas Town Blends Polka, History, And Charm Like Nowhere Else

Somewhere between Houston and Austin, tucked along the banks of the Colorado River, La Grange sits quietly like a secret the rest of Texas has been keeping. I stumbled into this...

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The Texas Smokehouse Serving Brisket Folks Cross Counties For

I'd heard the whispers about Pecan Lodge long before I ever made it to Deep Ellum, stories about brisket so tender it barely needed teeth and lines that stretched around the block...

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This Hidden Texas Market Feels Like a Secret Only Locals Share

The smell of fresh cilantro and ripe strawberries hit me before I even made it past the entrance at The Cedar Market Ranch. Within seconds, it felt less like a grocery run and...

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This Texas Restaurant Is So Good Locals Secretly Hope You Don’t Find It

Some meals feel like an event before you even sit down, and that is exactly how it felt pulling into Pickett House Restaurant at Heritage Village. The setting alone makes you pause...

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This Haunted Road Trip Through Texas Is Not For The Faint Of Heart

Texas stretches wide under endless skies, but beneath that openness lies a darker layer of history, one filled with restless spirits and unexplained phenomena.

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The Lemon Meringue At This Cafe In Texas Draws Sweet Tooths From Miles Away

Sometimes all it takes is one dessert to put a town on your radar, and for me, that was the lemon meringue pie at Texan Cafe & Pie Shop in Hutto. I walked in already thinking...

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Why This Tiny Texas Town Is One Of America’s Sweetest Surprises

I have driven through plenty of small Texas towns where you blink and suddenly you are past them. Castroville is not one of those places.

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This February, You Have to Try Out This Mexican Restaurant in Texas

Some of the best meals in Austin happen in places that do not try too hard to stand out, and El Jacalito is exactly that kind of spot. From the outside, it blends in with the rest...

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A Tiny Texas Town on I-10 Where History and Homemade Kolaches Go Hand in Hand

I wasn't planning to stop in Flatonia. Most people blow right past this little town on their way between Houston and San Antonio, maybe glancing at the exit sign before their foot...

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These Texas Forest Escapes Are Perfect to Discover This February

I remember the first time I stepped into a Texas forest in February, expecting dusty plains and wide-open skies, only to find myself surrounded by towering pines and trails that...

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This Underground Cave Restaurant in Texas Serves Great Food Worth the Adventure

The drive into Terlingua already feels unreal, like the landscape keeps stretching wider the farther you go. Somewhere between the desert silence and those massive skies, La Kiva...

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These Texas Restaurants Are So Secret, Even Some Locals Haven’t Tried Them Yet

I've spent enough time crisscrossing Texas to know that the best meals rarely come with billboards or Instagram fame. Some of the most unforgettable bites I've had were tucked...

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Over 600 Vendors Make This Texas Flea Market a Local Favorite for Vintage Hunting

I wasn't sure what to expect the first time I drove up to the Houston Flea Market on Southwest Freeway. The parking lot was already filling up before nine in the morning, and I...

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Only Texas Locals Know This Small Town Festival Beats All the Big City Fairs

I stumbled into Boerne on a Saturday morning without much of a plan, just following a tip from a friend who insisted I check out Market Days. Within minutes of parking near the...

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This Random Texas Restaurant Has Fried Chicken That Could Rival Anything You’ve Tried

I didn't expect much when I first pulled into the parking lot at Babe's Chicken Dinner House in Frisco. It sits tucked away on Page Street, looking more like a rustic roadhouse...

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Why Enchiladas at This Texas Restaurant Keep Drivers Coming Back

Matt’s El Rancho is one of those places Austin people mention like a given, as if everyone already knows. I went in thinking it would be solid, maybe overrated, and walked out...

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This Low-Key Texas Restaurant Has a Delicious Breakfast That Locals Stay Quiet About

Magnolia Cafe is one of those places Austin locals never really stop going to. Sitting on South Congress, it has been serving breakfast since the 1980s without chasing trends or...

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10 Offbeat Texas Destinations That Will Make You Question What You Know About the State

I thought I had Texas figured out until I started running into places that made absolutely no sense in the best way. Castles where you least expect them, ghost towns that feel...

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Texas Hill Country Retreats That Feel Made for Spring Escapes

I still remember the first time I rolled down the windows somewhere past San Marcos, letting that Hill Country air rush in. It smelled different out there, like cedar and wildflowers...

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The Hidden Texas Tex-Mex Spots Only Locals Know

I stopped trusting Tex-Mex lists the moment I realized the best meals never come from the places tourists line up for. The real spots are quieter, a little harder to notice, and...

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10 Texas Restaurants That Look Sketchy but Serve Incredible Food

Texas taught me early that looks mean nothing when it comes to food. Some of the best meals I have ever had came from places that made me hesitate before opening the door.

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10 Texas Towns Locals Say Are Quietly Dying

Texas loves to brag about growth, and to be fair, some cities just keep getting bigger and louder every year. But once I started driving past the highways and headline towns, I...

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This Texas Small Town Locals Say Is Quietly Thriving

Granbury surprised me in the best way. You know how some small towns look charming but feel empty once you start walking around? This...

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8 Texas Festivals That Are Weirder Than You’d Expect

Texas knows how to throw a party, but not all of them involve cowboys, rodeos, or barbecue competitions. Some celebrations in the Lone Star State take a turn toward the truly unexpected,...

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This Texas Town Is Loved by Visitors but Locals Are Over It

South Padre Island sits at the southernmost tip of Texas, where the Gulf of Mexico meets endless stretches of white sand and calm turquoise waters.

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This Underrated Texas Museum Let’s You Explore Human Body

I did not expect to have this much fun learning about the human body, but that is exactly what happened at The Health Museum in Houston. This is not a place where you read plaques...

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A Tiny Texas Spot Serving What Some Call America’s Best Tacos

Tucked away in a downtown Austin alleyway, Taqueria De Diez has earned a reputation that stretches far beyond Texas. Travelers from California to New York hunt down this hidden...

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A Texas Car Museum So Cool You’ll Want to Make the Trip

Fort Worth, Texas, is home to one of the most unexpected treasures in the Lone Star State: the DFW Car & Toy Museum, located at 2550 McMillan Parkway.

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Texas Antique Stores People Accidentally Spend Hours In

Walking into a Texas antique store with a quick 15-minute plan sounds reasonable until you glance at your watch and realize three hours have mysteriously vanished.

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11 Texas Restaurants Serving Dishes So Good People Come Back Weekly

Texas has always been a place where food is more than just a meal. It's a tradition, a gathering point, and a reason to celebrate life with every single bite.

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This Texas Border Town Has One of the Most Underrated Food Scenes in the State

Laredo sits right on the Texas-Mexico border, where the Rio Grande winds through dusty landscapes and the air smells like fresh tortillas every morning.

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