Thursday evening I booked into a local inn in order to experience Mineola, a charming town with many antique stores. The first evening I was the only guest at the inn. I'm in the Cowan Room which along with the rest of the house and garden has been exquisitely decorated for Christmas. Breakfast is served downstairs and they'd laid it up beautifully for my first morning. They serve Beignet coffee from a Louisiana Roastery. It tastes (and smells) slightly toasty with hints of chocolate. A very interesting flavour that you can't quite place. Ashlee and Brett prepared a parfait followed by French toast with blueberries. Delicious and unusual breakfast fare. I explored the shops and cafés of Mineola, perusing the antique stores and vintage clothes outlets which seem to have an aroma all of their own.

Everyone is so friendly. I've been told so many times 'I love your accent'. I reply that I love theirs too. As I stopped to take a picture of an old red locomotive outside the Amtrak Station a guy nipped out of a shop (with steamed up windows, so I hadn't noticed it), and said 'shelter from the cold in here as we are open'. They had set up a pop-up shop for the Christmas parade weekend. Local crafts people were displaying all wares Christmas-themed. They were burning lanterns as there was no electricity in the store. I tell you it was a cold cold day and so the respite from the icy biting weather was very welcome. One of the vendors (a rancher who makes fancy leather belts) had just returned from Zambia where he'd spent five weeks helping dig water wells for a village. They all seemed interested in my travels as well. People seem surprised that you'd travel around the States on your own. I tell them that it's fine. The only thing I've gulped at, is, when I've had to catch the only train of the day, from a station in the middle of no where, at 3am, but aside from that, it's been great!

I stopped for a bite to eat at Kitchen & Hardware, an eatery with an identity crisis. Yes, it's a cafe and a hardware store! An historic hangover I believe. My hot chocolate and veggie burger went down well, plus another compliment about my accent! I then went to Tastebuds for a post-lunch coffee. The barista was surprised that I only wanted a regular latte, not one with a whole bunch of flavourings and syrups. I've noticed the Texans do like their coffees sweet and topped up with caramel, vanilla, buttered pecan, etc. No up-selling opportunity with me, but the coffee was good, especially as it was nice and warm in the coffee house. In the evening, Carol and L1 (her eldest daughter) collected me from the Munzesheimer around 4pm. We met her Aunt Kay and Uncle Steve at Chili, a restaurant on the highway at Lindale. We were able to eat and chat ahead of watching L1 in a theatre production of 'the best Christmas pageant ever'. It was good to see so many locals support the community production. It had some funny moments and all the kids did really well on their opening night (as did the adults too - Lanette, Hayley).

Yesterday, there were more people at the inn for breakfast. We all sat round the large dining table drinking cranberry juice and beignet coffee. Ashlee and Brett served an iced berry parfait, followed by a warm apple cake with cinnamon butter. Once again fresh, unusual and very tasty! The four other guests were from Houston, here to visit the antique market at Canton and visit Mineola for the Christmas parade and home tours, where historic houses open their doors to the public to raise money for charity and link-in with the Christmas festivities.

After breakfast, I decided to venture up the main road to Brookshires on Pacific, a mid-size out of town supermarket. You take your life in your hands when walking here. They just don't walk, and the fact that the pavement ran out and was intermittent is proof of why. So I walked in the drainage area, stepping off the road when trucks and cars trundled past. It was biting cold, so, when I saw the Golden Arches, I nipped into McDonalds for a latte to warm up. Did I mention, it was bitingly cold! Brrrr. I thought Texas would be warm and that I could discard my winter clothes. How wrong was I! Once thawed out, I then walked over to Brookshires. It was fun seeing all the fresh produce and perusing the shelves. They even sell cactus leaves (prickles and all) in the vegetable section. I stocked up on some snacks and salad items for later (but none of the prickly variety), then walked back to Mineola, this time on an adjacent back road which had no sidewalk at all. Still, I survived, and even met another man who was walking. I think he was surprised to see someone else out and about walking.

I met Carol, Lanette and Hayley for lunch at Tastebuds where they were able to custom make me a veggie wrap with cheese, avocado and salad. It's been fun meeting and chatting to people here in East Texas. The theatre is a great connector for them. In the evening I made myself a salad of broccoli, fresh peas, tomatoes, cranberries, pecans, cheese, avocado and ranch dressing, all purchased during my earlier trip to Brookshires. For entertainment, I watched the movie Jack Reacher on my iPad. Another good day notched up here in Texas.

Today (Sunday) for breakfast, I was served a miniature warmed granola parfait followed by honey sweetened pumpkin porridge. A new taste sensation. There were seven at the inn and we were able to compare notes on our weekend experiences. Everyone was friendly and full of southern charm. They had all done the home tours and viewed the spectacular Christmas decorations around town. Here at Munzesheimer, they had two hundred visitors yesterday.

Most of my day was spent working out the next section of my trip to Plano in North Dallas. There have been freak ice storms, freezing over all surfaces in sight and cutting power to many houses. Carol and her kids had planned to take me tomorrow via David's workplace (a fire station) in North Dallas, but I decided it's too dangerous, especially as freezing fog is headed this way. So, I've booked the morning train and a hotel (which was tougher than you'd think as Dallas is full). I'm hoping by Tuesday I'll be able to see my friends in Plano. They are currently housebound and had a 37 hour power outage (which has luckily finished, with power finally being restored today I believe)! Ashlee, the inn owner, has been so helpful with suggestions on accommodation and transport options. Brett and her worked in the Dallas hotel industry until three months ago before they bought the Munzesheimer. Their dog Jackson, a mastif pott, along with their newly adopted puppy, Franklin (of the same variety) kept us amused while we googled and phoned around.

So, overnight, I'm hoping there isn't any more freak weather and that I can travel okay and make it to uptown Dallas. Who knew that I'd be uttering Texas and ice in the same sentence! I may even get to wear, well... have to wear the ice grip boot protectors my parents bought me. I've been to Washington DC, Canada and Minneapolis, where I thought I might have used them, but no... it could well be in Dallas, Texas that they get their first use. Still, it will have made carrying them through twenty four states (and two countries) worth while!

My flickr page has been updated. http://goo.gl/IxXqSx