Texarkana Trip 2026 - Day 6 (Houston - Victoria, TX)

Day 6 - While planning this vacation, we knew we may run in to extra time - possibly an extra day. We held loosely to our initial plans, knowing that some things could take longer than anticipated (we really wanted to take time to enjoy the places we visited along the way). While we looked ahead to Day 6 (while at the hotel at the end of Day 5), we looked at the stops we had planned and the time allotted. We didn't need to be in Dallas until Friday night, so we had 3 days to figure out. A plan was put together and it looked like we were going to fit in all the stops we wanted to get to . . . and a few that weren't on the agenda to begin with! We were pretty excited!

We made a quick stop in Katy, TX at the Igloo warehouse to see the fun guard shack.

From Katy, we drove north to Huntsville to visit Sam Houston's final resting place. As we came in to Huntsville, we were greeted by this 67-foot statue of Sam Houston (A Tribute to Courage by David Adickes, whose work we had just seen in Houston). We stopped at the visitor center and walked out to the Texas-sized statue. 

Houston is synonymous with Texas and its history - he was the President of the Republic of Texas, Leader of the Texas Revolution and Governor of Texas. 

We also visited Oakwood Cemetery where Houston is buried. What an impressive monument! Houston is buried by himself at this spot. Two of his children are buried nearby. Margaret, Sam's wife, is not buried here. She died from Yellow Fever a few years after Sam's death and had to be immediately buried because of the disease. She is buried next to her mother in Independence, TX. 

Famous last words spoken before Sam passed - "Texas! Margaret, Texas!" (his 2 great loves) and then he asked his son-in-law to bring him an American flag so he could "die under its folds". 

We grabbed lunch in Huntsville and then headed west to College Station - home of Texas A&M and the George H.W. Bush Library. 

It was fun to walk around some of the A&M campus (near Kyle Field). We found these larger than life (Texas-sized, right?) class rings and enjoyed Aggie Park.

From Aggie Park, we headed to the George H.W. Bush Library & Museum, which is on the grounds of Texas A & M.

It was overcast with a chance of rain showers, so we chose to walk the grounds first, while it was dry. We enjoyed walking around the pond, through Barbara's rose garden and to the the family gravesite (George H.W., Barbara and their daughter, Robin (who died at the age of 3 from Leukemia) are all buried here). 

From here, we went inside the museum. We spoke with a volunteer (we didn't have a lot of time before they would close for the day) and decided to visit The Pavilion (next door to the museum) to see the exhibits there. It was a great suggestion! We enjoyed seeing the George Bush Train (Union Pacific Locomotive No. 4141) and Marine One (now retired helicopter that transported President Bush). 

The Union Pacific Locomotive No. 4141 was unveiled during a ceremony in 2005. It was done as a surprise to former President Bush, who was an avid lover of everything trains! It was touching to watch the videos of President Bush as he "drove" the train - he was much like a child in a candy shop! In 2018, No. 4141 had the ultimate honor or delivering the former president back to College Station as it lead the funeral train home.

From College Station, we headed south (45 minutes) to Brenham - Home to Blue Bell Creameries (THE ice cream of the south!) We were hopeful to arrive before the Ice Cream Parlor and Country Store closed for the day. We really wanted to sample the yumminess! Unfortunately, we arrived too late, but we did enjoy walking around the outside of the building. 

Century Tree seedling (from the campus of Texas A&M) was given to Blue Bell Creameries in 2012. There are superstitions and local lore in regards to those who walk under the Century Tree.

We were able to locate a local shop in Brenham that sold Blue Bell ice cream. While we would've enjoyed seeing the ice cream parlor and country store, we were thrilled to find a place to get a taste of it (and it didn't disappoint!!).

We located a hotel in Victoria, TX - 2 hours south of Brenham. We decided to drive TX 237 outside of Burton. Unknowingly, we made a wonderful decision! This stretch of road was so beautiful with lots of fun things to see along the drive. We drove through the town of Round Top and saw this building as we sat at a stop sign. We both commented on the beautiful, old building and decided to stop to walk around the square. This impromptu stop ended up being our favorite stop for the day!

Round Top was founded in 1826 and has a current population of 90! The name Round Top came from the white house with the "round" top (the building that we saw when we were at the stop sign), where the postmaster lived. Twice a year, Round Top is host to an antique fair - during this 2 week time, the town of 90 swells to over 100,000 people! Hard to imagine...And I'm so glad we didn't arrive in Round Top during that time!

Side note - we didn't have a clue about Round Top nor the antiques fair when we stopped. Even as we read the history of the town, nothing was mentioned about its popularity. You can imagine our shock as we walked further into town (which is less than 1 square mile!) and saw the quaint shops and touristy things.

We walked around the town square, admiring the building and reading the history of Round Top. As I crossed the street to take a picture of this tree, I heard water. I wasn't sure what I would find . . . but it wasn't this!

We really loved our time in Round Top - we weren't there long, maybe 30 minutes - but we were so surprised by what we found. It was so beautiful and unexpected.

We stopped at Whataburger for a very late dinner (what a fun topping to the table) and then finished our drive to the hotel in Victoria. 

Favorites From Day 6:

Matt: Round Top

Becki: Round Top