TAYLOR

I picked up a brochure in Taylor titled "The Central Texas Blacklands Antiques Guide," which provided me with the name of the store in Circleville and some other information, including the following, which I've copied verbatim off the front of the brochure:

"The Blacklands east of Austin were first inhabited by Indians more than 8000 years ago. the verdant valleys and flowing streams provided an excellent habitat for both man and beast. For 400 years, explorers crossed this fertile land admiring its beauty. But it was the great wave of immigrants who finally tamed the land and left a rich legacy of diverse culture."

Thank god for the great wave. Amusingly, the streets of Taylor were being patrolled by the Border Police when I was there, so I'd guess we're not as excited about the immigrants as we used to be.

Other than that, though, I found Taylor not to be a bad place. A few antique stores, and some incredibly good (and somewhat famous) barbecue spots; in fact, Taylor often bills itself as the barbecue capitol of the world, although I'm sure there are other towns that would argue this. I recommend Louie Mueller's in Taylor, but the fact is, so does everybody else. I hear there is other really good eating around there, including the Taylor Café, which was crowded with locals even at odd hours.

My last real estate note: You can buy a huge historic home that has already been renovated into a B&B in Taylor for $286,000. Commercial kitchen, jacuzzi suites, the works. It's the Mr. & Mrs. Jack Melasky mansion, built in 1890. Sorry, due to shoddy research, I have no idea who these people were, but it's a big ol' place, and, once again, it's only about a half-hour or 45 minutes from Dell.

That doesn't smell a thing like barbeque.