Point #20: Texan Shopping

To obtain this point: One must have a Texan shopping experience.
- The best way to obtain this point is to go to San Marcos Outlet mall. It has 9 million visitors a year- that is roughly the size of the Dallas and Houston Metro areas together. It is also the 3rd most visited Texas site. However, the most important fact about San Marcos Outlet malls is that it was ranked the 3rd best place to shop in the US by The View (Whoopie and Barbara Walters are never wrong!).

Where people shop is always and interesting window into the kind of people that live in that area. Do people go to a Walmart SuperCenter, farmers market, flea market, a huge Galleria mall, or local boutique. Because there are so many interesting places in Texas to shop, I'll have to limit this a little bit.

Here are some other thoughts:
1) Dallas Farmer's Market- It's the largest farmer's market in Texas. Go to smell in the good vibes and the fresh produce.
2) South Congress Austin- Trendy and swanky collection of boutiques that have good prices and interesting people. Go on one of the first Thursdays for street entertainers and music.
3) Trader's Village (Houston and Grand Prairie)- They advertise themselves as a Texas-sized marketplace. It is the largest flea market in Texas (5000 vendors and 100 acres) and has a festival atmosphere over the weekend.
4) Grocery stores of note:
- Whole Foods in Austin- it started there and represents a lot of what makes Austin unique.
- HEB Kerrville- I've never been here, but HEB was started in Kerrville by CC Butt over 100 years ago.
5) Behemoth Mega Malls- Like the old saying that 'everything is bigger in Texas', the Galleria complexes in Houston and Dallas are perfect examples of this.

Enjoy Texas and if you are visiting...spend lots of money!