Actually, these bluebonnet days were captured during early April, the high-point of the bluebonnet season. My girls and I take a yearly romp down to Ennis, which is titled “The Bluebonnet Capital of Texas.”
Ennis is a cute little town that has its roots in the Czech colonies that were some of the earliest here in Texas. There are still some flavors of that early culture, particularly in the form of antiques, gift shops, and restaurants. 
The Kolache Depot comes to mind. But the place isn’t only steeped in the past. Though still a small town, society has moved in with upscale stores and chain restaurants. Yet it keeps its charm.
T
his year’s bluebonnet crop was a little on the disappointing side. We actually made the trip to Ennis twice. Both times, a week apart, showed the same result, about half of the plants blooming. 
Though the area was pretty, it wasn’t the breath-taking sight that it often is. This butterfly photo is from a few years ago. Seriously, the entire landscape was blue.
In years past, we’d been blessed to find the fields full and the hills brimming with blue. This year, we had some different treasures. We rounded a corner and found a small herd of deer lazily breakfasting by the road side.
And the antics of the longhorns—who would have thought such huge beasts had “antics”—had us in hysterics. But then we always find plenty of things to laugh about. Animals, strange signs, our own reactions to the things we see.
Laughter is our general response to most stimuli whether from the photos we’ve taken or our own zany behavior like baaing at goat herds. I guess it’s part of our upbringing or personality makeup.
The trait makes for some wonderful memories though. Like the trip where we suggested perfect first names for the sheriff candidate from a sign that was hooked to a barbed wire fence at one of the crossroads. Ha! We settled on Dewey, Howie, or Al!
Your Turn: Have you taken a spontaneous road trip? What was your favorite memory from it?
Marji Laine 