Friends Patty Swanson and Laura Stufflebam are not only new acquaintences, they're new to the East Texas area, too. Patty moved from Minnesota to Longview to work at LeTourneau University, while Laura moved from Illinois to Longview to do the same. Since last summer, their friendship has blossomed and so has their love for "tripping" all over the Piney Woods.
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Patty Swanson and Laura Stufflebam
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Because they want to explore their new surroundings, every so often they make plans to visit a nearby hotspot. In October, they took a ride over to historic Jefferson and had a day's worth of fun (and a little excitement)!
Patty had done a little research on this one-time "Riverport to the Southwest," and she knew exactly what the girls would be doing for the day. What she didn't expect to encounter was a bike rally which brought in more than 30,000 bikers to this sleepy town of less than 3,000 residents: It was the annual Boo Benefit Motorcycle Rally, a three-day bike rally to raise money for burn survivors.
As the ground vibrated and streets echoed with a deep rumble from the bikes, Patty and Laura finally found a place to park on the streets of downtown Jefferson.
They made their way over to the "haunted" Excelsior Hotel to see what all the fuss was about. Unfortunately, the rooms were all occupied so the tour was ended before it even began. They shrugged it off and walked across the street to the Atlanta Jay Gould's Private Rail Car Museum. There, the girls toured a rail car that once belonged to Jay Gould, a leading American railroad developer and speculator.
After that, they decided it was time to feed their tummies. They went to a popular eatery — a downtown pie shop. The place was packed with bikers and other Jefferson wanderers, so they shared a table with a couple of locals as they ate their delicious burgers and heavenly slices of pie.
Once they were sufficiently stuffed, they took a tour at Scarlett O'Hardy's Gone With the Wind museum where they saw a massive collection of the movie's memorabilia, from life-size mannequins of Scarlett and Rhett to a pair of original seats from Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta, site of Gone With the Wind's 1939 world premiere.
Before they left Jefferson, they walked the streets a bit longer to take in the scenery of beautiful historic homes, eclectic knick-knack shops, amazing antique shops and more. The girls made their way home after a long Saturday of fun, and are already planning their next East Texas adventure.
