My Christmas marathon continues this weekend – the two hour drive to Goliad for Miss Ruby’s Book Corral, as part of Christmas on the Square. I am loosing track of how many times we have done this event, but it must be about the forth or fifth time. I can’t even remember how I got onto it in the first place, although attending a talk about a local archeological dig in Beeville a while ago might have had something to do with it.

Goliad is a charming little town, with the courthouse square at the heart of it. I am pretty certain that everyone knows each other in passing, and if they don’t, then they have friends in common. The city streets in the old part of town are studded with huge, ancient oak trees, which were so treasured that the streets sometimes go around them. Santa arrives promptly at noon on Saturday, riding on a tame (and probably heavily sedated longhorn) and accompanied by a posse of cowboys.

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It is one of the handful of towns in Texas which were settled before 1800, and the current shale oil boom has been extremely kind to the local area. The first year that we drove down for it, it seemed like the countryside was more or less deserted, and all the little towns along the way were half boarded up and deserted. Not so last year – they were booming, with the storefronts occupied, and new petrochemical installations and mancamps everywhere. But looking at the weather forecast, it looks like it’s going to be briskly cold for the next few days, which is OK, because it’s a little embarrassing, having to wear shorts and run the AC in December.

One more event – and then I can relax and enjoy Christmas!