Between Kerrville and Comfort: 
Kerrville is a country town. Nobody is ever going to arrive in the ‘Ville and think “wow, this is like a smaller San Francisco.” However, a quick 10 minutes drive south and you reach the epicenter of redneck. It’s like the infield of a NASCAR race without the track, or the cars, just the people.
Center Point is where my grandparents live (in a tiny oasis of decent homes), and where my dad went to high school. Describing Center Point is to describe the essence of hickdom. Let’s put it this way, (keep in mind THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED.) I knew a person who was having car trouble (and no it wasn’t me) and they needed a rather expensive new part for their car. Well they didn’t have the money, but they’re pretty good at cleaning house and various other chores. Another person needed a lot of work done at their house because they never had time to do it because he was always working or dealing with the cattle that he was taking care of. And as it turns out the auto repair shop owner was wanting to buy a calf (for Charley, a calf is a baby cow.) So in something straight out of a western movie, we had, in the year 2007 a three way trade off. Person 1 got livestock, person 2 got new car parts, and person 3 got goods and services rendered. Even better, nobody thought this trade was out of the ordinary. Also, when i was about 14 I drove a tractor (not a lawn mower, but an actual tractor) all the way through town with a tree stump chained to the front end loader, and nobody even gave me a second look.
Center Point has exactly 1 stop light, which they don’t really need, and one convenient store (which is to CP what HEB is to Kerrville.) It’s also home to the buckin’ chute saloon, which if I’m here for very long, I owe it to you readers to go check out.
So there it is, it’s not really that funny, it just… is.
Final Count: Center Point
- Kerrville Popularity: 1/5
- Potential for death: 3/5 (a shootout or rogue tractor could be coming at any point)
- Odds of running into people you don’t want to see: 1/5
- Level of desire to go back (except to see my grandparents) 0/5
Overall ‘Ville Entertainment Level - 1/5, however this number goes up exponentially during the Center Point Volunteer Fire Department Chili Cook Off / CPISD Class Reunion and Parade weekend.
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Swap Shop…or something better?
Someone pointed out to me, that while making this blog, I should also point out some of the finer things the ‘Ville has to offer. Out of fairness to the ‘Ville, I agree. So along with the hole in society that is Center Point, I’m including one of Kerrville’s more glorious sites. The Swap Shop. I know what you’re thinking, “Aubrey, what in God’s name…?” Well, it’s exactly what it sounds like. It is a swap shop, where you can go in and sell your crap, or buy other people’s crap. However, at the same time, it is also a burger joint. That’s right people, you can order a double meat with grilled onions and jalapeños burger, and then go sit on a 50 year old couch, or watch a 24 inch tv set, or jam to some 8tracks (for real). Or, even better, you can go to the back room and play pool on one of many old pool tables for sale. And, if you really like said table, you can purchase it along with another order of Fries (again, really). AND, if you really like the stove the food was cooked on, you can probably buy that as well. Me and some friends discovered this hidden jewel by accident one time, and it continues to be a fairly well kept secret even amongst the people of the ‘Ville. Again, this is not a cafe meant to look like a swap shop. Nor is it a swap shop that serves light refreshments. It’s the full on off spring of a pawn shop and a roadside diner.
Final Count: The Swap Shop
- Kerrville Popularity: 2/5
- Potential for death: 1/5
- Odds of running into people you don’t want to see: 1/5
- Level of desire to go back (except to see my grandparents) 5/5
Overall ‘Ville Entertainment Level - 4/5, it doesn’t get much better than the Swap Shop
Some Blog Notes - Rumors of weekend mischief have been confirmed so stay tuned, this should be good. Also the Kerr County Fair is in two weekends. I feel like I owe to you people to go and photo-blog the event. Also, both the Kerrville Chamber of Commerce (@KerrvilleTX) and the Kerrville Daily Times (@Kerrville) have twitter accounts, so for my Kerrville readers, enjoy.
