Road Trip for Texas Topaz Leads to a Nerf War

Recently,  I went with my family on a road trip to Mason Texas. It's a small town in the Texas Hill Country. It sits north of San Antonio and just east of Koockville. You may ask what's in Mason Texas that you would drive seven hours to see? The short answer is topaz.

Don't get the wrong idea I don't know anything about geology. Nothing, nada, zip, zilch. I haven't identified a rock correctly since the eighth grade. Even then I probably got a C on the assignment. Rockhounds my family and I are not.

While driving out there we worried that it would be hot. It was. There might be rattlesnakes. We each signed a release and I carried a shovel with me everywhere we went. We found lizards but no rattlesnakes. I thought we might get to try kayaking on the lazy Guadalupe river. We didn't.

Mason's claim to fame is it's the topaz capital of Texas. We trekked into town and found a delightful throw back community. Complete with broad streets, presumably so a horse drawn wagon can turn around, and the courthouse located in the middle of the town square.

A lot of the town's architecture has original tin covered ceilings. Neat! There's the Odeon Theater of Mason. It was built in 1928 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Cool!

We went into the general store and found Brent Hinckley the proprietor and mayor. He was a big fan of Mason. He told us everything we wanted to know about Mason including that it was the birthplace of Fred Gipson who wrote the Newbery Honor winning novel Old Yeller and Savage Sam among others.

I spied Nerf swords while talking to the mayor. I bought all he had and thanked the good mayor for the conversation. Then I armed my kids and my nephews and quickly attacked them. The melee spilled onto the broad streets and the town square.

We fought our way to PJ's Ice Cream and Soda Fountain. Once inside the Battle of Mason ended. PJ's had a shiney 1940's era soda fountain! Wow! Drinks for everyone! We saw the mayor again he waved and said he was glad to see we enjoyed his town. We really did.

In the end we didn't find topaz. We didn't see rattlesnakes. We didn't kayak. We found a friendly community with a unique history. The road trip helped us bond as a family, which was the real goal anyway. By the way we saw Pirates of the Caribbean at the packed out Odeon Theater. So, kudos to Mason Texas  a pretty great place were everyone has fun.