The Great Texas Balloon Race

June 28th, 2010

There are a lot of neat events taking place all around East Texas and unfortunately Tyler cannot play host to all of them. While we’ve had our share of notable events and attractions this summer, we also share the spot light with the surrounding communities. From the Texas Shakespeare Festival held in Kilgore, to the Jacksonville Tomato Festival, the Piney Woods region of Texas is certainly full of activity.

Every year our sister city and sometimes genial rival Longview, holds an exciting and unique event called the called the Great Texas Balloon Race. Evidently the tradition first began in 1978 to mark the opening of the Longview Mall and has been held annually ever since. In 1985 the Governor of Texas, designated Longview, the balloon capital of Texas. Every year there is a series of events and attractions surrounding the race that help make it the huge event that it is and brings in visitors from all over the country. One very popular event is the Friday night balloon glow. Evidently balloons of all shapes and sizes are lit up, and put into the air. Ok, so I’m sure I’m not doing the event any of its due credit with this oh so vivid description, but it’s supposed to be really beautiful to watch. The fact that so many come to see the process tells me it must be quite the spectacle. Another oddity taking place this year is the Cluster Balloon flight. A pilot will be lifted into the air on a group of helium filled balloons. Why does this event interest me? And no, that’s not a rhetorical question, I’m really not sure. I think it has something to do with the Curious George story where George is whisked into the air by a bundle of helium balloons. Of course I have a number of personal hang-ups and or eccentricities that I suspect stem from my love of those books.

The Great Texas Balloon Race will be held at the East Texas Regional Airport in Longview, and covers three days, July thirtieth, thirty first, and the first of August. Concerts will be held the first two nights (Friday and Saturday), and the whole event ends Sunday evening. Advance tickets are twelve dollars, fifteen at the gate. Children under twelve are admitted free and admission is free for everyone all day Sunday. For more information on various events, or for a schedule and other info visit the website at http://greattexasballoonrace.com . It might not be happening in Tyler, but it promises to be a lot of fun!

Tags: Balloon Capital, Balloon Flight, Balloon Glow, Balloon Race, East Texas, east texas balloon race, east texas baloon race, Eccentricities, Governor Of Texas, Hang Ups, Helium Balloons, Helium Filled Balloons, Longview Mall, Notable Events, Piney Woods Region, Rhetorical Question, Shapes And Sizes, Sister City, Texas Shakespeare Festival, Tomato Festival, UPS, Vivid Description
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Ross Dress For Less

January 21st, 2010

Ross Dress For Less

4943 S Broadway Ave
Tyler TX
903 534 0027

Open M-S 9.30am-9.30pm
Sun 11-8pm

Ross is a great store for bargain hunters. Here you can find designer and brand name clothes for every member of your family at half the usual department store or boutique prices.

Come prepared to hunt though – in Tyler the word has got round that Ross has good deals and the clothes have often been rooted through by many a shopper and may not be in the right size aisle. The mess gets worse towards the end of the shopping day!

Ross has really nice baby items at low prices, perfect for baby gifts as well as for your own munchkin, and the shoe section is well worth looking through – especially for children’s sneakers. There is also a selection of lingerie and the maternity clothes are some of the best value and style I have seen.

They have great bags, purses and other accessories too, all at much reduced prices.

Fashions aren’t the only bargain. Ross has a wonderful home section. I love to browse in the kitchen area looking at the dinnerware, pots and pans and cookware. They carry such nice stuff! There are also good deals on seasonal items, baskets of various shapes and sizes, small items of furniture and pictures. If you are looking for a nice photo frame, Ross has a good selection. The price stickers come easily off the glass with nailpolish remover. Actually, there are quite a few nice gifty items for the home.

I have never personally braved the bedding, towel or drapery section but am sure there are bargains to be had there too. Oh and there are towels, lots of towels.

Ross is worth checking out if you need to buy a ‘man gift’ – there are lots of ideas and there are some good children’s toys and books too, though I have found that the boxes are often damaged which may give the wrong impression if you are buying a present for someone else’s kid.

The store itself is not very tidy or organized and you may wait in line at the check-out longer than you would like – especially at Christmas – but I guess this is one of the ways that Ross manages to make savings and offer items at lower than average prices. You may not take the carts out of the shop either so don’t park too far away if you’re planning on buying big items. One thing that does annoy me is that they don’t have automatic doors – I always have a stroller as well as my shopping bags and it always seems hard to get out of the shop! I guess that makes it rather inaccessible for the handicapped too.

All that to say, Ross is a great shop. They have new shipments at least every other day so if you like bargain hunting you’ll need to check back regularly frequently. Relax, there’s a Starbucks across the parking lot!
Oh, one final tip -look for the red tags – they are clearance prices.

Tags: Baby Items, Bargain Hunters, Brand Name Clothes, Broadway Ave, Drapery, Dress For Less Ross, Good Deals, Kitchen Area, Maternity Clothes, Munchkin, Nice Baby, Nice Photo, Nice Stuff, Photo Frame, Pots And Pans, Price Stickers, Ross, Ross Dress, Shapes And Sizes, Tyler TX, Wrong Impression
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Tyler Good Will

January 14th, 2010

Tyler Good Will is located on Loop 323 past Mercado’s on the other side of the street. This is one of their locations. I know they have another store located on Locust Street close to down town Tyler. I am sure we are all pretty familiar with Good Will and the other type of thrift stores around Tyler Texas. I know that there are many people including myself that consider Good Will a blessing.

Good Will charity works mostly by donations, this is how they get their stuff and they in turn sell it to the people for way less than other stores. This Tyler charity should sell these things for less because they are second hand things that people no longer want or need and want to help other people in some way or another. Good Will gives you a receipt that you can write off because you donated your belongings to them.

I truly enjoy going there because you can find some good stuff there. You have to spend time searching for things that you are looking for and that could be time consuming for some people. Most people go there and get frustrated because they spend all this time and find nothing. These people give up on places like Good Will and other stores like it because of lack of patience and the itch for digging for buried treasure.

The trick to this kind of shopping is to go back again and again and actually go through all their items instead of just quickly going threw some racks. They have clothes from all shapes and sizes and from different places. If you look closely you can find some very well known brands like, Hollister, Ambercrombie, Gap, Mossimo and others just to name a few.

I don’t always find name brand stuff but I always end up finding some really nice stuff. They also have shoes there. I can’t even remember how many times I have paid $1 dollar for a nice pair of shoes that were in excellent condition if not new. This winter I needed some new boots so I said a prayer and asked God to help me find a pair I could afford and Good Will was the place where I found them. I paid $ 7 dollars for a pair of black boots and I like them. I would say that it was worth a trip there.

I often also find stuff for my baby girl there. They have a pretty cute selection of children’s clothes and the good part about it is that I can still fit in some of them. They have books, pictures, furniture, house hold items, purses, and belts. I bet you could find almost anything there. And when the money is tight Good Will ends up being a good place to go if you don’t mind to shop at places like that. I know the Good Will charity has gotten a little more expensive here lately for a second hand store but for the most part I think its still worth it.

Tags: Ambercrombie, Belongings, Charity, Clothes, Different Places, Donations, Excellent Condition, Gap, Good Stuff, Good Will in Tyler TX, Hollister, Locust Street, Mossimo, New Boots, Nice Stuff, Patience, Prayer, Receipt, Shapes And Sizes, Thrift Stores, Tyler Good Will, Tyler Texas
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Tyler Ellis Mercantile

January 8th, 2010

Tyler Ellis Merchandise is located off Rt 31 going towards Chandler and it is on your left side. It is a used clothing store where you can go and find pretty nice clothes for very reasonable prices.

Of course, not everything they have there will you like. Think of it more like a treasure hunt. I usually have to go there over and over several times. And sometimes I find something and at other times I don’t. But for the most part I enjoy going and looking anyways.

Just a couple of months ago I found a very nice wool jacket for $7 dollar or so. I love it and its very cozy. They have movies there for very cheap and Cd’s. They range from $3 to $5 dollars a piece. They have different ranges of other stuff, like couches, shoes, kitchen supplies, jewelry. The other stuff isn’t that great for the price but if you want some good clothes and jeans this place can be a money saver.

Baby clothes for teens and adults of all shapes and sizes are also available here. The people are very friendly and are always ready to help you find the things that you are looking for. Men if you are working in construction or anywhere outside and, you are looking for carpenter pants or overalls…this is the place where you will find some.

For Christmas I went there to find my husband some pants and they had plenty of them. So if you don’t mind taking the time to go out there and look through all their stuff then I would suggest you go and check it out. You never know exactly what you might find there.

To me its like a thrift place. The clothes seem to be in very good condition. Also, if you are looking for baby stuff like high chairs, a crib, or a car seat they will usually have these things. Hey sometimes they have these baby items and much more.

Everybody knows that money is hard to come by and every dime you save counts for something. I appreciate being able to go to stores like this, because it suits my budget and my style. Not to lead you astray I don’t always find something I like.

Sometimes I go home empty handed but for me it was still worth it because I got to leave the house and get a break from life and shop at the same time. You can’t beat that. We all know that with the way our economy is going we need all the help we can get on saving money.

So if wearing second hand clothes does not bother you. I would go and try it out and see if you can find something to your liking. The worst thing that could happen is that you go home empty handed.

Tags: Adults, Baby Clothes, Baby Items, Baby Stuff, Car Seat, Carpenter Pants, Clothing Store, Couches, High Chairs, Jeans, Jewelry, Kitchen Supplies, Money Saver, Overalls, Several Times, Shapes And Sizes, Taking The Time, Treasure Hunt, Tyler Tx used jeans, used clothing Tyler tx, Very Reasonable Prices, Wool Jacket
Posted in Clothing | No Comments »

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