Double Bayou Dance Hall

A few miles south of Anahuac in the African-American village of Double Bayou, "the Place," as it's known locally, is a ramshackle but friendly Texas original set amid swampy, Spanish moss-draped live oak woodlands near Trinity Bay. Bluesman Pete Mayes and members of his family have owned and operated this hyperfunky juke joint -- the oldest blues bar in Texas -- since the 1940s. Mayes hosts big parties here on special occasions and some holiday weekends -- at these events, the musicians cook up T-Bone Walker-style blues on stage, while outside on the front lawn, local men in cowboy duds smoke brisket and local women offer homemade pecan, lemon meringue and sweet potato pies.