Things That Are/Are Not Bigger in Texas

My friend Anna and I entering the Lone Star State

Greetings from Friola, Texas.  According to the saying, everything is bigger here.  After a few days in the state, it's time to evaluate the stereotype.

Things that were bigger:

-The shoulders on the highway.  This was nice for us cyclists, as the trucks on the highway also seemed much larger.

-Dairy farms.  I was lucky enough to tour the High Plains Dairy, where I saw a rotating milking carousel that held 72 cows at a time.  The dairy produces 46,000 gallons of milk per day.

-The crickets.  Seriously, they were huge.

-The "Welcome to Texas" sign.  Without a doubt the biggest state sign we've come across.  

-Soft drinks.  A normal soda in a restaurant is a 24-32 ounce monstrosity that would make Michael Bloomberg would throw a conniption fit. 

-Steaks.  My friend Josh attempted to complete the steak challenge at the Big Texan Steakhouse, which requires participants to eat 4 1/2 pounds of steak, a baked potato, side salad, and shrimp cocktail in under an hour.  He nearly did it too.

Things that were not bigger:

-Towns.  Aside from Amarillo, the towns we have been staying in had 1,000-4,000 residents.

My friend Josh valiantly ate
61 ounces of a 72 ounce steak
in Amarillo.

-Standard weights and measures.  These are pretty much the same everywhere.

-French fry portions.  What was the deal with that?

-Salads.  I guess that was to be expected.

-Post offices.  These were tiny.  Their hours were shorter than expected as well.