- The "Daytripper" is made possible by Rudy's, real Texas barbecue.

Shipping nationwide at rudys.com.

Karbach Brewing Company from Houston, Texas, makers of Karbach Lager, a beer that is proudly partnered with Don't Mess with Texas, please dispose responsibly.

Visit Georgetown, where big ideas meet small town charm.

Georgetown, the most beautiful town square in Texas.

Texas Farm Bureau Insurance, protection and peace of mind for Texans since 1952.

Don Hewlett Chevrolet Buick in Georgetown.

Making Texas road trips possible for over 50 years.

Don Hewlett Chevrolet Buick, Texas True.

Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages, Texas' local bottler providing the Lone Star state with a variety of Coca-Cola products.

(rock music) - Now, I'll trip anywhere if there's a reason.

Great swimming hole?

I'm there.

Some history?

Let's go.

An amazing chicken fried steak?

I'm all in.

But if you take all these things, mix 'em up, bake 'em in a pie, well then you better buckle up because I'm already in the truck and headed to Elyk.

(record scratches) Oh, that doesn't sound right?

Oh wait, (reversed sound whirs) no, Kyle.

(laughs) Yeah, much better.

(banjo music) (rock music) Kyle sits on the interstate, about 20 miles south of Austin, and 60, north of San Antonio.

And if you get lost, just look for the pie in the sky.

Welcome to Kyle, Texas.

The first question I have, in my mind at least, is who's Kyle?

Well, research shows it was actually a man named Fergus Kyle, (image pops) who donated the land to start a town site along the railroad track.

(lip taps) Thank you.

Nowadays, it's not the railroad that brings all the people to town, it's the bustling growth along I-35.

However, as with all highway towns, you can't judge the town by what you find on the interstate access roads.

That's especially true in Kyle.

And if there's one thing I've learned from tripping is that sometimes, you gotta just dive in, head and mouth first.

Kyle is the official Pie Capital of Texas.

And no better place to start this day trip than at the Texas Pie Company.

Owner, Julie Albertson, opened her first bakery almost 40 years ago, with family recipes passed down from her grandmother.

Apple, pecan, strawberry, rhubarb, now, she bakes more than 20 different sweet pies, which means she never stops rolling in the dough.

Julie.

- Hey.

- Hey, what's going on?

- How are you doing?

- Well, are you ready for the interview?

- Well, actually I'm really, really busy.

You wanna jump in and help me make pies?

- I might shut down your kitchen, I don't know.

- No, come on.

- Okay, alright.

Yeah, sling me some dough.

- Alright.

- Let's go Julie.

- Well, hold on, let me get you an apron.

- It's not the apron, it's the man under the apron.

- That's right.

(crew member laughs) - So what kind of pie are we making?

- I've got some pie doughs for you to roll out.

- Okay.

- Some patties.

So to keep your dough from sticking on your rolling pin, you use a nylon panty hose, a knee high.

- No way.

- No fishnet sort- - These are the things you only learn- - Yes, - After decades of doing this.

- Yes, so just roll it away from you.

Use your hip.

- Oh, oh, oh.

- It's a little hip action.

- Lean into it.

- Uh huh.

- Ooh, my pie's not gonna be very round though.

- But you can move it around.

- Okay.

- It's kinda like Play-Doh, don't take it too serious, it's pie.

- Okay.

- Haven't you ever heard it's easy as pie?

- That's it.

(laughs) In my experience, the only thing easy about pie, is eating it.

- I grew up making pie with my grandma.

We'd always have fresh stuffing from the garden or fresh blackberries during the summer.

- Oh, amazing.

- We actually hand crimp everything still.

- Ooh.

- Go for it.

- That's the magic right there.

- Mm hmm, that is the magic.

I'm gonna get you to fill that up with this, Granny Smith's green apples, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.

And we're gonna do kind of an open lattice weave on it.

- Okay, so like an average week, how many pies are you guys gonna sell?

- Probably around 2,500 a week.

- Oh gosh, what about during the holidays?

- Last Thanksgiving, I think we did around 35,000 pies for the holidays.

- (laughs) Oh my gosh.

- Line goes around the corner and down the block, we have police escort and the whole bit.

It's craziest thing you've ever seen.

- Wow.

- It's a lotta fun.

- Well I mean, you know, you think of the journey every pie's gonna make, it's gonna go to somebody- - Yes.

- For some special purpose.

- Right, yeah, we see it all.

- Let's do this.

Is that about right or is that- - Yes, that's perfect.

- Okay, alright.

- Absolutely stunning.

(tongue clicks) And I'm gonna pop it in the oven.

- Woo.

- And then we can go have some coffee while it bakes.

- So now well, don't we have to make what, about 30,000 more now?

- Yeah.

Do you want me to go get the big buckets?

I can do that.

(Chet laughs) You see the big bowls?

- Let's have some coffee.

Let's have some coffee.

(Julie laughs) - Well, I decided we needed some chocolate cream pie (Chet laughs) because you know- - 'Cause you know- - There's no bad time of day for pie.

- This is true.

- It is true.

- The reason this is the Pie Capital of Texas, is all because of you, am I right?

Like, you brought the first pies to Kyle.

- Yes, we did bring the first pies to Kyle.

- How did this business start for you?

- I lost my job.

(laughs) - Okay, well hey, sometimes like blessings in disguise, right?

- Exactly.

So I baked up a whole bunch of pies and I went out and sold pies door to door.

After Thanksgiving was over, I rented out a pizza place that had been closed down forever.

Already had ovens and everything.

- So this really was like, your little slice, pun intended, of the American dream, right?

- Right, exactly.

I say that I started out with a rolling pin and a plan.

- Well, it was a good plan built on delicious pie.

And today, Julie and her husband Spencer, run a full service lunch counter, one where dessert isn't just on the menu, it's mandatory.

I clearly hated this piece of pie.

- Do you want mine too?

- Oh, I love it.

(Julie laughs) Thank you.

- Thank you.

- Thanks for letting me join you in the kitchen.

Cheers.

- Cheers.

Pie forever.

(mugs clink) - Pie forever.

(country music) Alright, so I know I've already had my first piece of pie, but for lunch, I'm having a second piece of pie.

This time, quiche pie, egg pie.

But quiche qualifies as pie, right?

I mean, think about it, there's a crust, there's some sort of filling, ham and Gouda quiche.

Oh, that's good.

Quiche, yeah, it's got like a froufrou French name.

But you think about it, that's a hearty meal.

It's essentially like a breakfast taco in a pie crust instead of a tortilla.

Now, what's not to love about that?

- So I see you're almost done.

- My pie.

- Look what came out of the oven.

- Nice.

- The most decadent thing to do is just go in with that fork.

(Chet laughs) - I mean, I'm already holding it.

- Right, might as well.

- Come to papa.

Thank you Julie.

- You bet.

(gentle country rock music) - Oh, that's so good.

Gooey, warm, decadent, cinnamon, sugar, butter.

And when you're eating it like this, you're only having one piece of pie, technically.

I mean, you can forget about the other two I ate before this.

This is just one piece for dessert.

Mm, yeah.

(gentle rock music) So did y'all even know that Kyle had a downtown?

- I knew it had a highway.

(Chet laughs) - Yeah?

- There's only one problem.

- What's that?

- We're already through it.

- Yeah, (laughs) that was it.

Not a huge historic downtown, but it's pretty, it's got one, it all centers around the giant pie, (group laughs) like that is, in Kyle, that is the sun.

- Like, I feel like they should have it with like, a big spotlight, just spinning in circles.

- Oh yeah.

(laughs) Like the Eye of Sauron, and just always watching.

- (laughs) Yes.

- (hums) The pie.

Oh, great pie, what would you have us do?

- All hail the pie.

- It's all pie in the sky.

Well, ever since Julie erected the pie in the sky, things have been pretty good for Kyle.

But it all started with much more rural roots as a stop on the International and Great Railroad.

The old Depot is now a great museum.

(spittoon rings) "The Day Tripper's" in Kyle, send out on APB, all-points bulletin now.

Oh wait, this isn't on, I gotta send Morse code, this should be fun.

D-A, (machine clicks) wait, what, you didn't understand it?

My morse code was perfect.

Ah, it's fine, I'll just send you a text.

For almost a century, Kyle's main export wasn't pie, but cotton.

So this right here is one bale of cotton.

Now, how much cotton is in a bale?

Well, it could produce up to 1,200 men's T-shirts or over 480 pairs of trousers.

That's a lot of cotton, that's a lot of trousers.

I love me some history, but I also love me some time outdoors and I think we need to go and work off a bit of this pie at the golf course, the disc golf course, at the Flying Armadillo.

This spot boasts two courses, one professional grade, and one well, hard to describe.

- It's like putt-putt for disc golf.

- Oh, that's awesome.

- It is a ton of fun, it's a blast.

There's tons of entertaining art and sculptures and stuff you gotta throw around.

But even experienced players love it because it's just so unique and so much fun.

- Yeah, how often do you get a chance to throw it at the Alamo or whatever?

- Yeah, exactly, throw at a big bird.

(Chet laughs) Yeah, not very often.

- This is owner Michael Lambert.

And if you think of disc golf as just a couple metal baskets in the woods, well, then you haven't ever seen the weird, wonderful world of the Flying Armadillo.

Or maybe I should say, biking armadillo.

Do you find this sport to be pretty addictive though, right off the bat?

- That's a tame way to put it.

- Yeah.

(Chet and Michael laughs) Just like ball golf has different clubs, this sport has different discs.

Some slice through the air like a blade, others float slow and true.

And this shop is a good chance to upgrade my discs, and hopefully, my game.

Alright Michael, thanks man, I got my Frisbees.

I'm ready to- - Whoa, whoa, whoa, they're called discs.

- Discs, right, right, right.

- Yeah.

(laughs) - Frisbee is a child's game.

This is a real sport.

- This is a real sport.

- Okay.

- Oh yeah.

- Disc golf is serious business with professional players and even its own pro hall of fame.

And today I've got two hall of fame members to show us the ropes.

Husband and wife combo punch, Yeti and Des.

So thank y'all for playing with me.

Mike got me set up with some pretty good discs here.

- Yeah, you're gonna be fine, that's a great putter.

But you know, if you really wanna be successful, maybe you should have the Yeti Pro Aviar.

- No way, your name is on a putter?

- Five-time putting world champ.

(Chet laughs) - I mean, Des herself is a four-time world champion, making them the perfect couple to embarrass myself in front of.

- We're gonna be hunting some aces today.

We're gonna just think of ABC's away, bend, and crush it.

- I have not even warmed up.

Here we go, come on.

(rock music) Doink the dinosaur, that was D, right?

(dinosaur growls) This course is wild.

Some holes are army tanks, others feel like obstacle courses.

(metal clangs) - This hole is called the Island hole.

And see, we actually get to tee from the top of this clubhouse right here.

- Huh, what?

- if you don't land safe you have to take your penalty and putt from the rock of shame.

- Baa, baa, baa, baa.

- Oh, I don't wanna do that.

(Chet and Des laughs) And ain't nobody want the rock of shame.

- Oh, I like it.

- Oh, nice delivery.

(metal rock music) (group cheers) - I played this well in my life, y'all are making me feel just the confidence, I think.

(chains jingle) Oh man, heck of the job.

- That is through, threw it through.

(Chet laughs) (chains jingle) (group cheers) - A good hole.

- And just like ball golf, the joy of victory is quickly snatched by the agony of defeat.

(disc clunks) (Chet yells) - Oh.

(metal rock music) (disc clunks) Y'all go play ahead, I'm just gonna sit here for a second.

No, no, no, just keep moving.

Keep moving, nothing to see here.

Every hole presents its own, we'll call 'em unique challenges.

Ah, found it.

All right, Jay, where's the hole?

We gotta go around the lighthouse?

- Eh yaw.

- (laughs) That doesn't sound good.

- The lighthouse is the hole.

- What?

Inside?

- Yeah, yeah.

You kinda gotta get it right into the chains and it drops down into the lighthouse.

(laughs) (metal rock music) - Ah, mulligan!

Ah, and another mulligan, c'mon.

This isn't a lighthouse, (eerie music) it's a dark beacon of death.

- All right Chet, Des, each one of us has a chance to actually save the Alamo, right now, right here.

(upbeat country rock music) - Woo.

- Woo.

(chains jingle) - Ah.

- Not bad bro, not bad.

- I loved it, are you guys all ready for the big course now?

- Oh yeah, there is another course.

The big course is a professional 18 holes, and has hosted numerous pro tournaments.

You know, I was impressed with Jay's branded putter, but- - Do you know what the best thing is when sometimes you get to play disc golf?

Enjoy a freshie, right now.

- Do I recognize the lady on this beer can?

- Check that out, so- - No, it's not?

- Right out of Austin, Texas, Zilker Brewing, JCAs helped us fund Throw Pink, which is a nonprofit, bringing disc golf to women, girls, and helping with breast cancer awareness.

- Jay, I think that's called the one-up, right there.

- I think she just one-up.

- Yes.

(group laughs) - Yeah.

- Now we're in for some aces.

- What is it about disc golf that just keeps y'all fired up?

- Oh man, I mean, there's so many elements.

It's getting outside, it's a communing with nature.

It's being with your friends, socializing for a very low cost.

- You can travel anywhere and you'll meet like-minded people and you can pick up and play anywhere.

- There are 10,000 free-to-play courses in the world and there's 670, right here in Texas.

- Oh, that's awesome.

- But there's still one shot we gotta do before you go.

- Please tell?

- The tower.

- A four-story behemoth, that is our tee box.

But hey, there are six baskets so I mean, this should be easy as pie.

(epic music) Okay, maybe not.

But chasing the ace is something that'll keep me coming back for more.

(upbeat country rock music) - Now, I would think everybody in this town has to be like, well, we offer some sort of pie.

- I would hope so.

- I mean, how many different pies are there?

- Oh, that's a very good question.

Dessert pie, fruit, I think fruit pies.

- Fruit pies.

- Pot pies.

- Oh, oh pot pies.

- Pot pies.

Pizza pie.

- Alright, how about Frito pie?

- Oh.

- See?

Boom.

- I just had an epiphany.

My mind just blew.

- Okay.

- If you took a pie and turned it upside down, it's cobbler.

- Oh my gosh.

- Dang, dang.

- We've been fooled all along, they're the same thing.

- Upside down pie is a cobbler.

Who do we talk to?

- I don't know.

- We must tell everyone.

- Someone needs to know.

- Tell the world.

- Call the newspaper, cobbler is actually disguised pie.

Well, now I'm just hungry for more pie and cobbler.

Now, most think of Kyle as a highway town or a railroad town, but I prefer the much more flattering name, a river town, as Kyle sits on the banks of the Blanco River.

And the best place to get wet is here at Five-Mile Dam Park.

Luckily, I followed one of the most important rules of day tripping, always bring a swimsuit.

Let's go.

(laughs) You gotta take the mic off though, you know?

Can't exactly jump in with a microphone.

(upbeat music) I tell you, there are some ailments that only a Texas swimming hole can cure, and that's the truth.

Look at this water.

(water burbles) It's sort of like a turquoisey blue, man, it's beautiful.

But you can tell, based on the waterline of where the water is normally, that this river is extremely low right now.

Traditionally, Five-Mile Dam has been a waterfall with water flowing over it.

Now, you know, the water stops hundreds of yards before the dam even.

So if you love your Texas swimming holes as much as I do, then we all need to do our part to conserve water here in Texas.

That is maybe our most precious resource.

(upbeat rock music) Uh oh, Daniel's put the camera down.

- Oh.

- That's it.

- Woo.

- Luckily we still have our Frisbees, nah, I mean, ah, discs.

(upbeat rock music) After an hour or so splashing around it's time to dry off, but it's not yet time for dinner, which means we got time for one more adventure.

An adventure into uncharted waters.

If you've ever wanted to solve a crime, shoot zombies, bathe in old VHS tape and break stuff just for the heck of it, well, then Unchartered Adventures is your new favorite spot.

This is owner, Damon Fogley.

You come in back of this like, commercial park, something on the outskirts of Kyle, and then you step in here and you're like, transported to about 20 different worlds.

Somehow you got a whole police car in here, going through a wall?

What are you doing in here?

(laughs) - We have a little bit of everything.

So it's a family-friendly, just entertainment venue with, we call it untraditional entertainment.

So we're doing stuff other than like, bowling or like a traditional like, movie theater.

Something where you could tell your friends like, hey, I did something crazy this week.

- It all started with Damon's junk removal business.

And when he found out folks would pay to smash stuff, well, he had a business idea.

- This is the perfect place to put a rage room.

You don't have to have rage or be angry to come here.

Most people come in here because they just want to have fun.

They want to jam out to their music.

Some people, especially people that work in like, an office environment, they're gonna want to destroy like, computer monitors and keyboards and printers.

You know, the whole office space thing.

- There is a lot of therapy in there, huh?

It's true, and as a veteran himself, Damon loves helping others with PTSD, or really, anyone with some pent up frustration, work through it.

(metal rock music) The world as we know it has ended.

The zombies are attacking.

Let's blast some zombies.

(toy gun rattles) I've killed them all, but where'd Daniel go?

Daniel, you're the zombie.

Get out there.

More guns.

(laughs maniacally) Drew, get a gun.

(gun rattles) Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho.

All right Daniel, you can come out.

(gun rattles) (Chet laughs) Truly, no one is safe here.

I mean this place is nuts.

Two escape rooms, a tiki bar, and lots of Instagram-worthy backdrops.

(team chatters) But now for the real reason I'm here, let the therapy session begin.

(drumbeat echoes) (metal rock music) (ceramic thuds) Oh, whoopsie.

Y'all might wanna back up.

(metal rock music continues) Rage!

(metal rock music continues) (bats crash) Coffee's ready.

John Mark, your turn.

Not that!

No, no, no!

(John Mark yells) (hammer thuds) Wow, this is cathartic.

(gentle orchestral music) Did your grandma ever tell you not to play with swords in the house 'cause you'd break all of her priceless antiques?

(lively orchestral music) - Ah!

(bat thunks) - Yah, yee hah!

(bat thuds) (orchestral music continues) (item clunks) (glass tinkles) - Hey, rage!

(hammer crashes) (glass tinkles) Whew, I haven't felt this relaxed in a very long time.

The only thing that might take my chill to another level is sitting under a big Texas oak at sunset, cold beverage in my hand.

And luckily, I know just the spot.

This is the Hays City Store, and as the name suggests, it used to be just a small convenience store on the outskirts of town.

You know, a place to buy a gallon of milk and some fishing worms.

But as you can see, things have changed quite a bit.

These are its owners, Tamra and Travis Tindol.

Okay, what is going on with those onion rings?

Do we even grow onions that big in Texas?

That's huge.

- It is, it's a house favorite.

- Oh my gosh, I thought we would come on maybe a more chill night, but I get the idea there's not that many chill nights, here at Hays City.

- Fortunately not, yeah.

- With live music six nights a week, and scratch-made food, well, it's hard to not love this spot.

The Tindols bought this old store in 2015, and had a vision as big as Texas.

- It was a convenience store by the same name, since 1986.

- I mean, back in those days this would've been out in the boonies, right?

- Absolutely.

- Oh, we tried to talk to banks and they were like, where?

(laughs) - People thought we were crazy when we had the idea to do this.

I knew that it was something great, and I knew that if it didn't work out, we'd do something else.

- You could always run a convenience store, you know?

- Yeah, yeah.

- Like a couple candy bars and some- - Well, that's actually what we did at the very beginning.

We had one row of convenience store items.

- But very quickly, the menu progressed way past candy bars and beef jerky.

How'd you decide on what went on the menu?

- It just kind of evolved, and we wanted a good burger, chicken fried steak.

But we also wanted some healthier options so salmon, fish tacos.

- Soon they had a full comfort kitchen, but with some upscale flare.

So popular, they had to build a separate kitchen just for the pizza.

- It doesn't feel like a restaurant, it feels like an experience.

- A family reunion or a backyard picnic with some of your best friends and some of your new friends, you know?

- Yeah, it seems like that kind of place.

Cheers guys, just on the success and just, y'all have created a really special place out here.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

- Thank y'all.

Woo hoo, hoo, alright.

I'm not one to pass up a delicious chicken fried steak.

And so that's what I got, jalapeno cream gravy, jalapeno corn, mashed potatoes, but also here, in the Pie Capital of Texas, I would be remiss if I didn't also get pie for dinner.

The house Frito pie.

And I thought I was ordering sort of a side portion of it, but evidently there is no side portion.

It comes in one size, Texas sized, so good.

Another great thing about Frito pie, no one is counting or judging you on how many Fritos you actually eat because I'm pretty sure there's an entire bag of them here.

And if I just was sitting here with a bag of Fritos and I ate the whole thing, everyone would be judging me.

But if it's underneath chili, no problem.

Time for the main course, the crisp on this batter is just spot on.

Mm, oh man, that's good.

That's without a doubt, one of the best chicken fried steaks I've had, ever.

And I've eaten a lot of chicken fried steaks.

Scratch-made cooking just hits different y'all.

Oh, and this hits, oh, that's good.

(upbeat country music) Take one part history, two parts tasty food, equal parts outdoor adventure and outdoor chill, top it with some cathartic rage, and you've got the recipe for Kyle.

And that my amigos, you can put in your pie and bake it.

Ah, I figure one more piece of pie can't hurt anybody.

Right?

House-made key lime pie.

Absolutely delicious.

So I'll see all y'all out on the road.

Vaya con dios amigos.

- Hey, wait, Chet, they said you have to try this one too before you go.

- What?

All right, maybe two more pieces of pie can't hurt.

This is pie, right?

Honestly, I don't care.

Ah.

- The "Daytripper" is made possible by Rudy's, real Texas barbecue.

Shipping nationwide at rudys.com.

Karbach Brewing Company from Houston, Texas, makers of Karbach Lager, a beer that is proudly partnered with Don't Mess with Texas, please dispose responsibly.

Visit Georgetown, where big ideas meet small town charm.

Georgetown, the most beautiful town square in Texas.

Texas Farm Bureau Insurance, protection and peace of mind for Texans since 1952.

Don Hewlett Chevrolet Buick in Georgetown.

Making Texas road trips possible for over 50 years.

Don Hewlett Chevrolet Buick, Texas True.

Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages, Texas' local bottler providing the Lone Star state with a variety of Coca-Cola products.