People from all over the world come to Texas to experience the state’s activities and authentic Texas barbecue. But if you ask the average Texan where to go for the real ‘Texas’ experience, most will point you in the direction of one of the major cities. Austin local Chet Garner is trying to change that tendency and educate Texans about all of the great things Texas has to offer with his show, “The Daytripper.”
“My goal setting out was making a show about Texas for Texans, something special for us,” said Garner, the show’s host, creator and producer.
“The Daytripper” which airs at on PBS, started out as the “Austin Daytripper” where Garner would take daytrips to outside the city limits of Austin and explore local cuisine and activities. The expanded show is still a start-up, Garner said, but so far the eclectic, fast-paced and humorous way in which the show is filmed has gotten a good response.
“It’s very fast-paced and very silly. We grab your attention from the beginning and never let go,” he said.
The show is designed to show people who do not have a lot of time or money that they can go out for a day and enjoy all that Texas has to offer just outside the limits of larger cities. Every episode includes an activity, usually something outdoors, a dining experience and some sort of historic or cultural information about the location. Garner and his crew try to vary the activities in an attempt to cater to everyone.
“Being an Eagle Scout I’m always interested in anything I can do outdoors so the show is very helpful,” said Adam Peeler, a Texas A&M U. senior.
Garner, who graduated with a degree in film from the U. Texas and went to law school at Baylor U., practiced law for three years before deciding to create the “Austin Daytripper.”
“It just never fit and it really was never going to fulfill me,” Garner said. “Everybody has to do what’s best for them so I decided to follow my passion and not a paycheck.”
Garner then called his film school friend, Nate Locklear with the idea and together they filmed a pilot episode in Waco. After the show was picked up, Garner and Locklear added Richie Lozano as editor and sound technician, Mary Adolph as production overseer and intern-turned member Kellie Baldwin to form the tight-knit group they call Hogaboom Road Inc.
“There’s no better bonding experience than a daytrip, and we’ve become really close,” Garner said.
“The Daytripper” is planning on coming to College Station during the summer to film an episode. Garner plans to visit the George Bush Presidential Library, eat chicken tenders at Layne’s and Chicken Oil, mountain biking at Lake Bryan and showing off Northgate. Garner said college kids are eager to travel if they have a car and want to do things in College Station.
“I usually go mountain biking around Austin, but I’m always looking for new places,” said Brock Spratlen, a senior computer engineering major.
The next episode airs Saturday featuring Luling, Texas, where Garner and his crew will taste barbecue from two joints set up right across the street from each other.
Then it’s off to jump out of a tree into the San Marcos River before visiting the famous ‘Come and Take It’ cannon of the Texas Revolution and finishing up at the Shiner Brewery to sample beer.
“Traveling Texas is easy, you don’t have to have a lot of money or time,” Garner said. “All these places are right there, just make a decision to go and go.”