South Texas is Home to a Weird and Fun Stop for Spinach and Popeye

If your Summer travels take you to South Texas, make a stop in Crystal City, Texas. There you will find the "World Spinach Capital", as deemed by texasescapes.com. You can also swing by city hall to take a selfie with the animated sailor man Popeye.

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Crystal City has an interesting history. When the railroad arrived in the town in the late 1920's and early 1930's, the town made it's name for onions. But during The Great Depression, Crystal City thrived because of it's spinach. The town could produce about 10,000 cans a day. That thriving spinach business landed the town the title as "World Spinach Capital" according to roadsideamerica.com. Crystal City is still a major producer of spinach.

In 1937, with the blessing of Popeye creator, E. C. Segar, the town erected a statue of Popeye. Obviously, with the title of "World Spinach Capital", and Popeye's love of spinach, the tribute is perfect. The statue still sits in front of City Hall ready for the perfect selfie. There is a second statue inside their Chamber of Commerce.

This summer stop could be the ultimate lesson for your kids to finally like spinach.

Maybe.

If anything, your little ones will have some fun getting their picture with the famous sailor man. So yeah, in between snacking on Buc-ee's Beaver Nuggets in your travels to South Texas, stop by Crystal City, eat some spinach and visit Popeye. However, there will be no guarantees you will get instant muscles after eating their famous spinach.