janceejan - I feel your pain!
Most of our region is in a cluster from Corpus Christi to my town of El Campo. But one is off my beaten path. There's a nice steak house halfway so a friend and I are going to invite our husbands to a dinner out - with a side trip to the quilt shop thrown in. I know they'll love it. :P (Mine actually does - hers is agreeable even if not a big fan.)