As we continued driving up north in Texas, the next mandatory stop was Waco, Texas. For as long as I’ve known of the place, it’s been home to Baylor University. My family and I visited Baylor/Waco in 2005 on a summer vacation. Karissa had never been here and, like many people, knew of Waco from “Fixer Upper”, the TV show starring Chip and Joanna Gaines remodeling houses via their company, Magnolia Farms.
We arrived on Sunday, and after finding an RV park, explored the city a bit by driving around. We drove past a few of the “Fixer Upper” houses, the Magnolia Silos, and around campus at Baylor University. We wandered around “Spice Village”, a collection of 60-80 small handmade/vintage/crafty shops under one roof. It was pretty cool and gave us ideas for a similar concept closer to home. Other than that, not much was open, so we had a relaxing night back at the RV.
On Monday, we took the pilgrimage to Magnolia’s Silos. It was packed! Lots of people wore official Magnolia/Fixer Upper shirts; something as weird to me as wearing the shirt of a band to their concert – NERDY! I guess the Silos have been something of an eyesore downtown Waco for some time. The Gaines family bought them a few years ago to convert into their retail store for home decor. You can see the silos from just about anywhere downtown Waco, so it’s definitely a focal point and easy place to find. They also have a Magnolia Bakery on the campus. Inside the facility, there are about a dozen food trucks, some green astroturf, and a lot of folks wandering around. The store itself was packed! Busy, crowded, and overpriced. With Joanna selling stuff at Target, it seems silly to buy from the main store, but people are funny.
We walked around downtown Waco and stopped at a few nearby antique/resale/shabby chiq shops before having lunch. Then, we saw the Waco Suspension Bridge. Built in 1866 and opened in 1870, it was the first crossing of the Brazos River and, at 475 feet, the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of opening. It was a pretty cool piece of living history.
To end the day, we saw the live bears on campus at Baylor. It was really cool to see such a display. It felt like something from a different era. It definitely stood out in our politically correct world and was really fun!
