Waco, Texas

While we were in New Mexico, I used the Road Trippin App to map out a route to Florida.  As I examined the map I noticed an alternate route that went through Waco, Texas.  Magnolia..........  Hmmmmmmmm :)  

"What would you think about routing through Waco, Texas."

"That's fine.  What's in Waco?"

"Magnolia."

"What's Magnolia?"

I told him of "Fixer Upper." A clever home improvement series.  Something that filled our evenings after the accident.  

The collateral changes that came in that first year were epic. I had never been a TV watching person.  Life seemed too busy.  

But then I quickly discovered that when church obligations and connections were gone, social obligations and connections were gone, and after our work/school day, our energy levels were pretty much gone ......we had hours upon hours on our hands each night. Streaming entertainment became our filler.

I'll always remember one Sunday we were sitting in church.  At some time during the sacrament meeting my phone buzzed alerting me of my average screen time for the previous week.  6 hours and 14 min per day! What!  I let out a small astonished laugh.  My kids looked my direction and I showed them my phone.  They smiled. Theirs said something similar.  Oh my!  What happened to our life!

Well, if you know Damon, you can guess he was totally on board and within minutes had found a wonderful VRBO "291 steps" from the Silos :)

Once Sunday arrived, we packed up and excitedly hit the road.... leaving New Mexico behind!  Driving over the Texas border felt like freedom!  No more propaganda road signage about the virus.  The roads were well maintained.  The speed limit was a consistent 75mph.  Agriculture and businesses abounded.  

We stopped in Lubbock the first night and enjoyed "dining in" with a delicious seafood boil!

As we drove on to Waco, the stores we stopped in were alive with commerce.  (and I love a good looking bull picture :)

We easily found the "Urban Myrtle," the name of our home for the next 4 days. Damon picked her because she was so nicely outfitted.... and even had a soaking bath! Something we had been without for weeks!  

Their attention to detail sets this place apart!  

When it became dark, Damon lit up a fire and we roasted Marshmallows and made S'mores :). So much fun!

The next morning I mapped myself out a walking route to hit as many stores as possible.  It was drizzling, so I conveniently  borrowed one of their umbrellas.

Wednesday morning we had a reservation at Magnolia Table.  The previous night we had watched the episode that shows the amazing transformation from the Elite Restaurant to Magnolia Table.  

We were super excited! We ordered the Pastry Bread Basket, The Juice Tray, Eggs Benedict, and Corn Flake French Toast.  All I can say is YUM!   And Oh Boy....do they know how to use real butter!

After running an afternoon errand we stopped by this BBQ joint on our way home.  So interesting.  Smells so good!  Damon's afternoon salad was really good!!!

I headed over to Magnolia to do a bit more shopping and try out their bakery.  Yum Again!

Damon and I met up and went to the Dr Pepper Museum.  By far my favorite soda and then in the float form..... Amazing!

Our last day..... warranted another stroll through a few more shops and Damon had some Hassie fun:)

Chicken Salad on a Real Croissant, the Famous Avocado Toast, Carmel Apples with Chocolate & Heath & Pecans, and a Dr Pepper Chili Hot Dog with Frito Chips.  Oh baby..... we tried it all :)

Thanks so much DJ!  I would have never guessed all of those endless hours of TV would have led me to here!  I loved this stop!  And I love you :)