On Tuesday, Nov 20th we headed south on I-35 towards Texas. We stopped in at Van, Tx to see good friends Pappy and Alice Patton. Thanks for dinner and showing us your beautiful new home in Tyler! We headed next to Pflugerville to spend Thanksgiving with Mike’s sister, Kim. It was smaller than usual this year, but we enjoyed our little dinner together.
While in central Texas, we had the chance to visit Waco. We went to Magnolia Market at the Silos and the Silos Baking Company (by Chip and Joanna Gaines of Fixer Upper fame). I was very impressed by the organization and presentation of everything on the property. Even though there was a line for the bakery, workers bring you a menu order form to fill out so that the line moves fast when you get inside. The cupcakes and cookies were very yummy! There were plenty of places to sit outside and lots of open space for hanging out or eating at the many food trucks on the grounds. While I didn’t buy anything in the Magnolia Market store, there were lots of home decorating items to browse.
Also in Waco, we toured the Dr Pepper Museum. It was interesting to learn about the history of Dr Pepper and the many other drinks owned by its parent company. The early slogan “Drink a Bite to Eat at ten, two , and four o’clock” came about after a study that found a person’s blood sugar is at its lowest at these times. During World War II, sugar was one of the first and longest rationed items because it was an essential ingredient in certain types of explosives. Dr Pepper’s booklet “The Liquid Bite” explained that the energy boost of the drink was equivalent to that of food and would benefit the soldiers. Carbonated beverages were declared essential to the war effort and were reclassified as a food by Congress!
Who would have known that there is a cavern right under I-35 in central Texas?! We visited Inner Space Cavern to hear the story of its discovery by a Texas Highway Department drilling team in 1963. They were doing core samples to see if the ground was stable enough to support the large highway overpass during I-35 expansion construction, when the bit suddenly dropped 26 feet. The highway crew knew there was something down there besides rock. Within days, over 7000 feet of the cave was surveyed and eventually it was open to the public in 1966. The caves were carved by water passing through Edwards limestone. Fossils of many prehistoric animals were found and excavated, including a saber-toothed cat, a mammoth, and a camel (yes, a camel!). A very interesting and beautiful place!
We didn’t add a new state to the map, but enjoyed seeing some new things in Texas. We are heading home to San Angelo for December and will enjoy the holiday season with family and friends. More adventures to come in the new year!
A lot of interesting and fun places to see in Waco especially Magnolia Market and Silos.
Yes, it was very nice! The bakery was really yummy too.
Wow, I had no idea there was a Dr. Pepper museum. You’ve piqued my curiosity, so now I have to check it out!
There was so much more to Waco than I ever knew–could have spent another day there!
Love this post! I’m an RVer also and would love to get out there to Texas! My daughter is in the military in Kileen and would be great to RV there and including the spots in your post.
There are so many different parts of Texas to explore! Kileen is not far from Waco at all so you will definitely need to visit when you see your daughter:)