Day Trip - Waco

A few weeks ago I was introduced to a local television show called "Day Tripper" on KLRU in Austin, TX. After watching every episode I realized that my own back yard has everything I need to visit for at least the next year, if not longer. I asked my best friend if she cared to join me and the boys on our adventures and she was of course was all for it. We had a loose plan on what we wanted to do but we were defiantly in the mindset that we would go with the flow. Below is my trip report and one day when my kids say "Mommmm we never do anything" I can just email them the url and remind them that yes I am a awesome Momma.


Stop One - Dr. Pepper Museum - I have wanted to visit this place since I moved to Texas. It was rather exciting to pull up knowing that once we were done looking at the exhibits we were going to get to stop at the soda fountain for an original recipe Dr. Pepper Float. My entire life I have been basically a kid. I think I stopped growing up at about 5. I see most things in life as a child would. Life and everything in it is wonder, I love seeing how things work, and I love bribing myself with a sweet treat if I sit through all the educationy stuff (yes that is now a real word, use it, use it often EDUCATIONY). On the first floor we were introduced to the back story of how this popular drink came to be. Interestingly it was discovered by a pharmacist. Also on the first floor we were given a sneak peek into how the drink was processed and bottled. The second floor housed two areas, one side being dedicated to vending machines of times past, and the other side to Big Red. What stuck out to me most was the slogan "Its not strawberry, its not cherry, it just tastes RED". Not true. It tastes nasty but that is besides the point. The creepy part was the whole "Sniffing Station" but yes I went through the line twice. Mostly because I was in awe at the weirdness of a "Sniffing Line". The third floor housed a tribute to Mr. Foot and was rather boring and the only thing I took from that was the fact that instead of passing out business cards he passed out stones with the golden rule engraved on them. Last but not least we went to the soda fountain and had what was and may always be the very best float imaginable.


Stop Two - The Health Club - Do not let the name deceive you, there is nothing healthy about this place. After surviving a roundabout we stopped for lunch at this landmark restaurant. I am on a diet, and so I decided to have a Bacon Cheeseburger, without the cheeseburger. I moaned with every bite, and while chewing looked at Erin and did bedroom eyes to describe the heaven that was taking place in my mouth at the time. To make matters worse I followed the BLT with a Gingerbread Milkshake, it was made with love and calories, but since the first ingredient is love I figure that it was an okay addition to my meal.


Stop Three - Cameron Park Zoo - This was one of the maybes of the trip and we decided to make it a must when we realized we had already eaten 2 days worth of food in just a matter of hours. The weather was a bit chilly so our first stop was the gift shop so Erin could buy a over priced sweatshirt. Being off season the park was mostly empty. I appreciated how some of the exhibits were but felt that the animals did not have enough in the way of enrichment. My family however does know how to have fun. Most of the animals we referred to as their potential food product if we were to be the owners of said animal. Highlights included Cody flirting with a little girl and her flirting back. The freak out we all had when we saw how Rhinos pee, and the mating dance of the Giraffes. I would not go to this zoo in the summer though, nor do I think its big enough to warrant another visit but it was a nice pit stop and we all enjoyed our time there.


Stop Four - The Branch Davidian Compound - Out in the middle of nowhere and very hard to find but worth it. When you first pull in you see the names of all those that died during the siege. Including all the babies names and ages. It was a somber moment, that is until the random beagle ran up and started entertaining us. Unsure what we could and could not do we were apprehensive about driving to the epicenter of where the attack took place but of course being apprehensive does not mean backing away. The only part that still remains from the fire is the buried school bus and the walls of the underground bunker that was used to store guns, ammo and food. I took this time to explain to my kids what happened, how it got to the point it did and my dismay at Janet Reno and the actions she set into motion.


I think we have set in motion the start of many potential future day trips. We all had so much fun. Next trip is to Llano where we will be looking for fossils and visiting "Baby Head Cemetery" (mind you we will NOT be looking for Fossils AT the cemetery)