Waco

 

Chuck and I decided to take a little day trip to Waco this week. We needed to stop by Sam's, and after a little investigation, I learned that there was one just seven minutes north of Waco in Belton. 

We had already done the whole Magnolia thing, so we decided to go a different direction this time in spending a day in Waco. 

We started at the Dr. Pepper Museum, and although I'm not a fan of Dr. Pepper, I highly recommend the museum. The story of carbonated beverages goes all the way back to 1767, when an English chemist named Joseph Priestley invented them. 

The unique blend of flavors that created Dr. Pepper was invented in Waco, Texas, in 1885 by a local pharmacist named Charles Alderton, one year before Coca-Cola. 

We also learned that Big Red was made first in Waco. It was released in 1937 from Perfection Barber and Beauty Supply Company. 

Before we left, we had a complimentary glass of both Dr. Pepper and Big Red. After my disastrous experience in 1968 at a Stuckey’s (you know, the precursor to Buc-ee's) with my first exposure (and, to be honest, pretty much my last) to Dr. Pepper, I wasn't too hyped about trying the elixir. 

I must say, it wasn't too bad, but I'm definitely a cola girl. Chuck had never tried Big Red before and found it too sweet and candy-like for his tastes.

After we left the museum, we walked over to Spice Village. Did I mention we were able to avoid paying the $10.00 parking fee for the museum by parking on the road? I had visited Spice Village once before with my childhood friend, Ann Marie. I didn't remember it having so many clothes. Boutique shopping has never really been my thing. 

We left and headed for a bookstore that had popped up on my Facebook feed. Fabled is a lovely bookshop, although the advertised cafe turned out to be just refrigerated sandwiches, which were gone by the time we got there. 

Chuck got an espresso, and between the two of us we purchased four books: Jane Eyre, Fahrenheit 451, Writing, Creativity and Soul by Sue Monk Kidd, and On Writing by Stephen King.

We left the bookstore and had lunch at The Olive Branch. Chuck had a delicious brisket sandwich and I had an underwhelming chicken salad. You’ll be happy to know that I jazzed it up the next day with grapes, pecans and Bill’s seasoning and it was quite tasty. I will say their croissant was excellent as was their homemade chips. 

All four destinations were within walking distance. 

From there we headed to Sam's and stocked up on a few things, including the petite pickles that we are quite obsessed with. We picked up a couple of extra jars for our pickle-loving middle grandson. 

On the return drive home, we passed by the mall, which I had forgotten about. Since it housed both a Kohl’s and a Belk’s, I figured I'd be making a return trip. 

The beauty of it is that Waco is only an hour and forty-five minutes down Hwy 6, and it is a peaceful, enjoyable drive. No worrying about the traffic jams of the metroplex. 

A Tale of Woe

 Forty-one years ago on my honeymoon trip to the Bahamas I brought home a small, unassuming souvenir-a thimble. Little did I know that it would lead to a thimble collection that now fills a large printer’s tray. A collection that now requires another tray. 

Searching for thimbles has become a quest of epidemic proportions. Over the years as we have traveled from place to place I have loved the thrill of the hunt. A few years after I retired, we took a trip through Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota. I came home easily with eight thimbles. 

However, a few years ago on a trip to Ruidoso, New Mexico, I found it quite difficult to locate many thimbles. In talking with a shop owner, I learned that they just aren’t being manufactured anymore. I guess the demand was just not there. 

Over the years I have kept my eyes open in antique shops for others’ collectionsand I've filled in the gaps with some of these finds. However, after this year’s road trip I've sadly had to accept the fact that souvenir thimbles are a thing of the past. 

Why hadn't I brought home a shot glass from my honeymoon? It appears shot glasses are still a hot commodity. Who knew?

So far in this trip I have been able to locate two and am thrilled about that! I've come to the conclusion that I may have to resort to eBay to continue my collection. 

Day 11

 We headed to Texas today. Our drive was shorter and only about six hours. We needed to get back in time to pick up Ginger and Bluebonnet from the vet before they closed. 

We stopped one more time at a Buc-ee's in Royce City, and I posed for another picture with the lovable beaver. 

When we hit bumper-to-bumper traffic in Dallas, we decided to return home via Hwy 67 to avoid the Mid-Cities, Ft. Worth, and Weatherford traffic. We headed toward Duncanville and had an enjoyable rest of the way home. 

We stopped by to pick up the animals and squeezed them into the car with all our other luggage. It sure felt good to be home. Of course, our family wasn't complete without Cooper, so we drove to Comanche to pick him up. 

We had traveled eleven days and had gone through nineteen states. We could honestly say that our butts had not hurt once due to our new seat cushions. 

I went to the doctor the next day and got three shots for my aching side. Within the day, I felt much better and had been convinced by the doctor to get a shingles shot just in case. 

Day 10

 John and Sally fixed us a delicious breakfast before we left this morning. 

We had a long nine-hour drive ahead of us. We drove through McDonald’s for lunch and ate in the car to avoid wasting time stopping. 

The drive through Virginia and east Tennessee was beautiful. We hit more rain in Arkansas, and the traffic slowed. 

While we were stopping for gas, the GPS alerted us to a quicker route. We took that route and saw the traffic backed up for miles on the highway. It was the fourth accident we saw that day on the slick roads. Thank you, Lord, for your protective hand. 

We stopped west of Little Rock at a La Quinta and ate dinner in our room. That loaf of bread has gone a long way this trip. 

Day 9

 I was in quite a bit of pain when we left Janet's this morning. Our trip out of Connecticut was slow going due to heavy commuter traffic to New York City.

Along the way, we took a side trip to Hershey, PA, to see the Hershey Kisses-shaped street lamps. They did not disappoint. Some were chocolate, and the others were silver-foil. If we had had more time, I would have loved to stop by the Hershey Museum. 

We stopped at the Savory Cafe in Hershey and had lunch. Our meal was tasty, but the loud family overtook the entire restaurant, making the experience less enjoyable for the rest of us. The highlight, though, was the blueberry basil lemonade. 

On our way to Draper, VA today, we drove through seven states. 

We had a delicious burger dinner compliments of John and Sally at their beautiful Virginia home. Kelly, Will’s brother, also joined us for dinner.  We dined out on the back porch, enjoying the nice weather and the fireflies.

Sally gave us a tour of their home, and I was envious of their basement. What I could do with all those extra rooms- craft room, workout room…)

We visited late into the evening and spent the night at the Beahms'. 

Day 8

 

Today is my 70th birthday, and Chuck and my 41st wedding anniversary. We left our hotel in Andover, MA, and made our way to Rhode Island. We were able to visit each of the New England states except Vermont. The next time we visit, we definitely have to make it there. Maybe we could visit my cousin, Greg.

Along the way, we had quite a bit of rain. Nothing torrential, but pretty constant. 

We arrived in Providence, Rhode Island, around lunchtime—a quick Google search found a nearby restaurant that sounded appealing. When we arrived, we learned that the restaurant was actually in a mall with a parking garage. 

Considering the rain, we couldn't believe our good luck. We parked the car, made a note of where we were parked (not that it did any good, LOL), and headed inside. We passed by a Lego store very first thing and stopped to purchase souvenirs for the boys. 

We went up the escalator to find the restaurant we had found online. Before finding it, we came across the food court. Now this food court was nothing like what we had experienced in Texas. 

We decided to check it out, and I ended up ordering Brazilian food, and Chuck ordered Japanese. My Brazilian meal of rice, black beans, and roasted pork was delicious. I topped my meal off with Cashew Juice. (Made from the cashew apple, not squeezed from the nut) Chuck got a shrimp meal, but admitted my Brazilian meal was better. 

We sat next to the window and watched the rain fall. We decided that our meal would count as our anniversary meal and asked someone to take a picture of us together. 

When it was time to leave, we thought we knew what we were doing. Before it was said and done, I felt like I was in an episode of Seinfeld. We ended up going back inside and started all over, combining the clues we remembered about where we parked. We were successful in locating our car this time. 

We left Rhode Island and traveled back to Janet's to spend the night again. We stopped at a Dollar General to buy a peace offering for Rooster (we got something for Truman as well)

When we arrived at Janet’s, she had birthday balloons, pizza, and a chocolate cake for my birthday. We tried some famous New Haven mashed-potato-and-bacon pizza and added hot honey to our pepperoni pizza. It was all quite tasty. 

Apparently, the peace offering worked because Rooster never hissed at us again. (He had actually hissed at Chuck as well in our last visit)

Sadly, by the time I got to bed, my side was really hurting. 

Day 7

 We spent the day around the Boston area with my cousin Richard, whom I had not seen in fifty years. 

We began the morning attending Mass at St. Columbkille’s Catholic Church in Brighton, where Mom and Dad were married. We changed clothes in the car tucked away at the back of the parking lot.

From there we met up with Richard. We ate lunch at a local restaurant and then made a trip to St. Joseph’s Cemetery where several of my family members are buried. In fact, my grandmother Alice (Nana), grandfather Francis (whom I never met), Uncle Tom, Uncle Richard, Uncle Edmond, and Aunt Theresa are all buried in the same plot. 

From there we traveled to several beach towns that my cousin likes to frequent. We stopped at Scituate Beach, which I remembered from my family’s 1976 vacation. 

We had a fun day hanging out with Richard and appreciated him giving us a tour of the area. 

After we left Richard, we stopped by Jersey Mike’s, picked up sandwiches for dinner, and returned to our hotel room to eat them.