48 Hours: Waco, Texas

My best friend and I have been trying to visit Waco for months now, but every time we actually commit, it seems like the Covid cases spike again. It is now October and it seems like even if we are nervous about Covid, it isn’t possible anymore to put life on hold so we just decided to pick a few days to go. Waco is often overshadowed by its neighboring city, Dallas, which is only located about an hour and a half away, but thanks to Chip and Joanna Gaines and their legion of Fixer Upper fans, Waco has really made it onto the map in recent years. Be prepared for a rural, but very quaint town! I’ve spent several weekends now exploring Texas and I’m so excited to be able to add another town onto my list.

Accommodations

The #1 reason why we wanted to visit Waco (besides Magnolia Market obviously) was getting to stay in these adorable mini container homes. I first spotted them on Airbnb and fell in love with their cute interior design and dreamy rooftop. The Airbnb owner actually has about 5 other tiny container homes on his property and renovated all of them with his sons. Although they vary in size (some are for 4 people while others like ours are meant for 2 people only), the homes all have wifi, air conditioning, murphy beds, tvs, and a beautiful rooftop deck. While we were in Waco to explore, we definitely wanted to spend a good chunk of time at our Airbnb as well because how often do you get to live in a container home? Unfortunately, the homes fill up super quickly (like months in advance) so we decided to stay Thursday to Saturday instead of the typical Friday to Sunday weekend trip. It worked out however, because both of us chose to work remotely on Friday, allowing us to spend more time in our container home! There homes on the property are spread out to where noise isn’t an issue, but not too spread out to the point where you feel like you are alone in the middle of rural Texas. The rooftop was our favorite part of the home- we did a workout class up there and enjoyed a lunch with views. But the Tuft and Needle mattress and the Hulu subscription were also amazing features as well. This tiny home was one of the best Airbnb experiences I’ve ever had!

Activities

Magnolia Market

Magnolia was CROWDED so get there as early as possible (as in before everything opens because lines do form and with Covid capacity restrictions, entry into buildings can take time. Construction and renovations was also going on when we were there so some parts were closed, but that just means I’ll have to go back when everything is complete. There are 3 areas that are currently open- Magnolia Press, Magnolia Market, and Silos Baking Company. Obviously, we went to all 3! Magnolia Press is the adorable green and gold coffee shop on their campus and served up a great, although sort of too sweet, snickerdoodle latte. Like its two counterparts, there are various Instagrammable photo opportunities located inside and outside of the building. The coffee shop opened first so after grabbing our caffeinated drinks, we headed towards the bakery to wait in line for opening time. The line wrapped around the corner, but moved reasonably efficiently. I got an assortment of cupcakes and cookies and boy, were they delicious! Highly recommend the nuts and bolts cupcake as well as the Silos cookie. Last, we stopped next door at Magnolia Market where customers and fans can stock up on Chip and Joanna Gaines merchandise. Everything is quite expensive though so I only bought my staple souvenirs- a Magnolia themed postcard and a cute wooden magnet. The Magnolia experience is definitely built for fans of Fixer Upper and the Gaines- it is mainly photo taking, shopping, and eating- but it makes for the perfect addition to a girls trip!

Cameron Park

Cameron Park is a huge green area located alongside the Brazos River with a ton of trails, including ones that have serious elevation. There are a few trailhead options and plenty of parking available. The trails are a mixture of shaded and unshaded, but all were interesting to hike and had sufficient signage up. Our favorite was the River Trail where we could walk along the beautiful Brazos River (something so very Texas) and also immerse ourselves in the trees. The trails aren’t too crowded, which made for a great social distancing outing.

Dr Pepper Museum

All Dr. Pepper lovers must visit this museum at least once. The museum is housed in a 3 story building and filled with paraphernalia and interesting facts about the brand and all their products. I didn’t even know that Dr. Pepper was created in Waco! Its located at the very location where Dr. Pepper was first served to the public, the Old Corner Drugstore. There is even a replica of the original store front inside the museum. Facts on how soda is created and bottled as well as historical information on the development of soda drinks is what makes up the bulk of the information provided. The museum takes about an hour to wander through and ends in the soda fountain where all ticketholders can receive a free 10 oz soda drink.

Baylor University

I stopped here very quickly on my drive back to Houston and thoroughly enjoyed walking the peaceful university grounds. There were students scattered around the campus studying outside, eating, and basically just reminding me of my own college days. It was so nostalgic (even though I’m a proud Longhorn)! There is a free visitor parking lot located towards the middle of campus that doesn’t require a parking permit, which definitely made visiting and touring the campus a lot easier. UT could definitely learn something from this!

Waco Suspension Bridge

Located along the Brazos River, the Suspension Bridge is a pedestrian only bridge that lets you look over the beautiful river in peace. I was a little confused on the name Suspension Bridge though because it wasn’t necessarily a typical “suspension” bridge and was basically just a normal pedestrian bridge. The bridge isn’t too far of a walk from Magnolia Market or the Dr. Pepper museum so its a fun detour to stop at.

Waco Farmer’s Market

The farmer’s market was a nice detour for a cheesy and cheap quesadilla, but is very small. I’m guessing due to Covid, many vendors did not want to serve food at the market so there is only about a dozen tents set up for buying produce, baked goods, and ready made food. We were already in the area with plans to visit Magnolia Market, the Bridge, and the Dr. Pepper Museum, so stopping at the farmer’s market wasn’t out of the way for us. However, I wouldn’t have made a special stop here.

Food

Shorty’s Pizza Stack

The popular and unique food item to try here is the pizza pillow, which is a square shaped pizza dough with the cheese, toppings, and sauce wrapped inside. I would have to say this is a pass- probably one of the worst pizza/ pizza creations I’ve ever tasted. The dough was very chewy and dough and the filling was too heavy, making the whole thing taste soggy. There was also no real flavor besides only tasting the dough. A definite pass.

Franklin Ave Mac House

The mac and cheese here wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t amazing mac and cheese either. I chose the Big Jim’s mac and cheese with gouda and bacon and thought it was a decent snack. The cheese wasn’t too liquidy or oily and there was a decent amount of bacon included. The Mac House is located in a shopping plaza parking lot in a little wooden house- it can be easy to miss to keep your eye out for their sign!

Teriyaki Park

Fried sushi! I have been wanting to try fried sushi for the longest time and it is actually so hard to find (although should it be in Texas where we fry literally everything). The sushi was so yummy here I actually stopped by twice to try two different fried rolls. The Waco roll and the California roll both come fried (and are huge). Teriyaki Park was a surprise for us after tasting some mediocre food and is a true hidden gem in Waco.

Cajun Craft

Another hidden food gem in Waco! The cajun food here was spot on- both my friend and I agreed. I loved my boudin balls so much- they were perfectly fried and crispy on the outside with delicious rice jambalaya on the inside. My only regret was that I didn’t order more food from here…. Highly recommend!

Dos Mundos

Like Shorty’s, this baked potato spot can also be a pass. I love baked potatoes and was looking forward to trying a restaurant that specialized in baked potatoes with a variety of different toppings. But not only was the potato overpriced (a small is $10!), the toppings didn’t actually add much flavor or uniqueness to the potato.

1102 Bubble Tea

No vacation is ever complete without a bubble tea drink! As you probably know, I always attempt to find and taste bubble tea in every city that I visit. 1102 is a chain the the Dallas area with about 3-4 other locations and there is a reason why they are successful. Their tea is really good! They also have a few unique and Instagrammable options like a flower pot milk tea and a cereal inspired drink. I went for a classic black milk tea with bubbles, but definitely plan to be more adventurous next time I come across their cafe.

Bittersweet Waco

Go here as fast as you can! The cookies here are the best! There are so many unique and mouthwatering combinations of flavors- snickerdoodle cookie butter, birthday cake cream cheese, peanut butter chocolate, nutella oreo, oreo caramel, and so much more. My friend and I had a hard time just choosing one cookie ($4.5) so we decided to buy half a dozen cookies ($20). The cookies are given to you in individual plastic bags and are meant to be heated up at home (or in the store) prior to eating. I thought this was smart because had the employee heated up the cookie for us at the store, they would have cooled down by the time we brought them back to our Airbnb to enjoy after dinner. The cookies are so soft and full of rich flavor- I’m dreaming of the day I can return to Waco and try more!

Exploring small towns is the best! It’s also perfect for these crazy times when being around too many people can make a girl nervous. What other small towns would be perfect to visit?