Our first stop on our trip however was to fulfill a dream of mine, actually a dream of American women all over the country. We stopped in Waco to see Chip and Joanna Gaine's Magnolia Market from HGTV's "Fixer Upper!" I cannot even describe how excited I was to be there and to even just see it driving towards it! I was literally like a kid going to Disney World; my excitement even surprised myself! Since being here in Texas, my husband has told me I better plan a girls trip to go here because he had no interest and then after going, he even wanted to stop again on the way home (although we didn't). Their bakery was so delicious where we tried an extremely moist and buttery-frosted, strawberry cupcake as well as a huge, dense yet fluffy, cheddar bacon biscuit. Biscuits are one of my favorite foods (especially since moving to Dallas) so I couldn't resist. We then spent the majority of our time out in the yard in front of the silos playing in the grass with balls and wooden building blocks along side black and white striped bean bag chairs for lounging. Oh and I can't forget the wooden swings! Food trucks sat out back and the Market, oh the market, was full of Joanna's style! She's a big deal designer now so her stuff ain't cheap but it sure is lovely. I couldn't bring myself to buy a $28 t-shirt this trip but I'll be back.
We then continued our journey down to San Antonio and my most favorite spot was the River Walk! I'm a sucker for tourism but this sure was pretty. Beautiful brick lined the river with stone arch bridges to take you you from one side to the other while the water taxi passed through back and forth. Along the river walk were hotels, restaurants and shops to keep you busy exploring. We ate at a cute little steakhouse right on the water where our kids watched the ducks and we took in all the scenery.
The next day, Jesus' cousin and his wife from Houston drove down to meet us and we went to Six Flags! Our two kids survived a busy day and enjoyed all the rides. I found out however that I might officially be done with rides I once enjoyed. My motion sickness has gotten worse and worse over the years and while I can still handle big drops on roller coasters, anything that spins or loopty loops might be out. I wanted to be brave and thought I could handle just one so I took a spin on the Super Man coaster without checking it out ahead of time. My husband told me to look and see how it was first but I didn't want to know so I wouldn't chicken out. It had sooooo many twists and turns and upside downs that I was sick for a good hour after the ride. I just have to embrace that this is what has happened to my life. But nonetheless it was still a good day. We ended the night by finding an awesome Puerto Rican restaurant for dinner. Being married to A Dominican, we have had lots of Dominican and similar Puerto Rican food and this restaurant surprisingly had some of the best! Mofungo, tostones, pastillitos, yuca, arroz con andoulles, oh my...
Finally on our road trip back home, we stopped at one of Texas's great road trip stops, Buc-ee's. It's basically a GIANT gas station with all kinds of souvenirs inside from cowboy hats, Texan trinkets, old fashioned candy lining the walls, real Texas BBQ and so much more! I'm sure every Texan has their favorite thing there but Jesus and I were happy with the salt water taffy and the cinnamon roasted almonds.
Since moving to Texas just 10 months ago, we have seen Dallas, Houston, Galveston, Waco and San Antonio, Not done exploring yet but not too shabby for getting started!
