Adventures in Waco
My son is about to start his junior year at Baylor University, located in Waco, Texas. We visited the school in the summer of 2021, and then I’ve gone with him each year (freshman, sophomore, and now junior) to help him settle in. So, this was my fourth trip to Waco! It’s… an odd town. I have a couple friends who attended Baylor (back in the 1980s) and they loved the school- everyone loves Baylor- but said you didn’t leave campus. The town of Waco was very rundown and well, kind of a slum. But… Chip and Joanna Gaines to the rescue! Baylor graduates themselves, they have single-handedly taken it upon themselves to gentrify the town. Their “Fixer Upper” TV show gave people something to talk about other than the Branch Davidian fiasco, and in addition to fixing up houses, they built The Silos, or rather, they built a complex of stores and restaurants around two existing silos in the heart of downtown. (By the way- not everyone is on board with this. I got an earful last year from my Uber driver, who told a funny story about Joanna throwing a diva fit at the DMV- hee hee! Some people, it seems, liked Waco the way it was.) Right now Waco is a weird study in contrasts. Part of the town is still very old and shabby, part of it is old and charming, and part of it is new and shiny. To be honest, it’s not a place I ever would have wanted to visit, but since my son is planted there, I’ve made it a point to get to know the area. Like most places, there are interesting things to do if you just try. Last year I went for an epic trail run, but this year I wanted to run along the river. The river path starts in a park, and you can run (or walk) several miles on either side. *SIDE NOTE: I’ve already mentioned that it was extremely hot while I was there- so I’m just going to say, everything I did would have been ESPECIALLY LOVELY if it had been 30-40 degrees cooler. There’s no need to belabor the point, so now I’ll stop talking about the intense heat. It was what it was.* There’s a zoo in the park where the trail starts, and I assume that’s why there are statues of animals all along the path at that end. This one was my favorite: At the far end of the trail, you come to the Baylor campus. Why is running over bridges so fun? I crossed the river four times, each time on a different bridge. In the afternoon, I went out for Part 2 of my Waco adventure. I had read that Parisian street artist Blek le Rat painted a series of murals on different buildings in downtown Waco, so I went on a mural hunt. These were painted on the walls of various businesses (one of them was on the side of the Waco Running company, a store I was very happy to discover on my visit last year) and after I found a few of them I thought, “Wait a minute! Are these murals?” Not to sound like a philistine, but aren’t murals supposed to be large and colorful? No worries, because it turns out Waco is a city of murals! While I was looking for Blek le Rat’s “murals”, I kept seeing all sorts of things like this: Waconians really like to paint on their buildings! While I was looking for a mural called “1,000 Hopes for Waco” (which, to my disappointment, I never did find because I had the wrong address) I saw this one: It was hard to get a good photo, but far on the right side it shows the Waco Running Company! I’m still bummed I didn’t find “1,000 Hopes for Waco” (next time!) but I had fun on my search, and was surprised to find murals everywhere. I did stop in at The Silos, mainly to use the bathroom and take advantage of the AC for a few minutes. It was fun browsing in the shops, but things are VERY pricey. At one point I picked up a nice-looking notebook- I like notebooks!- and thought about getting it, until I saw the price tag- $42. No, thanks. In addition to the stores, there’s food at the Silos, including The Silos Baking Company. I didn’t go in because I’m pretty sure they don’t sell vegan baked goods. It smelled good, though! The next day, as I was taking the bus out of town (I had to take a Greyhound to the Dallas airport) I was surprised that I knew the streets so well. “Oh, there’s the Waco Running Company, with Blek le Rat’s painting on the side! That means if I look down this street I’ll see the Silos. Now we’re crossing the river, so McLane Stadium will be coming up on my right…” I’m always sad to leave my son, and I was sad to leave this odd little town as well. Have you ever been to Waco? Ever watched Fixer Upper? Have you ever gone on vacation to an odd location?