Places to Visit in Waco, Texas
We had the best time in Waco. We stayed for two days and I wanted to give you a few places to visit in Waco, Texas!
We actually started our trip in Austin, Texas. You can read about the Places to Visit in Austin, Texas in a few. But first, let’s talk about places to visit in Waco because that’s why you are here, right?
Our first stop was our wonderful hotel – Hilton Waco located at 113 S University Parks Dr. The hotel has recently underwent a total makeover and it was gorgeous! Since we have drove from Austin we actually got stuck for about 3 hours. Apparently when it down pours in Texas the clay can’t drain the rain and it pretty much shuts down the entire state for awhile. We ended up taking back roads to Waco instead of taking 35. So, when we got there I was SUPER tired and hunted down a coffee. I loved that this hotel offered FREE Starbucks. But, I think it was in the middle of coffee time and alcohol time so the staff made me a coffee in the kitchen. That was when we met Chef Nate.
Chef Nate and his Sioux Chef Mike gave the family and I a tour of the kitchen, where they prep everything, how they keep the catering and restaurant separate in the kitchen, how the planning goes down and so much more. They knew we were coming in for dinner and asked the kids if they wanted anything special to eat. I gave them free reign over our menu and they were excited!
They headed back into the kitchen to prep for dinner and we headed out to explore Waco. Being a Joanna Gaines fan and being trapped in the car for so long we headed a few blocks over to Magnolia Farms. The grounds for the kids to play was absolutely amazing. I ran into the store while the kids and Hubby played for a few, before the rain hit again! I wasn’t really impressed with what was offered in the store. I was dying to buy SOMETHING and walked out with nothing 🙁 Still a little depressing to talk about.
We took the kids and headed over to the bakery. While we were waiting in line Jason was like “Why does she have a bakery? She doesn’t even cook!”. Well honey, you see, when you can up sell people you are going to take the opportunity to do so, get in while you can! While we were standing in line I grabbed myself a Silos Baking Company shirt. They are actually super soft and I wear mine all the time, seriously! Anyway, we grabbed a few cupcakes and sat down on the patio to enjoy them.
After our cupcakes were devoured, we headed over to Clint’s. {Like I’m friends with him or something!} Anyhow, Clint is who makes all the beautiful farmhouse tables and kitchen islands that you see featured on the show. He is a talented individual. We appeared at his shop and again I couldn’t believe my eyes. His shop is located in the middle of a neighborhood style street. Since the popularity of the show, Clint and his Wife has opened up their own little shop to sell items to visitors, like myself. Clint’s actual shop is now out back and we couldn’t go back there 🙁 However, we did get to see their house that they fixed up on Fixer Upper and it’s pretty darn cute!
We then drove around town getting the feel for the area before heading back to our hotel room to take a cat nap before our amazing dinner at Brazo’s.
Chef Nate, THANK YOU for you and your teams hospitality. We can’t wait to come back!
Dinner at Brazos Grille was AMAZING! Like seriously, I just want to go back and hang out with all of the friends we made at the Hilton and just eat! Chef Nate and his crew were amazing. Chef Nate allowed his sous chef to prepare our meal that night. It allowed to give them a little bit of creativity and show what kind of Chef’s they want to be. Being I do what I do, I loved that part and enjoyed being able to eat without looking at the menu as this gave our family new foods to try that we wouldn’t otherwise order.
Cheese and meat board Texas style | Mac and cheese cake | Crispy Parmesan Calamari | Discontented Pot Roast | Salmon Steak Special |
Chocolate cake | Italian cake | Chocolate mousse
The entire family devoured every single dish that came out of the kitchen at Brazos Grille. I actually came home and remade the fish dish with pork chops instead of the fish and it was a big hit! I just now remembered how AMAZING that Raspberry Sauce was with the charcuterie board and I can honestly say I need one of those slices of chocolate cake….right.about.NOW! Uhh…this is making me want to head back to Texas!!!!
That night we ended up hanging out at the hotel and the kids did a little swimming before we headed to our comfy beds at the Hilton and passed out! The next morning we woke up, got ready to conquer our day and had a fabulous breakfast at the buffet at Brazos Grille. That too was amazing! The kids were happy and Mommy and Daddy were happy because we had our Starbucks in us to conquer Cameron Park Zoo!
But, first, we walked across the street to those famous bridges that you see on Fixer Upper and I snapped a few pictures of the kiddos!
We headed on down to Cameron Park Zoo and had an AMAZING day! I didn’t realize it until we were walking the grounds, but, it was about 25 acres less than our Cincinnati Zoo. I didn’t think that it was that big until after our visit and I was doing some research! The kids had an amazing time. Jas didn’t want to leave the two coyotes! They were actually really cool to watch.
Being that we got there first thing when the zoo opened we didn’t have any trouble with it being overly packed and the weather was gorgeous so we lucked out! After leaving the Cameron Park Zoo we were pretty hungry! We ended up visiting Vitek’s BBQ before hitting the highway for Prosper! It was nice to stop into Vitek’s BBQ. It was like a deli style restaurant that is a local landmark that is a family owned BBQ restaurant. We did get their Gut Pak since that’s what they are known for!
Now one of the places I REALLY wanted to visit was the Mayborn Museum. But, because we got stuck on the highway on our drive up, we just simply ran out of time from our 3 hour delay. So, be sure to put the Mayborn Museum on your Places to Visit in Waco, Texas! It’s located at the Baylor University and has a lot of things to keep the kids occupied!
We then hit the road and headed for Frisco, Prosper and McKinney. Be sure to check out area next week as we wrap up our Places to Visit in Frisco, Texas.
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