So I'm going to Waco, Texas. Any advice?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

This is my first thread in the new format- very exciting! Almost as exciting as my exotic trips to Ames, Iowa, and Little Rock, Arkansas, (which happened this summer) except with fewer people saying, “you Canaadians don’t eat enough!”. Or something.

So, Mr. Lissar and I are flying off to visit glorious Waco, Texas, and we’ll be leaving in a little more than a week. We’re going to visit our best friends, who are conveniently married, so we can visit them at the same time, and only have to fly to one location. It’s much better than if they lived in completely different areas. That would be expensive.

Everyone we’ve told has said some variation on, “You’re going where? For a holiday?”, but we’re not letting that deter us- there must be many fascinating things to do in Waco. For instance, there’s the Dr. Pepper museum.

Actually, that’s all I know about Waco, except for the Branch Davidian stuff, and that there’s a university called Baylor there. I’m profoundly ignorant about Texas in general and Waco in particular. Therefore I would appreciate all the information about the area I can get.

I’m also practicing looking innocent and harmless just in case we have any security trouble at the airport. I can always pretend I’m Mr. Lissar’s Japanese mail-order bride- my Grandma was one. Also, we’re changing planes in Houston, and I’m a little concerned about understanding whomever we ask for information- we had the damndest time understanding some people in Little Rock. And apparently they had trouble understanding us, sometimes.

Anyway, we’re off to someplace warmer. Any suggestions, helpful hints, or rumors?

2

Waco doesn’t really have much of a reputation for being a happenin’ place in Texas… you’d have to go to the big 5 cities for that. (Austin, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Fort Worth).

It’s only about 1.5-2 hrs from Dallas and Fort Worth, so you could come up here and see the sights.

That’s about all I can think of myself, but I’ll ask the girl I’m seeing- she went to law school at Baylor. Maybe she’ll know something.

3

Just hope the plane crashes before arrival at Waco errr (Wacko) Make a trip to Dallas, however I prefer Austin… More hip…

Please enter and leave under the cover of night…
Just stay away from the big guy who says " You ain’t from around here are ya"
his name is Bubba or Dewayne…
Peace

4

Wow. I was hoping for a little more enthusiasm.

We’re going to audit a few of our friends’ classes (they’re doing philosophy and classics) and generally hang out with them. Maybe we’ll go looking for armadillos, and I’m planning on singing “O, Canada” and seeing if I get shot.

I’ve never been to Texas before, remember, Everything will be an experience.

5

I have to ask, why Waco? Do you have friends or family there? If you just want to see Texas, for God’s sake go to San Antonio or Austin or the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I really like San Antonio, though I haven’t spent much time there since I was a little kid.

Though, to be fair, to me Waco is more or less just a bathroom stop between Austin and Fort Worth. (No, NOT Dallas, my great-grandmother lived in Fort Worth for a hundred years!) At least you will have an easy route to get to bigger places, since you’ll be right on 35.

6

Oh, due to caffeine deprivation I didn’t see that you DO have friends there. Um…that ought to make an enormous difference. I just can’t work up enthusiasm about Waco.

7

Speaking as a native, I can give you one piece of important advice: Do not barricade yourself and your relatives in a building and try to shoot it out with law enforcement officers. This sort of thing tends to end badly in these parts, particularly when the federal government becomes involved.

Aside from that… well… I can think of any number of things to do in Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, and even Laredo… but… Waco, of all places?

8

Thank heaven they’ll be leaving Waco at the end of this school year. I’m hoping they’ll move somewhere much farther north, like… Toronto. It’s pretty funny- I posted on chowhound asking about good restaurants, and almost all of them said, “Dear lord. Good food in Waco? Why are you going to Waco?”

I don’t think I’ve ever been to any big important cities in the U.S., although I drove past a number of them getting to Little Rock this summer. So I’ve been through Detroit and Cincinnati and Memphis and a bunch of other places, but we didn’t stop.

Just Des Moines, Ames, Little Rock, and now Waco.

We do have another friend in Dallas, so we might drive over during our stay. We’re going for a week. Did I mention that already? Oh, well.

9

I can’t help you with your trip, but I wanted to say:
Growing up, I had a best friend. One of the real kind that other people can see too. As it happened, later, I Fell in Love with a bee-yootiful lady-type girl person. As I was a-courtin’ her, one time I took my best-friend-growing-up with me so we could set him up with her best-friend-growing-up. You know what? They got married too. So my best friend married the Little Woman’s best friend. Like you said earlier. (“We’re going to visit our best friends, who are conveniently married, so we can visit them at the same time…blah, blah, blah…”)

I think this just goes to show something. I’m not sure exactly what, but it is well-shown.

10

Lissla, I can assure you you’ll enjoy Waco… seeing as how it’s being compared to Little Rock and Ames. It’s not a hotbed of activity but there’s plenty to do if you’re just kicking around with some married pals and are… uhhh… easily amused.

As mentioned, there’s the Dr. Pepper Museum. It’s downtown next to the warehouse district where they’ve renovated a number of big ol’ warehouses and made some really good restaurants out of them. There’s Diamondbacks, Buzzard Billy, Burgers & Blues, etc. There are several Lone Star Taverns in town as well. The owner’s brother is a butcher and the steaks literally hang off the plate.

The Texas Rangers Museum (the real Rangers, not the baseball team) is there by the river, as is the Texas Sports Hall Of Fame. Maybe it helps to be a Texan to enjoy these… you make the call.

West of town a piece, a little past Crawford and the West White House, is Glen Rose wher you can view a bunch of dinosaur tracks. You’re in the Lampassas Cut Plain there and it’s a beautiful drive through Clifton, Hamilton, Hico, etc. Fredericksburg is a couple of hours south in the hill country and it’s a perfect time to go antiquing there. B&Bs abound and there are a number of winerys to visit there as well.

There’s several nice golf courses in Waco if you play. Ridgewood’s my favorite and has beautiful views of the lake.

The Waco Zoo is worth the trip, especially if kids are in tow.

I haven’t lived there in years and am certainly forgetting a lot but hopefully your friends have been there long enough to have some ideas as well. I hope it’s a nice trip.

11

I think I’ve mentioned this before, Rue, but we watched them meet, fall in love, and start dating. And they were Best Man and Maid Of Honour at our wedding last winter. They got engaged seven days after we got hitched, and I was Matron of Honour (no smart remarks) at their wedding this summer.

The last time we saw them, they were being pelted with rice just prior to discovering that their car had been filled with foam peanuts. I had nothing to do with booby-trapping their car.

They’re both really tall. I looked like a midget at my wedding, and at theirs. I’m 5"4, Mr. Lissar’s 6"2, Erika’s 5"11, and Dave’s 6"6. No one should be fourteen inches taller than me. It’s unfair.

12

Former Waco resident (1997-1999) and Baylor alum checking it:

What lieu said. I like Waco, and would advise you not to listen to what any Austin or Dallas folks have to say about it! I’d say more, but: (1) lieu beat me to it, and (2) I’ve got to start teaching in 2 minutes!

13

Whatever you do, don’t badmouth Dr. Pepper. They are very proud of it down there.

14

waco is a nice little town with lots of history. although its claim to fame was the branch dividians, it is actually a cool town.
now i haven’t been there in about 10 years, but i do remember there being some interesting bridges. i was there with a photography class, so the bridges were an exciting step up from the local plant life.
and about people named bubba, well…26 years in texas, and i think i’ve met maybe one person with that name.
but i do suggest a trip to dallas, or maybe even austin, the capital. it’s a college town with lots of sites to see, and plenty of things to do. especially at night on 6th street. thats the club and bar strip.

15

You’re a belly dancer, right? If you come at the right time, you could come up for a Hafla. We have one coming up Feb. 21st - www.sultansdreams.com and we’re in the south part of the Metroplex halfway between Dallas & Ft. Worth - like others said, about an hour and a half north of Waco.

16

I’ve spent a couple days in Waco. I was working on a tour, so all I know is the (tiny) theatre they have there. It’s small, and the person who runs it is a very nice little man named Toad. Yup, Toad. When I was there the first time, he almost killed himself tying in my power hookup (big bang, sparks, etc). If you’re lucky, someone might be loading in a show and you can wander by and watch stagehands scratch their heads and try to get Broadway musicals onto a littlest stage in Texas.

Also, there’s a pretty good Mexican place right near the theatre. If you go out the back of the theatre and turn left, walk down the ally to the main street, it should be right across the street from you. I remember it as being the high point of my day, although that might not be saying much. Have fun!

17

the Dr Pepper museum is small!

18

Texas is looking better and better. We’re on Day 15 of a Cold-Weather Alert here in Toronto, it snowed all yesterday, and it’s snow and driving winds today. They buses aren’t running. Power is out at city hall. Sigh.

It may be small, Red Matrix, but there’ll be tacky souvenirs, right? There have to be!

We’re going on the 5th, and coming back on the 11th, Zyada. It’s too bad- I like haflas. I haven’t taken classes in a year, but I would have loved to see you dance and trade dance tips and stuff.

19

Ah, Waco, TX. I have fond memories of being dragged there for fundie religious events in my childhood…

No, really, it’s not all that bad. In fact, the folks there may be friendlier than those of my home town Dallas - and the hill country is quite beautiful.

Word of advice: Do NOT drive, or allow yourself to be driven, anywhere on Texas highways and byways without seatbelts and a bullet-proof car. We’ve got some true maniacs out there!

Enjoy your stay in the Lone Star State, Lissla Lissar!

20

These seem mutually exclusive to me, but then, I’m a Canadian.
There have to be a few more people with information or who want to make fun of me, or Waco, or both. I will remember to be properly respectful about Dr. Pepper. and I will not try to smuggle an armadillo back. Or a cactus.