So, as I mentioned last time, the day after our June card making nights, I headed off in the truck with Bill. He's been taking several loads down to Laredo, Texas, and this time I took a week off work, and went along for the ride! Although I had travelled in the truck with him before, I had never been to Texas. And neither had Kes!
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| Kes in her bed. |
While she had taken a short two hour trip in the truck with us before, this was the first time she had been on a long trip. She was pretty nervous at first, and didn't know what to do or where to go. This was about 30-40 minutes in, when she decided to have a seat in her bed. She even got comfortable and laid down- for about 30 seconds! And no, I am not exaggerating. That bed was mostly in the way the rest of the trip.
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| She actually laid down! |
As we were about to leave Tennessee on day two, Bill implied I was about to see something special. I wasn't sure what to expect, so I was ready with the phone in hand to take a picture. It was a cool building, even if I'm not into fishing. It was fun to post it on Facebook for our friend Dave though, who enjoyed it.
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| The Pyramid |
As we got further south, I kept seeing all these yellow flowers along the sides of the highways. In general, I'd call them weeds. But darn, they were pretty. They looked like sunflowers. I made several attempts to capture some images of them, even resorting to trying slow motion videos... the results were rather comical. However, I did finally find a couple places to snag some nice pictures of them. Not sure what exactly they are, but they are enjoyable to look at as you're driving.
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| On the off ramp in Laredo, TX. |
I got a nice close up at a truck stop a day or two later.
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| Not quite a sunflower? |
Now my main goal of this trip was to go to Waco, Texas. Why you ask? Well, as any good HGTV lover will know, it was to go to Magnolia Market! Yay!
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| Our first glimpse |
Knowing I couldn't go crazy, I spent some time on their website in advance, planning out what I thought I might like to purchase. And yes, I could have just gone ahead and ordered online, but that wouldn't have been any fun!
They warn you on their website- be prepared for high temps, and lots of shoppers, and they were not kidding! The store was packed, and being an old barn with no A/C, quite hot. (We ran out of water quickly.) It was so much fun to browse around and see so many items that had been on the show, and so many things that remind you of both Joanna and Chip.
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| Chip has a whole corner! |
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| Jimmy Don's signs |
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| The cutest fairy garden items were inside! |
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| Herb garden. |
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| Nice! |
So, there were a couple of these cute shelters in the gardens to provide some much needed shade. I really enjoyed the rustic look of them, and the lights strung across the roof beams.
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| A different view of the silos. |
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| The food trucks |
It was pretty scorching, mid afternoon when we were there. Not too much action at the food trucks. We did snag some popcorn at the popcorn stand though.
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| The artificial lawn where kids were playing. |
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| Had to prove we were actually there! |
Just in case there was any doubt, I made Bill stop for a picture. He was thrilled as usual.
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| Cute vignette. |
So many people were taking pictures there. A nice man offered to take my picture for me, but I declined. Looking back, I wish I had. I didn't take any pics of myself here. Guess I'll just have to go back!
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| Cool shot |
At the base of the silos is a large stage area. It appears that for the regular day-to-day stuff, it's the home of several picnic tables where folks sit for a break in the shade. While we sat here for a bit, I decided to snap a picture of this little scene.
And of course, when friends in Sarnia, (and even up in Dundas where Bill's dispatch crew are), heard we were going to Magnolia Market, we were told we HAD to buy cupcakes! That was definitely high on the list until this:
Yup. That's the line up to get into the bakery. Several rows. A line so big that they had to put up an awning. I'd guess folks waited in that line at least 40 minutes. I'm afraid a cupcake wasn't worth that to me- it was almost 100 degrees! So this was as close as I got to one of Joanna's famous cupcakes:
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| The Bakery |
I am prepared for next time though. Bill and I spent a good amount of time chatting with some of the girls who worked in the store, and one gave us this tip- there's never a line when they open at 7:30 am! I'm certain that is a bit earlier than I'll head there next time, but perhaps I will get up at that hour to try to avoid that line.
Lastly, I must say, the American rest areas put Canada to shame! Well Ontario at least. I saw so many lovely rest areas, but this one in Laredo Texas was by far the most beautiful, welcoming, and relaxing. You could have stayed all day, had a picnic, read a book...
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| So lovely |
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| Several covered picnic areas. |
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| Kes enjoyed getting out to play. |
Haha! I almost forgot... I didn't tell you what I bought at Magnolia Market! Here's my haul for the day:
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| My Magnolia Market haul |
The small bag is a bar of soap- it smells so good I still haven't used it; we brought back most of the popcorn to share with the kids; and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Magnolia Journals. They're very nicely made- thicker paper than a usual magazine. Much nicer quality. At the back is a great blanket I found on my second pass of the sale area- we got all our purchases for almost the exact original price of the blanket- yay me!
And this was me doing a bible study one morning under my new blanket!
Side note, I thought it would be hard to keep up with a daily bible study while on the road, but it was actually easier than since I've returned home. I think I better head to a quiet place and do a study for today before bed.
Night all!
