LIVING

The Baylor University Campus is very beautiful. Much of it is along the Brazos river that meanders through Waco. As we drove through the campus admiring the beauty, we discovered that the Brazos River Ribfest was happening at the Baylor Bears Mcclane Stadium pictured above. Smoked pig, live music, and bouncy house dreams beckoned us like the Sirens in Homer’s Odyssey and we were unable to resist the call. For $10 you could buy a ticket that let you sample ribs from each of th

There was a time in my life when I might have been obsessed with Dr. Pepper. When I thought of Heaven I didn’t think of streets paved with gold, I thought of Dr. Pepper soda fountains in every home. Even though I now prefer water it was fun to pay a visit to the Dr. Pepper museum in Waco. Most of the museum was closed the day we went but we were able to look around at a few things while we were there. We were able to go to an old fashioned fountain in the museum that had syru

I had never heard of Chip and Joanna Gaines until a few months ago when our friend Megan told us to watch their show Fixer Upper on Netflix. For our date nights Marisa and I started watching the show and we really liked it. We saw the prices of the homes they worked on and we said to ourselves, “We are going to havve to move to Waco, Texas.” Luckily our travels took us near Waco so we could determine first hand if it contained the home of our dreams. We camped about 40 minute

When we read about the “World’s Littlest Skyscraper” in Wichita Falls we knew wehad to visit. I’m not sure why the Coehn Brothers haven’t made the story into a movie but they need to. Here is the story. Around 1912 there were large petroleum reserves found around Wichita Falls. A lot of people in the town got rich and there was a demand for growth in the town. A con man named J.D. Mcmahon decided to scam the town. Per Wikipedia, “According to local legend, when McMahon announ

This is another article in a series of letters that I am writing to my children about some of the things I hope they can learn about life from my observations. Dear Children, This is a carving that we saw in old town Albuquerque. It is a carving of the Virgin Mary that was done in an old cottonwood tree and I haven’t been able to get the story that we were told about it out of my head. I haven’t been able to confirm it’s veracity online but I choose to tell it to you because

You might remember our friends pictured above, Mary and Tommy from when we met up with them in Crescent City and they took us on a great hike in the Redwoods. They were living on the road like us and we really connected with them. In the time since we met up with them in California they have settled down on a Pecan Farm in Texas and so we made sure to stop and visit them while we were passing through. It was a good chance to have a career day with the kids and deep in my hea

The Don Harrington Discovery Museum was another fun science museum. Our kids had a good time and we stayed until it closed. The best part was what they called a Grossology exhibit. It was a whole wing dedicated to teaching about the digestive system, mucus, vomit, gas, and all other gross things our bodies do. I actually learned a lot and it was set up really well. I didn’t get a lot of pictures but here is a picture of the digestive system playground. Here I am exiting the d

It’s pretty flat near Amarillo. When I heard that the second largest canyon in the US (their claim not mine) was nearby I wanted to see it. We took a little drive and found the state park. It may be the second largest but in my opinion it certainly isn’t as dynamic or beautiful as Canyonlands or Bryce Canyon in Utah. It does seem like a nice place to camp and hike if you are in the area. We had a funny experience while we were there. There was a sign on a hike for a wildlife

One of the most interesting things about traveling full time are the surprise of what we find fun and what we don’t. There are times when I can predict what our family will enjoy but then there are those days when I am surprised by how much we enjoy certain things. We visited the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas and it ended up being one of the funnest things we have done. Per Wikipedia: Cadillac Ranch is not a ranch but a public art installation and sculpture in Amarillo, T

My challenge to you this week is to slow down and take some time to play. You deserve it. “We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.” -George Bernard Shaw ~Michael~