Ok, so this post is waaaaaay loooooong overdue! Please excuse my lateness in posting about our Texas trip from MAY. Things have been a little busy over here with work and getting ready for the arrival of baby girl.
Back in May we took a totally crazy road trip to follow DMB at the start of their summer tour and see some sights across Texas. We were originally supposed to go to my besties wedding in Jamaica in March, but once we found out we were pregnant we had to cancel our trip, thank you Zika. Part of our flights were with JetBlue and all we could get was a credit. With baby girl due at the end of August, our chances of seeing DMB in CA at the end of their summer tour wasn’t looking all that likely. Tof had the great idea of trying to see DMB somewhere outside of CA so we could also use some of our JetBlue credits since you only have 1 year to use the. What a wonderful idea! We ended up deciding to see them in Texas since there were multiple shows we could attend and the dates/timing with everything just seemed to work out better. I’ve been seeing DMB in CA since probably 2002 and always see them at the very end of their summer tour. We were beyond excited to attend the very first TWO shows of the summer tour! Waaaahoooo!
Our travels took us from Austin — Houston — The Woodlands — Dallas — Waco — back to Austin. Woah! It was a lot of driving, but I seriously had the best time with my best friend/hubby! 
❤ ❤ ❤
Texas Day 1 [5.17.18] — Austin
We flew from Long Beach, CA into Austin, TX. The only trouble with using our credits from JetBlue was that we only had one choice of airports to fly in and out of. Thus we also had to rent a car to get around Texas.
Can you say this handsome guy is ready for a VACATION?!?!? I think so! How’d I get so lucky?!
Once we arrived in Austin we were greeted by some heat, picked up our rental car twice (first one reeked of cigarette smoke) and headed to our hotel. After a quick change of clothes (shorts were necessary!) we headed into downtown Austin. First up was Congress Bridge to hopefully watch the bats fly out!
The view and sunset from Congress Bridge was so beautiful. There were a lot of other people who had the same idea as we did haha call us tourists I guess. It was fun to see the park across the way fill up with spectators and more people crowd onto the bridge.
Apparently there are 1.5 million (and growing) colony of Mexico free-tailed bats that live under the South Congress Bridge. Millions of tourist (like us) from across the globe gather to see the beloved Austin bats take flight every night from late March until late September. Sadly, they didn’t really “take flight” from out under the bridge. I was hoping it would look like this 
, but all we really got was the sound of them scurrying around and a few glimpse of them darting out in the dark haha. Not quite what I/we had imagined, but we still had a blast!
After dinner we drove around downtown a bit and then ended up driving through the University of Texas and found the football stadium.
OF COURSE we got out of the car and took some pictures FIGHTING ON!!! Heck yay!!! FIGHT ON! 
We kept driving through campus just to check things out. Commencement was that weekend so there were a bunch of people setting up chairs for the next days ceremonies. I can’t imagine having to sit through a graduation ceremony in the Texas heat!
Next up on our night adventures of Austin was hunting down and finding theCHIVE location. They are based in Austin and Tof loves everything CHIVE. So glad we wore our Bill Murray shirts because we got a lot of attention haha. That’s actually the case everywhere we go, but it was fun to get so many comments while in Austin.
After lots of driving around we FINALLY found theCHIVE office! It was pretty tricky to find it, but I’m so glad we were sneaky and able to find it! So wish we could have taken an actual tour, Tof would have LOVED that! You can take a virtual tour of the office. Looks like such a fun place to work! Clearly I am in the wrong field haha.
Texas Day 2 [5.18.18] — Morning tour of the capitol
We spent the next morning taking a tour of the state capitol and doing a little exploring before getting on the road to our next destination, The Woodlands! I always love going on tours of capitol buildings when I’m in a new state or finding other free and fun things to do. We learned a lot on this tour and thoroughly enjoyed the AC and a break from the heat!
Before checking into our hotel we made a quick stop at POPBAR for a refreshing afternoon treat! Basically, you select a frozen gelato and sorbetto base (they have so many flavors) and then you can add a variety of toppings. I ended up with chocolate dipped strawberry and Tof got a very minty chocolate something! So delicious and refreshing. We walked around a little (scoping out a place for dinner) before checking into our hotel to relax and get ready for DMB.
For dinner we ended up at this crazy crowded pub. The food really wasn’t all that great (I hated my dinner), but the drinks for Tof were good haha. On the way to the restaurant and back to the concert venue, we walked along this really pretty path called The Waterway District. So many cute condos were located along this walkway along with plenty of green space to picnic or hang out. Next up…DAVE MATTHEWS BAND!
The whole point for our crazy Texas road-trip was to see DMB! We were beyond excited (as I am sure you can tell from the above pictures) to be seeing DMB and for the 1st show of the 2018 summer tour at The Cynthia Woods Mitchel Pavilion! WHAT A NIGHT! We had an absolute BLAST. It was a little weird to not have Boyd Tinsley with the band, but the guys still rocked it! It was pretty warm that night, but the Texas heat didn’t bother us! We ended up with great seats courtesy of The Warehouse and met lots of fun DMB fans! People were shocked that we weren’t Texans and that we came all the way from CA for the show. Really?!?!?! Ha ha ha. I guess we know how to fit in.
Texas Day 3 [5.19.18] — On the road again…to Dallas
Slept in (isn’t that one of the greatest things about vacation?!) after an AMAZING DMB show. Had a late breakfast at Another Broken Egg and OMG was it delicious!!! I had the Pancake Trio for breakfast and selected a regular pancake, mixed berry and a lemon blueberry goat cheese. Soooooooo GOOD. Tof always knows where to go for breakfast or any meal. After breakfast, it was on the road to Dallas!
We were both surprised by how open the roads were and how much greenery Texas had. Most of the time we couldn’t really see past all the trees that lined the side of the road! Totally wasn’t expecting that.
Along the way we stopped for gas at Woody’s Smokehouse. This place was LEGIT and we had no idea this was the place to stop for BBQ! Too bad we had a late/big breakfast…neither one of us was hungry, but the BBQ looked so good. We picked up a few items for the road and some souvenirs for our families.
We arrived in Dallas mid-afternoon and checked into our hotel. We stayed at The Westin Downtown Dallas. Check out the view of downtown Dallas from our room below.
Felt kinda weird to be in a “big” city after driving through so much open green fields. After resting a bit and freshening up, we did a little exploring, grabbed some “Royal Wedding” cupcakes at Sprinkles in honor of the royal wedding and had dinner at Hopdaddy Burger Bar before heading to another night of DMB.
DMB Night #2 and 2nd show of the 2018 summer tour was at Dos Equis Pavilion. Another kick ass night! The black and white photo of Dave I found on Instagram, P.C. Rene Huemer. Such a great photo I just had to snag it!
We definitely liked The Cynthia Woods Mitchel Pavilion venue better, but still had a great time! Again we had great seats courtesy of The Warehouse and survived another sticky night in the Texas heat. So very glad to have seats instead of having to sit on the crowded lawn. We met a couple and their two kids the night before and ended up sitting like 4 rows behind them for night #2. After the show we chatted with them a bit more. LOVE that DMB fans are so friendly, easy to talk too and overall just awesome!
Texas Day 4 [5.20.18] — Breakfast before driving to Waco!
Woke up to a RAIN storm in Dallas. We knew we might get some rain on our trip so we did pack jackets and shoes just in case. Good thing, because we needed them both! We started our day (after sleeping in again) with the most delicious breakfast at Commissary before getting back on the road. My hubby seriously knows how to pick the best places to eat! He had the Croque Madame – ham, gruyere, brioche, mornay, fried egg and I had the Butcher’s Breakfast – two meats, eggs, and potatoes. We also started with a croissant and a some sort of strawberry/passion fruit tart. YUM.
Next stop…WACO and the Dr. Pepper Museum. We had NO IDEA that Dr. Pepper started in Waco, TX of all places. Clearly we’re bad Dr. Pepper drinkers/supporters hehe. When I found out there was a museum it was a must on our list of things to do. This is also the day that my baby bump seemed to make more of an appearance. Or maybe that’s just the maternity shorts and tank?!
After touring the first part of the museum, we headed across the way to look at more Dr. Pepper memorabilia and get some treats! Did you know you can make all kinds of desserts with a variety of sodas? We got to attend a demo lab and even tasted one of the cupcakes they made! So good! Check these out.
Next up was some tasty treats from Frosty’s Soda Shop! I had a Dr. Pepper float (amazing, who needs root beer?!?) and Tof had a Dr. Pepper sundae that had a special Dr. Pepper sundae sauce. YUM!
We had a blast at the Dr. Pepper Museum! So glad we had time to do this.
Next up, we checked out the SILOS! Well, they were actually closed since it was a Sunday), but we were still able to walk around the outside of the property and take pictures. This ended up being a great idea because nobody was around! On Monday it ended up being somewhat crowded, so I’m really glad we got to take some pictures without a bunch of people waiting around or all the crowds. Also, very glad Tof was down to take so many pictures…who are we kidding he loves Chip/Fixer Upper and was totally into visiting the Silos!
The day we were there Chip and Jo were totally at the Silos too! We saw some kids playing on the lawn and then we found BOTH Chip and Jo’s cars on the side of the property!! We were sooo excited and of course hoped that maybe they would step out and we could meet them. Sadly, that didn’t happen 😦 but we did “find” them at the Visitor Center haha.
After the Silos, we explored Baylor (second college tour we did on the trip), Harp Design Co., the original location of Magnolia “The Little Shop on Bosque” and more around downtown Waco.
On Fixer Upper you always see shots of the ALICO building and we finally got to see it in person. Apparently the building is currently owned and operated by the American-Amicable Life Insurance Company of Texas.
That evening we headed to the Waco Suspension Bridge to catch the sunset. It was so pretty! Fun fact: the bridge was built with cable supplied by the John Roebling Co., who built the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. You can read more about the history of the bridge here.
After dinner we headed back to the Silos to see if maybe we could still meet Chip & Jo and to see all the lights at night. Sadly, Chip & Jo were gone, but man did everything look great with all the lights! For a little dessert we went to Heritage CREAMERY…yum! Heritage is practically on Baylor’s campus so we took a little drive through campus again before heading back to our hotel.
Texas Day 5 [5.21.18] — All things MAGNOLIA! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Our last and final day in Texas started BRIGHT and EARLY…at 6:30am to be exact for breakfast at Magnolia Table! We had heard and read online that this place gets suuuuuper busy and it’s best to get their first thing. We also wanted to make sure we had enough time at the Silos before heading to Austin for our flight back to CA.
Magnolia Table was charming, fun, hearty and delicious and so very Chip & Jo! We got lucky and walked right into the restaurant and got a table! I guess it pays to get their early. For breakfast I had the Skillet Porridge Oatmeal and Tof had Chip’s Ham Sandwich. Both of our meals were so tasty. We also had to try some of Jo’s Buttermilk Biscuits with Strawberry Butter…drool. Wow those biscuits were beyond yummy! You can check out the full menu here. If you’re planning a trip I recommend going early! We originally had thought about going for lunch, but heard from our waitress that the lunch wait can be 2-3 hours! If you want to read or know more about the history of Magnolia Table check that out here.
We had a great breakfast and really enjoyed ourselves at Magnolia Table. Love this quote that’s in the restaurant and all that Chip & Jo are doing!
“There’s always a seat at Magnolia Table”
After breakfast and taking a look in the gift shop we headed over to the Silos Baking Co.! Again we heard that the Silos Baking Co. can get really busy/crowded. We noticed the day before they have stanchions set up kind of like at Disneyland to control the lines. To our surprise (again) there was NO line and we could walk right in! Although we were totally stuffed from breakfast we still ordered some sweet treats for later.
The shop is so totally cute! We ordered the Siolbration Cupcake (vanilla cake with chocolate buttercream and sprinkles) and a Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie. Both were perfect airport treats!
Since there was no line at the bakery, we had some time to spare before the MAGNOLIA store officially opened. We walked all around the Silos and explored every inch of it! We loved taking a bunch of pictures, walking through the gardens and finally just being there!
Checking out the garden area. So wonderful! We need some raiser planter boxes like this.
The Market (Magnolia store) officially opened at 9am. We were ready and excited to get in the store and do some shopping!
INSIDE the STORE!!! OMG, OMG, OMG!
Clearly someone is excited and can’t believe we FINALLY made it haha.
Inside the store was BUSY! So. Many.People. We initially were only going to buy a few things…but we might have gotten a little carried away. “When in Rome” the say…
After we left the store we signed the guest book and decided to hang out on the lawn area before getting back in the car and heading to the airport. We ended up with a lot of extra time because we were planning for everything to take a lot longer than it did. We took full advantage of these comfy bean bag chairs and just relaxed on the lawn (in some shade) and talked about our trip. There are also a ton of food trucks, so you can totally make a whole day out of visiting the Silos and even eat all your meals at there.
The Silos and all Magnolia stuff was really, really fun! I’m glad we made time for Waco on our trip. It felt like we really did a lot and took advantage of as much as we could. Next up…back to Austin and then the airport. Since we were ahead of schedule we had some time for a little more sightseeing…
Any Friday Night Lights fans out there?!?!? Well, although the TV series was set in the fictional small town of Dillon, Texas, it was filmed in and around Austin. Since we had some time before we had to head to the airport we found this map of Friday Night Lights locations and had to make a few stops. First up was Coach Taylor’s house.
Outside Coach Talyor’s house!! Looks a little different, but that’s so the Taylors house!! Clearly I was very excited to be at Coach Taylors.
Next up was Tim Riggins house! Looks very different than the show and has totally been updated. We LOVED that these people just went with it. They had a Dillon Panthers football sign in the window for Tim Riggins #33 in their front window just like they have on all the lawns for the football players on the show!
Where are you Tim?!?!
I wanted to find Matt Saracen’s house, but it kept showing up as Tim’s house. After a few attempts we decided to head to the airport. A lot of other places on the interactive map were too far spread out across Austin or were places we just didn’t need to see.
New clear eyes full hearts can t lose quote 72 best Friday Night Lights images on Pinterest
Here’s one last snap shot of the map for our crazy road trip! Yes it was a lot of driving and mileage, but it got broken up so nicely. We would have loved to see more in some of the cities we stopped in, but DMB was our main reason for being in Texas! For me the only other place I still need to visit is San Antonio..maybe next time. Really had an amazing time with my hubby and best friend! So glad we booked this crazy trip!
GOODBYE TEXAS and GOODBYE to our car that took us all over the state!
❤ ❤ ❤
Clear Eyes
Full Hearts
Can’t Lose!
#texasforever
Xo
Sweet for Certain 