Waco, TX

"Why Waco, Texas" you may ask. This was also asked of me when people asked what my next trip was. Well I'm going to ask, "Why not?" Isn't that the great thing of travel? Going to a new place and finding it's charms.

Waco
My older sister loves to remodel her home and do it herself. She has taken on many projects and taught herself along the way. With this hobby, she loves to watch the TV Show Fixer Upper and get inspired. Well, Chip and Joanna, from Fixer Upper were opening a bigger store, Magnolia Market, and having a big grand opening and celebration the end of October. Megan called me in September and asked if I would go with her on this whim, to visit Waco and be there for the grand opening. I'm not going to lie, I hesitated at first but then thought, "Hey, this would be a trip with my sister... I'm in!" Sister time!

One of my most favorite things while visiting Waco and Texas were the people. Oh my goodness, SO FRIENDLY! I felt like Waco was my hometown the way everyone treated us and those around us. It was so refreshing.

The Silos

The Stores
As said, above the purpose of the trip was to go to the Magnolia Market grand opening but we also visited the Harp Design Co store as well. The owner of Harp Designs is the carpenter Joanna goes to in Fixer Upper to build things like tables and doors

Magnolia Market was filled with so much character and a family feel but still professional. All of the workers were ready to help with any questions and quick to get something you were looking for.

Harp Design Co was filled with so much warmth and kindness. I loved the things in the store and the fun highlight for us was Clint Harper was there in the store and he TALKED TO US! Such a good and down to earth person. It was so cute, after we left the store my sister admitted to not knowing what we even talked about with Clint because she was so star-strucked. I filled her in.

Castle Heights
Castle Heights is one of the subdivisions in Waco and also an area where some of the homes from Fixer Upper have been remodeled. We drove around the neighborhood ooing and awing at all of the adorable friendly homes and squealed when we found one of the homes from the show. There were two homes for sale in the neighborhood and I had to remind myself several times I live in Utah, not Texas, and so I could not just buy the adorable home.

If you ever find yourself in Waco, this would actually be a really nice Sunday afternoon or " we have an extra hour before we need to leave for the airport" time activity.

Food
Two of of the places on Joanna's Favorites list were places we decided to try for our meals; the Cheddar Box and Schmaltz's. Both worth it and unbelievably delicious. I am STILL craving my grilled cheese from the Cheddar Box Food Truck. Just typing this my mouth is starting to water.

Dr. Pepper Museum

We quickly stopped by the Dr. Pepper Museum, only a block away from Magnolia Market, but did not pay to go through it. There is a fun old fashion style Soda Shop in the gift shop area and a fun place to stop for a sweet treat. We'll have to go through the museum the next time.

Let's do this every year!
What a random but fun trip. I loved being with my sister. I loved being in a new place. I loved the kind and warm people. I loved the randomness of the adventure. We want to do a random trip like this every year; go somewhere we wouldn't have ever thought of going or go somewhere we've always thought would be fun but not really something you would really just do. Stayed tuned for next year. We've already flirted with the following ideas so stay tuned for next year: Michigan, Kentucky Derby, Big Sur, or Carmel/ Montery.

Side Bar: Getting Around
We decided to name the voice on Google maps Winnie for this trip. Well, Winnie didn't seem to be very updated on Dallas and Waco. The first moment was when she told us to get off the freeway and then get back on, but when she told us to get back on she said, "Turn left." Megan and I both looked left and there was a bulldozed on-ramp. Umm, sorry Winnie, we're not going to go that way.

Every State Has Their Own Thing
While driving back to Dallas to catch our flight home it was rainy and extremely windy. The overpass signs even said, "Possible flooding. Turn Around. Don't Drown." Never seen that before.

Spotlight: Outdoor Adventures

While on a Riviera Cruise in 2012, one of my friends and I went on a zip line excursion and we had a blast. I really liked the company because they were extremely safe about the experience but they made sure everyone was having fun. Not only did this adventure include several zip lines, but it also included a donkey ride to the top of the mountain, two rappels (one of which was down a waterfall) and sliding across a few rope bridges.

If you ever find yourself in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, I would highly recommend you check out Vallarta Outdoor Adventures. If I ever end up there again I wouldn't hesitate a second to sign up for this adventure again. It was worth every penny.

Singapore Airport

On my way to and from Thailand, I had a 12 hour layover in Singapore each way. I didn't think much of it and didn't even consider ahead of time going out to explore during the long layovers (I know?! What is wrong with me?!) but the volunteer I was traveling with suggested we go out and explore while we were there.

If you look closely you can see the two levels of windows. That's right, my plane was a double decker!

To our surprise the Singapore airport was an event in itself! The airport is one of the top largest in the world and doesn't disappoint. The airport has everything and anything; Coi Ponds, Free Movie Theater, Free Foot Massaging Machines, Glamorous Stores, Restaurants, Butterfly Garden, Free Pool, Free Gym, Showers, Kids Corner, Meditation Lounges, on and on and on, and lastly a Free Tour of the City. Well, we did as much as we could while we were in the airport and signed up to go on the city tour of Singapore.

Never before have I had so much fun in an airport. You really could vacation IN the Singapore airport if you wanted to.

The City Tour

Thailand Bonus: "The South"

A few of the volunteers and I took a weekend vacation down to the southern islands near Krabi, Thailand. Imagine yourself in a place similar to Pirates of the Caribbean mixed with Peter Pan's Neverland and you will be in the south of Thailand.

So getting to our hotel was hilarious. First we took a bus to a harbor and then we took basically a fishing boat to the island and then when we got off the boat they told us to just walk through the island to the beach on the other side and then walk on the beach for 30 minutes. Umm. Ok. So we walked on the beach, with our bags, for about 10 minutes and then it just ended because we came to a big shipwreck rock. Turns out the beach our hotel was on was on the other side of the rock and only accessible during low tide (7pm). So... we climbed the rock. I am so glad my bag was a backpacking backpack because there were a few parts where we were basically rock climbing. When in Thailand.

Random art drawn on random cement walls near our hotel. Kind of cool.

7 Island Tour
We signed up for a boat tour, just at a little shop on Railey beach, for one of our afternoon's. We snorkeled, played on the beach, one of the girls cliff jumped because she was strong enough to climb the rope to the cliff, had a cooked bbq on the beach, were stung by mini jelly fish, some of the girls swam with plankton (I was a woose and too cold), acted like pirates, etc.

Chicken Island... Can you see it?

Monkeys!
Walking through the jungle one day we passed all of these monkeys at the check-in stand at this tiny run down hotel. We were so excited to see monkeys but also a little timid they may attack us.

The Beach
While we were down in the south the only channel in our bungalow in English was the British Discovery channel and they were showing Shark Week. We would plan our evenings around getting back in time to watch Shark Week. Well, having so many sharks on the mind made for some uneasy moments in the ocean but really we were safe and having a blast. One of the days I spent the entire day in the water, except for lunch, just riding the waves. One of the girls even said, "These waves are like the Thai people... gentle." We also had some laughs about all the honeymooners on the beach taking model pose pictures of each other and at one point we were surrounded by so many couples in the water one of the girls said, "Ooooohkay, let's get our of lover's lane." I loved the ocean and the beach in the south.

I was standing on the beach talking to the girls when a butterfly kept flying around me and landing on me.

If you look closely, you can see it on my hand in this picture.

Pictures from around the Island

Thailand: Help International

Thailand: Sightseeing

Thailand: Sightseeing

I spent a chunk of my summer in Thailand with HELP International and when the volunteers were not working hard we were playing hard.

Chiang Mai
Chiange Mai was three hours south of where we were living and is where we spent a few of our weekends. I really liked this city because even though it was a city, it still had it's cultural charm.

We had dinner one night at this restaurant where they brought you your food uncooked and then you cooked it in front of you on a grill in the table. The food was AMAZING.
My favorite quote of the night was overhearing the boys table, with their large abundance of food, "Ok guys. We need to strategize!"

I loved the pineapple in Thailand. You know how if you eat too much pineapple you start to get a filmy taste in your mouth and it feels like the acid is getting to be too much. Yeah, the pineapple in Thailand was never like that. I could eat a whole one for a snack or quick breakfast and be just fine.

Coconut Ice cream at the Walking Market

If for some reason you are craving some American food, don't settle for McDonald's. I mean, if you MUST have American food it might as well still be amazing. Check out The Dukes! But really.

Lychee! This was my favorite fruit in Thailand and the best way I could describe it is: a white grape with the skin peeled off and it taste like a sweet grapefruit. 

Getting Thai Massages: my hip sockets have never been so happy.

Grand Canyon
The Chiang Mai Grand Canyon was about a 20 minute bus ride from the city and about a $1 admission to swim and jump as long as you would like.

Golden Temple
The Doi Suthep Golden Temple is about 40 minutes up a mountain, near the city. There is a climb of 309 steps up a staircase leading up to the temple. We visited the temple in the evening to avoid the heat and to see the city all lit up.

View of the city.

The Temple

Elephants
By far, my top and most favorite part of visiting Thailand, in the "sightseeing" category, was feeding, bathing and riding elephants. One of the volunteers wanted to make sure we went with a company who was very humane to the elephants. The best we found were the elephant sanctuaries but we were unable to sign up for a sanctuary but the Chiang Mai Panda Tours was the next best company we found. A big indication is if you ride the elephants bareback or in a wooden saddle; if it is bareback it is not painful for the elephants. This company gave a great tour, fed us a great lunch, and made sure we had a great experience with the elephants.

Don't you love our funny outfits?

I felt like a kid that day and I was on cloud nine the whole time.

On our way to the elephants we stopped at a market to buy some food to feed the elephants. They mostly ate bananas and watermelon.

Tigers
We visited the tigers at The Tiger Kingdom. It was fun to see these beautiful animals and to watch them run around and play. I didn't like how much they were poked and prodded to get them to move or do something just so we could get a cool picture. Again, I enjoyed watching them but I don't think I will do this again. I don't know what I expected from this experience but looking back, I wish I would have thought more about what it was before I went.

Red Busses
We got around the city riding these red taxi busses. They were big enough to fit our whole group if we were going somewhere together and you stopped them like a taxi.

The best part was when there was not enough room for everyone to sit inside and so you got to stand outside and hold on.

Fang
Three hours north of Chiang Mai was a little town called Fang (sounds like Fung) and it is where we lived. Even around Fang there was a lot to do.

Elephant Waterfall
We went on a hike one afternoon to the Elephant waterfall in a national park near our home. It was a quick and easy hike but still very fun to be at a waterfall.

See the waterfall is spraying up like an elephant spraying water.

We celebrated the 4th of July at the pool and then on a scooter ride around the country side.

The Pool
The guys barbecued some amazing burgers and chicken for us, at the pool, to have a 4th of July BBQ and then we played in the water for awhile.

Scooters
We rented scooters from this little shack rental place and rode up into the hills to temples on one side of the valley and then up into the hills on the other side of the valley to remote villages and rice patties. I was one of the last drivers in our line up and one of my favorite things of this ride was driving through the villages where they probably NEVER see foreigners and watching the looks of the people as we drove through. First shock and confusion, and then amusement and laughter.

You know, I survived the city streets of Italy on a scooter but I was no match for the dirt roads and potholes of Thailand. Let's just say a superman move was involved in this little crash. Embarrassing moment of the trip.

One of the sweet volunteers played doctor and cleaned up all my cuts.

2nd Tallest Mountain in Thailand
Near Fang is the Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park, and the second tallest mountain in Thailand is there for you to hike. One problem, the park was closed for rainy season (and we later learned it was for a good reason because this hike probably would have been easier if it hadn't been so slippery) but our country coordinators paid some villagers to help us get into the park a back way, and away we went up the mountain.

Starting out the hike.

This really was a fun day filled with many adventures: being poked by these things that looked like fluffy balls (they weren't fluffy and they were everywhere), one of the girls being stung by a "pterodactyl," and getting caught in a down pour of rain which contributed to a lot of sliding down the mountain and catching air when falling.

I wish I would have taken a picture but, you know how in the Rocky's we have signs that warn about bears? Well this National Park had signs warning for Tigers.

At the top; through those clouds is Burma.

The villagers brought machetes along the hike; everyone had a lot of fun with them.

Toilets

Just a silly bonus to the end of the post.

When you walk into restrooms in Thailand and see a squatter toilet waiting for you... Bring it on!

When you encounter a rare western toilet... Hallelujah!