At the tail end of spring break we met our Dallas daughter and her family in Waco for a fun weekend of camping, biking, and checking out some special events that weekend. We started the weekend with an excellent chicken dinner that I cooked which got rave reviews -I don’t often get that and I strutted around the motorhome with a big smile! With full tummies we ended the evening playing a variety of games – unlike dinner, I was the big loser.
We stayed at I-35 RV Park about 6 miles from downtown Waco because all of the closer RV parks and campgrounds were full thanks to spring break and a number of events in Waco that weekend. We got the last site out of their 200 sites. One thing I really like about this RV park is that each morning campers can get an outstanding free breakfast at Bubba’s, which was very close to where we were camping. I had two eggs over easy, two pieces of toast, two sausage patties, and hash browns plus coffee and juice – all for free. Now I’m ready to start the day.
With a full tummy we headed to Waco to ride some bikes, check out the local events, get some exercise and wear off some calories. I think I’m allergic to exercise which means I decided to rent an electric bike – which is the only way I would be able to keep up with my daughter and her two kids.
I rented a Giant LaFree E-bike from Bicycle World Texas. Bicycle World is a perfect place to rent a bike because they are conveniently located to downtown, lots of restaurants, the Zoo, the Brazos River, and several miles of trails along the river and in Cameron Park . They treated me like a king and quickly got me a bike, adjusted the seat, and gave me a quick lesson and some suggestions on where to ride, stop for drinks, and enjoy a meal. Not only do they rent regular and electric bikes but the have a huge store with bikes and gear for sale and a service and repair shop – great shop and great people. I jumped on the bike and zoomed past our family! Wow, that bike was fast and easy to ride.
Like most of our bike rides, ten minutes after starting our ride we stopped at Cricket’s Draft house and Grill for drinks and food. Pretty good food and they have over 100 craft beers to choose from plus pool and shuffleboard tables. After a couple of hours of sampling some good craft beer, playing some pool (as usual I lost each match), and playing shuffleboard the kids kept asking “when are we going to ride bikes?” So we jumped on the bikes and started riding the bike trail along the Brazos River – I did find that biking is much more fun with a full tummy, a little buzz, and an electric bike!
The kids took off like a bat out of hell but once I got the hang of the gears on my electric bike I blew past them with no effort at all – with my old bike I would have been bringing up the rear huffing and puffing and two blocks behind them! We rode bikes along the Brazos River and into a portion of Cameron Park. Cameron Park is worth a whole day of biking, hiking, picnicking, disc golfing, or visiting the outstanding zoo. Read about our visit to Cameron Park Zoo on a previous visit to Waco.
Although I was far from tired and still had plenty of battery power, I was thirsty and it was time for another beer and a snack! We biked over to the Texas Food Truck Showdown in downtown Waco. This was the filth year for the Showdown and it was home to over 35 food trucks serving everything from Asian to BBQ to Cajun plus pizza, burgers, donuts, and lots more. In addition to cold beer there were several bands playing throughout the day. My kind of place and as much as I like riding bikes, I may have enjoyed this more! We snacked, had a couple beers, and sat in the park listening to some music.
That was enjoyable but it was time to move on and check out Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Spring at the Silos celebration at the Magnolia Market Silos.
A packed event with food trucks, lots of vendors selling everything from art to trinkets, and live music all day long. The band we heard was excellent and it was fun sitting on the artificial turf, sipping a cold beer, listening to some great music, and basking in the warm sun – while hundreds of people were packed in Magnolia spending some of their hard earned money!
From the silos my bike took me on a three block ride to Ninfa’s Mexican Restaurant where I was forced to have 3 of their famous Ninfaritas! I’m glad it was a short distance back to to return the bike because I didn’t trust my biking skills after the Ninfaritas I actually walked the bike back to the store!
Of course the walk made me very hungry and my tummy was telling me it’s dinnertime! It took us a while to decide where to go for dinner in Waco (thanks to lots of good choices) and we selected George’s which is a long standing Baylor cantina offering down-home Southern meals and signature drinks.
Following a good meal and a couple cold beers, we headed back to the motorhome and played dominos until one in the morning! After that full day of exercise, drinking, and eating I slept in until 10 the next morning! We drove over to the Dr Pepper Museum for a tour but the line was long and we didn’t feel like a Dr Pepper after all of the beer and margaritas we drank – maybe I should say that I drank!
Fun weekend. If you’re heading to Waco, check out some fun things to see and do.
Author: Mike Sharp
I have a passion for travel and outdoor activities, and now I'm enjoying retired life. I will continue my traveling, golfing, boating, and enjoying life all across the great state of Texas.
