Arriving in McAllen we had pizza and fried stuffed olives at Mamma Mia's before checking into the Drury Suites. There were two rooms. One was the bedroom, of course, and the other room had the living area and full kitchen, although there wasn't much of an opportunity for me to use it considering the free hot breakfast buffet and manager's early evening nosh. Use of the internet was in the lobby area, free one hour long distance phone calls, and guest laundry...but not free. I liked that there was a separated area of lounging in case you wanted to meet with someone and the buffet area with tables and a large tv screen. Drury certainly isn't dreary.
Rather than the "breakfast food", I went to El Pato and indulged in a more Mexican style breakfast of a fresh torilla with scrambled eggs and salsa. What I didn't indulge in was the condiment buffet...too spicy hot for me. I got that the owner started by making the tortillas and then winding up opening a few of these quality fast food restaurants. I'd call it a more upscale version of Taco Bell.
McAllen Creative Incubator was next on the list. Greg Schuller took us on a quick tour of what was a former public school and now housing studio rooms for artists or whoever wishes to rent a space. There is a stage and open area for those wanting to perform or present there wares to the public. Unfortunately there were no artists present for me to interview.
It was off to shopping near Progreso close to the Mexican border. It would have been great if I wanted pottery, art and items for the outside of my home in one of the outlets. I did wind up getting bottles of vanilla extract. Competition from across the street offering free refreshments...only soda, though. That was okay because the focus was more on jewelry. Just a necklace needed. Then got a quick look at the Mexican border.
Lunch was at a BBQ fast food called Bad Bob's. It wasn't that the food was bad, but just couldn't compare the Uncle Dan's BBQ in Waco. Funny that Esther and Eunice thought the same.
Esther, Eunice and I went to the Waco Mammoth Site. Here is the full story and information about the site (taken from their website) "On a spring day in 1978, Paul Barron and Eddie Bufkin embarked on a search for arrowheads and fossils near the Bosque River. To their surprise, the men stumbled upon a large bone eroding out of a ravine. Recognizing the unusual nature of the find, they removed the bone and took it to the Strecker Museum at Baylor University for examination.
The bone was identified as Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi). Museum staff members quickly organized a team of volunteers and excavation began at the site.
Using hand tools such as brushes and bamboo scrapers, crews slowly excavated a lost world. Between 1978 and 1990, the fossil remains of 16 Columbian mammoths were discovered.
The excavation work was believed to be complete, so the remains were wrapped in plaster jackets and placed into storage. But the discoveries continued.
Between 1990 and 1997, six additional mammoths were excavated, including a large male (bull). Crews also uncovered the remains of a camel (Camelops hesternus) and the tooth of a juvenile saber-tooth cat (Smilodon fatalis), which was found next to an unidentified animal.
How the animals died is still a mystery. No evidence of human involvement was found, and most of the remains did not appear disturbed by predators or scavengers. One of the first hypotheses was that the animals perished in a catastrophic tragedy. However, recent geology research indicates the animals died in a series of events spread across many.
Approximately 68,000 years ago, rapidly rising waters from the Bosque River flooded the site. At least 19 mammoths from a nursery herd were trapped in a steep-sided channel and drowned. A camel may have also been trapped and killed during this event. Later floods buried the remains. A second event took place sometime later. During this event, an unidentified animal associated with a juvenile saber-tooth cat died and was buried. The third event involved a bull, a juvenile, and an adult female. Approximately 15,000 years after the nursery herd was trapped, these animals also appear to have been victims of rising water, unable to escape due to the slippery slopes of the surrounding channel.
The discovery of additional fossil material during the construction of the Dig Shelter will help further the research into when and how the Waco mammoths lived and died.
The Waco Mammoth Site sits in a 100-plus acre stretch of wooded parkland along the Bosque River. Covered in sprawling oak, mesquite and cedar trees, the sites offer an escape from the modern world and provides a glimpse into the lives of Columbian mammoths.
Though the first bones at site were discovered in 1978, the site remained closed to the public until the end of 2009. Baylor University staff, students and volunteers spent countless hours excavating the site during the past 30 years.
In 2006, plans were initiated to make the site a public park. With the support of the Waco Mammoth Foundation, this goal became a reality.
The Waco Mammoth Site now includes a breathtaking dig shelter that creates an atmosphere of an art gallery. Natural light floods into the shelter from all directions and a suspended walkway provides a stunning overhead view of the mammoths.
The site also features a scenic trailway complete with benches and rest areas where visitors can reflect on what life was like during the age of the mammoths.
As you enter the Waco Mammoth Site, you will see the Welcome Center that is located next to the parking lot. The Welcome Center includes a gift shop and a ticket counter."
Cool, hey? Glad I took photos.
Afterward we went to the Dr. Pepper Museum, which is all about the soft drink. The museum is in Waco but if you want the Dr. Pepper drink that uses sugar vs corn syrup, that location is in Dublin, Tx.
Outside the entrance are old trucks used to transport the soda. Aside from hearing about how the soft drink got started, how it's prepared and lots of things to see in the collection, I was able to create my own soft drink using seltzer and choosing three flavors. My favorite was one that I called "Tropical Chicken" consisting of mostly cherry, lime and lemon. Then there was one that I didn't name using banana, mango and pineapple.
They also have a cafe with a soda fountain as well as a gift shop. One interesting thing that we looked at were products using Dr. Pepper such as a syrup and BBQ sauce. Hmmm....Dr. Pepper syrup atop ice cream. Dr. Pepper cheesecake...endless thoughts.
We did have lunch that day at a Mexican restaurant called Ninfa's, located just across the way from the Waco Hilton. Esther and Eunice were a bit upset seeing that I ordered quail.
Wouldn't you know that my camera's battery went low when I got to Homestead Heritage, located in the town of Brazos de Dios which includes a 510-acre working farm. The best way to describe this attraction is as if it were one of those "living history museums" where people are dresses in costumes of that era and you go hopping to different buildings. The difference is that it's in the present and people are not in any costumes, but more simple clothing to do their crafts.
I began the tour with the barn, where I met Howard Henderson for a tour. The barn houses the main gift shop of wares crafted by the employees at the other buildings: woodworking, where they made furniture, instruments, walking sticks, etc.; pottery, where I was taught to craft a vase; heritage forge, which had silversmiths making items such as wrought-iron tables; gristmill, grinding wheat to make flour for baking and mixes; fiber crafts, where they break down and spin fiber for fabrics; and a restaurant and bakery. You can purchase items from each of the buildings as well as the barn.
I'm not sure where they make cheese, but that is one of the many courses taught here. Imagine being out of a job, changing careers, or retired and wanting to learn crafts. Learn homestead skills to include farm animals, growing herbs, raising poultry and gardening. Kitchen skills such as bread making and soap making. Workshop crafts include pottery, basketry, blacksmithing, sewing, knitting, spinning and weaving.
It's the visitors center that houses the cafe. Normally I would not order a hamburger. The meat comes from the cattle on the premises. They are making their own cheese. Any veggies are grown on the property. The bun is made from the wheat at the grist mill. I had their fresh made ice cream for dessert.
I got that they open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
It was an early start the next day as I got a tour of the Armstrong Browning Libary and Museum located in the campus of Baylor University in Waco. It's renowned for its Robert Browning and Elizabeth Browning collections. The biggies are the great bronze door depicting themes from Robert Browning's poetry, 62 stained glass windows and antique furniture that reflects the lives of the two poets.
You can view some of the poetry on the stained glass windows, check out the Austin Moore-Elizabeth Barrett Browning Salon.
What does Browning and Italy have in common? Guardian Angels, the patron organization for the library. It is in reference to Robert Browning's poem, "The Guardian Angel: A Picture at Fano." He was inspired to compose the poem after viewing Guercino's painting of the same name that hangs in Fano, Italy a town and comune of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region. You can view this stained glass window and if you go to Fano, you can view the painting.
There is this wonderful park in Waco called Cameron Park. Along with lots of areas for playing the park has a zoo. I had the opportunity to do a behind-the-scenes tour here and loved it. So did Esther and Eunice. After seeing this beautifully marked tiger, we got to watch an orangutan being trained and not necessarily to do tricks. It was more for the trainers to be able to inspect the health of the animal. Onto dragons. This one was small compared to the size that they grow to.
Next came some cute meerkats, a lion and then onto my feeding and petting a giraffe. From there it was a leopard and tortoise. There are loads of king vultures all around that even mingle with the bears. Also an island of lemurs.
