People with good intentions and money can transform a community. When we made a trip to Waco we included a trip to the Silos and Magnolia Kitchen made famous by Chip and Joanna Gaines, a mother of five and an active businesswomen of HGTV fame.
My memories of this area of Waco was of a forgotten and neglected downtown. Now it is bustling with tourists, buses, shops, creativity and food trucks. Even though the wait was too long for us to eat at the beautiful Magnolia Table restaurant, we did get sandwiches to go.
It is very family and dog friendly at the Silos and is built to withstand the punishing amounts of foot traffic that the area gets now. I especially enjoyed the miniature baseball diamond for little children to enjoy. Farmhouse Chic is not my style, but I can appreciate beauty when I see it. Good for them!
Bakery and Silos 
Path to converted Grain Elevator 
Food Trucks 
See Painting? 
Fine Furniture and Decor inside
“There was a man named Jabez, who was respected more than his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because she said, “I was in much pain when I gave birth to him.” Jabez prayed to the God of Israel, “Please do good things for me and give me more land. Stay with me, and don’t let anyone hurt me. Then I won’t have any pain.” And God did what Jabez had asked.” I Chronicles 4:9-10 New Century Version
CCC Water Storage 
Railing
Mother Neff State Park is on the west side of Waco, Texas and Killeen, Texas on the Leon River west of Moody Texas. It is the smallest and oldest of all the state parks and opened to the public in 1937. There are a few small wooded trails and one longer trail out in the prairie sun in this 259-acre park. The first few acres were given to the state by Eleanor Neff , mother to a governor of Texas, Pat Neff in 1916, therefore the name Mother Neff.
There was a small pond of green brackish water, tiny wildflowers, and delightful canyons to explore in an hour or so on a spring afternoon. Once again, the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) work was evident in the watch tower/water storage and lodge. They quarried local stone and wood to create park structures and many of them are still there. There was an adorable giant Armadillo awaiting us in the playground.
How do you honor your mother? Does she share your love of nature, hikes and walking?
Green Water 
Stone CCC Structure 
Giant Armadillo 
Water Tower
