Aidan and I just got back from a whirlwind 5 day trip to the greater Austin area. Neither of us had ever been to Texas before so it was a first. We stayed in 4 different hotels and toured 3 different universities. And we ate lots and lots of Tex Mex and BBQ and I came home five pounds heavier.
Aidan has decided he's already going to start on the freshman 15. He's an over achiever like that.
We started our tour at College Station. We were there on a Saturday which isn't a normal college tour day, but that was fine, because we had a super great one on one tour with a fantastic guide.
The class ring is a HUGE deal and a big tradition at A&M.
I honestly thought that the Seahawks were the only 12th man. I was wrong. Apparently they pay A&M to use it every year. Another cool Aggie tradition.
We made it a point to see the Heisman's at each school and the presidential libraries at each school.
A&M is home to the Bush library, which surprisingly, isn't really a library. It's a museum. And it costs money.
We toured the grounds.
We left A&M after our tour and some yummy food (Torchy's Taco's and Whataburger..highly recommend both) and made it to Austin.
We had some time to tour the capital building. It didn't disappoint.
I think he would fit right in in Texas don't you?
We met up with a missionary friend who recently moved from NY back home to Austin. She went with us to a black church for services (boy was that an experience! 2 hours in and they hadn't even gotten to the preaching yet!), and then she showed us some fun shops on Congress Street after more Tex Mex of course (Chuy's was worth it-best taco I've ever had).
This shirt is for Uncle Ben.
We left Austin and made our way to Waco.
All I knew of Waco before was David Koresh.
Now HGTV has made stars out of local residents Chip and Joanna Gaines and Waco is taking a turn and becoming this pretty cool up and coming little city.
We took our own little walking tour the night before our actual college tour so we could get a feel for the campus.
Our hotel had a pretty amazing view of the school and of the Magnolia Silos.
We both thought it was pretty interesting though that we woke up to sun beams shining down on the Baylor campus. Aidan used some literary term that I can't remember to describe it. Could that be a sign that this may be his next home?
The tour involved a nice stop in the stadium.
I was super patient and held out nearly all day and when we had exhausted every last tour and meet and greet we could, Aidan was kind enough to escort me to Magnolia Farms.
It was fantastic!
We enjoyed the 70 degree day, the food trucks and corn hole.
We decided that Texas is pretty full of itself. They only sometimes fly the American flag and usually then it's lower than the state flag and they have waffles (someone made them backwards!) in the shape of their great nation.
Another presidential library. This time on the University of Texas campus.
LBJ's replica version of his office at the White House
Hook 'em horns. We had a nice little tour at UT.
It's a great campus in the heart of Austin.
More food. This time BBQ at Stubbs. No wonder I gained 5 pounds!
We had a little time to kill before our flight left, so we went back to the capitol. It's pretty amazing all of the details. These are the door hinges.
A wildly successful trip.
Here's hoping it helped make the college decision process a little bit easier.
