"Why Waco?" you may ask. For the Dr Pepper Museum, the Cameron Zoo, the historic houses, and more and more...
Day 2
Our second day in Waco, proved to be a day of discovery and learning. I hesitate to admit this, but my only knowledge of Texas Rangers was what I had gleaned from the TV show "Walker, Texas Ranger". Being a city girl, born and raised on the streets of Brooklyn, New York, the Texas Rangers and their cowboy hats and star badges were foreign concepts to me. The director of the Hall of Fame and Museum, Byron Johnson, gave us a tour of the facility and proved to be extremely informative.
We discovered that the Texas Rangers were upholding a 180-year tradition of law enforcement. To translate their mission in terms that even a kid from Brooklyn could understand, Byron likened the Rangers to the state's FBI agency or a branch similar to the National Guard. There are currently 113 Rangers who assist local law enforcement and help to solve major crimes. He explained to us that this unique force is probably the hardest and most elite police force to get into in the world!
The highly respected Rangers have always held a certain law and order, good vs. evil mystique, arousing curiosity and interest. The museum currently holds 14,000 items in their collection ranging from Ranger badges to Colt firearms to Bowie knives.
Texas Ranger Musem
Of popular interest is an exhibit on the infamous Bonnie and Clyde. These depression era criminals went on a major crime spree from 1933 to 1934 and were finally stopped by Texas Rangers. Unfortunately the movie romanticized the murderers as ill-fated star crossed lovers.
Nearby the growing complex for the Texas Rangers, is the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. This fairly new museum opened in 1993 and features memorabilia from sports legends that were either from Texas or played for a Texas team. Any sports aficionado would love this exhibit as it truly covers all sports from rodeo to bowling to golf.
Our tour guide was Jay Black, who incidentally had no idea that he had a famous name. My husband and I quickly sang "Cara Mia" and gave our best impressions of Jay Black and the Americans, in order to educate this young man. Anyway, he showed us the Tom Landry Theater and even a non-football lover, like myself could appreciate his unbelievable career as the Cowboys coach for 29 years. I was impressed with how Tom Landry's football players gave testimonials about how he taught them more about how to live life after football, than just how to be a good football player.
All that talk of sports made us kind of hungry so we were off to lunch. We returned to the RiverSquare Center and ate at "Crickets" which boasts of having over 100 beers on tap. I enjoyed a delicious chicken Caesar salad and Donald tried their fried catfish sandwich. You could tell by our empty plates that everything was delicious.
Earle Harrison House
After lunch we set off to see the Earle Harrison House built in 1857. It was one of 5 historic homes in Waco and was done in a Greek Revival Style. This house was slated for demolition in 1965, and luckily was moved and restored thanks to the generosity of a Waco resident, Nell Pape.
The house not only boasts originals furniture and furnishings, but 5 acres of manicured English gardens.
Our last stop of the day was the Cameron Park Zoo, built in 1993. At present, the zoo contains 700 species of animals but is in the midst of a major renovation project, which by 2004 will double that amount. The size and vision of the project as explained to us by the zoo director was exciting to an outsider. I can't even imagine the pride that the people of Waco must feel about this endeavor. Having been raised near a world-class zoo such as the Bronx Zoo, it takes an awful lot to impress me and this zoo was impressive in its scope for the future.
Lions at the Cameron Park Zoo
Our tour guide Duane knew many of the animals by name and shared with obvious excitement her love for this facility. My favorite animal was the Gibbons, those tiny monkeys who seem to be directly related to a circus high wire act, "the Flying Wallendas". Donald had his Texas fantasy come true by finally seeing a traditional Texas Longhorn up close, well not too close. We viewed lions and tigers and giraffes (oh my!), but also rock hyrax, kudos and 100-year-old Galapagos Tortoises. This Cameron Park Zoo was so impressive now, I can't wait to come back and see it in 2004. Our day ended with a relaxing meal at Buzzard Billy's Armadillo Bar and Grill-O, a seafood restaurant in the heart of town. There I tasted my first Hush Puppy, to the obvious amazement of my waiter. In case you don't know they're little balls of cornmeal fried to a golden brown. I must admit they were tasty but a little heavier than I expected. My dinner of fried shrimp was delicious as was the creamy coleslaw. Donald enjoyed the shrimp Creole Cajun style. Looking forward to one more day in Waco.
