Kelly's SC to CA Road Trip and Reflections

Waco, TX

I was looking forward to using the cool pancake machine at the Tru Hotel this morning but the lobby was full of students from Mexico City, who had come up to visit NASA. I know Pat and Kelli A have taken students to a foreign country before, but I can’t imagine doing that. I was so nervous each year I took my biology students to the SC Aquarium.

And, I think Google Maps needs a feature that will say, “Good job, Kelly, you navigated that spaghetti mix of roads leaving Houston with no problem and no recalculating!”

Texas is flat with wide open spaces and lots of cows. Thank goodness I found a 7 Eleven for gas and the best glazed donut I’ve ever had.

The Magnolia complex in Waco, TX is really nice. There are plenty of shady places to sit in between shopping and exploring. The temperature today in Waco is 90o.

Baylor University is such a beautiful campus. My first stop was the Welcome Center – mostly everything is green, and everyone has on a green shirt or a green dress. Next stop was the Moody Library. On display was a neat collection of “Narrative Threads,” projects describing books and quotes using quilting, embroidery, scrapbooking, and more. I wasn’t able to get a good picture through the glass display cabinets.

The Moody Library also contains the Black Gospel Archive and Listening Center. The Center collects gospel music and sacred materials and digitizes them. It’s quite unique, and the project complements Baylor’s Baptist heritage.

BEST place I’ve visited so far is the Armstrong Browning Library just outside the Baylor campus. This is truly the most beautiful building I’ve ever seen. Built in 1951, it is a research library for the works of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. It also includes the world’s largest collection of secular stained glass windows in the world. If you ever visit Waco, do not miss this library.

I drove about 10 miles out of Waco to Helberg BBQ – well worth the drive through late afternoon traffic.

Waco TX book recommendation: Read the poems of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

2nd Waco TX book recommendation: Holes by Louis Sachar (young adult).

My Mahjong friends will appreciate this collection of tiny ducks in the Tru Hotel. May the jokers be with you!
“God’s in his Heaven – all’s right with the world.” This statue is in front of the Armstrong Browning Library.
There’s a sign next to this periodical card catalog that tells you it has not been updated since 1991. You’re directed to use the online catalog. 😉
My elementary students heard the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin every year when we studied fairy tales in the library.
The ceiling of the research room in the Armstrong Browning Library, Baylor University.
“Salt, pepper, and a whole lot of prayer”
Pork steak taco with street corn