I am a Magnolia Man. Yes, I am, now.
Say what? Well, if you are a fan of Joanna and Chip Gaines’ popular HGTV hit show, “Fixer Upper,” which spawned the Magnolia Channel, then you might know what I’m talking about.
I know my vast following was expecting me to write about the Penn State men’s hockey team earning its first ever trip to the NCAA Frozen Four. Certainly, congratulations are in order for Coach Gadowsky and his intrepid group of players and staff. What an incredible season it’s been! I will get to them in due time, but I didn’t want to focus on that remarkable accomplishment just yet.
Why might you ask? Because they ain’t done yet! This Thursday night at 8:30 pm on ESPN2, they will take on Boston University, one of college hockey’s most storied programs, in the semifinals of the Frozen Four in St. Louis. Let’s wait to see how they do before I delve into their remarkable turnaround season. In the meantime, let’s send the players, Coach Gadowsky and his staff all the positive Penn State mojo that we can!
For now, let’s turn our focus elsewhere. I’m going to give you one man’s take on the whole Magnolia Experience from my recent trip with my wife to Waco, Texas. Joanna and Chip Gaines’ Magnolia Silos District bring an estimated 2.5 million tourists to the area, and it has helped revitalize the Waco downtown district.
I must admit that I went into this trip a bit skeptical about how much I would enjoy it as I’m just not an HGTV kind of guy. My wife however is a big fan of “Fixer Upper” and the Magnolia Network, so I did my best to be the supportive husband. In full disclosure, I don’t have a mechanical bone in my body, so these shows about home renovations and interior design don’t really excite me. When it comes to cooking, I may be even worse off. I am very honest when people ask me if I can cook. My answer, “I only know how to make one thing: reservations!”
Well, much to my pleasant surprise, the whole experience was fantastic (especially the food) and memorable. This is coming from a guy who previously avoided the Magnolia Channel like the coronavirus.
Our daughter, Brianna, came up with this perfect birthday present (and her brothers lovingly supported the gift) of sending her mom on a trip to Waco to take in the whole Magnolia Experience. I just got to tag along, and let me tell the skeptics out there, it was well worth it, even for this newbie to that world.
Hotel 1928
Starting with a delightful stay at Hotel 1928, which the Gaines renovated and opened in 2023 at an estimated cost of $43 million. It was like taking the Time Tunnel back to the 1920s with its décor, including old black-and-white photographs that told the story of Waco, and an old-style library to enjoy a relaxing coffee or adult beverage. Our first afternoon began with a visit to Bertie’s on the Rooftop, an outdoor bar/lounge that was just the perfect way to begin our Magnolia experience.
The Food
From the breakfasts at The Brasserie, to coffee at the Magnolia Press, to lunch in The Food Truck Park, to snacks from the Silos Baking Co., to the dinners at Magnolia Table and The Brasserie, the food was delectable and surprisingly affordable, and almost in itself worth the trip. The honey infused butter on the hot biscuits could have been a whole meal!
The Shopping
The Magnolia Market was Heidi’s first shopping stop in the Silo District. The entire Magnolia campus was so customer friendly and offered several choices for shopping. There were places for adults and families with children to play games to keep the husbands and kids occupied. They thought of just about everything from postcards with stamps already on them to their staff handing out free ponchos when it started to rain! If you bought $100 of merchandise while there, most of it could be shipped to your home for free. Oh, and they threw in a Magnolia tea towel for every $85 you spent.
The Tours
There are a number of tours available to visitors and they don’t require a stay at the Hotel 1928. We did the Magnolia Story Tour that included the Silos District, Katy Ballpark wiffleball field, The Chapel, the shops, Magnolia Market, Magnolia Homes, Magnolia Press and the Silos themselves. No. 16 store is perfect for the sports-minded folks where everything is “Chip” approved. Baseball, football, leather products, outdoors products and both of Chip’s books are prominently displayed.
I didn’t expect to find any MLB history while visiting Chip and Joanna’s Magnolia Silos place. Turns out Chip was quite the ball player and that love of baseball is on display at the No.16 store (both Chip and his father wore 16) and The Katy Ballpark. At the fully usable wiffleball field are life size statues of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in recognition of the 1929 New York Yankees playing an exhibition game against the Waco Cubs minor league team in Waco. The plaque at Katy Park reads, “In 1929, the New York Yankees came to town to play an exhibition game, giving Wacoans a chance to watch legends like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.”
We also did The Castle Tour which was featured on “Fixer Upper” and was an elaborate renovation of the authentic European style Cottonland Castle. Originally begun in 1890, the ownership of the land and building of the castle changed hands numerous times until it was completed in 1914. Chip and Joanna purchased the property in 2019 and restored it to its roots, carefully using as much of the original castle as possible. Finished in 2022 it received a temporary Historic Landmark designation to allow visitors.
The Gristmill Tour was another charming stop that focuses on where Joanna films the “Magnolia Table” cooking show. Joanna loved restoring this once-working 1800s gristmill. We got a behind-the-scenes tour of how the episodes are filmed and Heidi even got to play the role of Joanna in a mock scene of the show. Perhaps the best part for me was the homemade cookies we each received at the end of the tour!
We also went on the Waco Tours “Fixer Upper and City Tour” which gave us an opportunity to see different parts of the city (including the historic Waco Suspension bridge where the Chisholm Trail cattle drive went across the Brazos River). We were able to see several of the homes featured on “Fixer Upper,” including the Three Little Pigs home and the actual workshop used by iron working guru Jimmy Don at his JDH Iron Designs workshop.
We also spent some time touring Baylor University and exploring downtown Waco. My favorite non-Magnolia-related spot was the Dr. Pepper Museum. A replica soda jerk station serving old fashioned Ice Cream Floats was a blast from the past. You don’t even need to tour the museum; you can go straight to the soda bar!
After we bid a fond farewell to the Magnolia properties, we headed up to Dallas to visit my old Penn State Icer teammate John Davis and his wife, Karen. They took us to a fabulous Tex-Mex restaurant called Via Real near the Nelson Golf Club, former site of the PGA’s Byron Nelson Classic. We even had a sighting of Hall of Fame former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman at dinner.
We returned to the Davis home to enjoy watching our No. 13- ranked Penn State hockey team convincingly defeat Hockey East Champion Maine (No. 3), 5-1. For John and me, hockey has been such a big part of our lives, and one of my favorite memories is of us winning the 1982 Nittany Lion Invitational and skating around Greenberg Ice Pavilion holding up the championship trophy. We were also both former presidents of the PSU Hockey Management Association and members of Lion Ambassadors, and John has remained a loyal supporter of both hockey and wrestling at PSU.
We finished our Texas adventure just in time to get home to South Carolina to watch Penn State defeat UCONN 3-2 in dramatic fashion in OT. That is an adventure with an ending yet to be determined.
