What do you do when you show up to your campsite after a 4 hour drive that should have only been 2 hours, it’s getting dark, and you don’t fit in your campsite nor can you even get to it because trees and your camper is over 13’ tall? Did I mention it’s also Valentine’s Evening and this time with the fam is supposed to be all cozy and perfect as you watch the sunset over the lake while you prep dinner in a state of family bliss?

I’ll tell you what you do. You stress out for like 15 whole minutes (looking like complete idiots at the State Park) and then go into “let’s get this shit figured out because I’ll be damned if you think I’m driving home with these cranky kids in the truck” mode. It’s a real mode and I’m thinking like 99% of parents totally know what I’m talking about. If you’re the 1%, we’re not friends and I’m okay with that.

And let me tell you, I got shit figured out. I was basically the most grateful person in the history of ever and our RV site (40 minutes from the State Park we booked) was most definitely not impressive, but we had a place to park for the next 3 nights, it came with full hookups, and a neighbor who turned the music up during quiet hours. I mean, at least it was good music, but I’m a no go on just about anything other than sleep at 1 AM so there’s that.

Where were we supposed to go?

Fort Park State Park in Mexia, Texas (about 40 ish minutes from Waco).

I was pretty dang excited about it too. Our spot was a pull through spot on the water with spectacular sunset views. The issues were a plenty. Trees weren’t trimmed high enough for our camper, the site itself had an unfavorably positioned tree and a almost 90 degree turn that mad it impossible to park out 39’ camper in it, and the turn around down at the end of the sites (that we need to be about to turn around in) was made for something several feet shorter at max.

It was a really adorable little park though with great trees and an old playground on the water. I’m still a little bummed about the whole thing. I did take this one picture with my phone as the sun was setting though because I figured it was most likely the only one I’d ever get of this place and the reason we booked it anyway.

Where did we end up?

Lake Waco Marina in Waco, Texas.

We were calling RV parks at 8PM on a Valentine’s Friday looking for a place to park. Pretty much no RV park office is open at 8PM. The ones that were open were totally booked. Lake Waco Marina’s voicemail said you could also text the number. With absolutely nothing to lose, I sent a desperate message with my fingers crossed, held my breath, and lo and behold… they called me back… AND THEY HAD AVAILABLE SPOTS!!! In my mind these were nice paved spots on the lake given the price. They weren’t. They’re packed in like sardines on gravel and the road leading to them was rough. Like really rough. At this point our list of requirements were pretty slim so we set up and went to bed grateful for not having to drive home. I’d give info about our site number and stuff, but which site you’re in literally makes zero difference at this place. They all kinda suck (even the ones backing to Lake Waco).

So What Did We Do?

This wasn’t supposed to be one of those all about nature camping trips anyway. We planned for a little of that, but really this was my birthday camping trip and Magnolia Silos were on my list of things to do for Saturday so the only thing that changed there was the amount of time it took us to get there. That part changed in our favor. Also on the list for Saturday was the Magnolia Table because that’s been on my list for awhile. Let me give you some tips because we didn’t actually make it.

The Magnolia Table

Make a reservation! I had no idea you could make one and if you don’t, your wait is basically going to be minimum and hour and a half and it grows quickly. With two hungry kids we decided to just do the food trucks at the Silos. Of course I didn’t notice the Magnolia Table food truck and we ordered other stuff and then noticed it when we sat down. So yeah, don’t be like me. Make your reservation or do the food truck at the Silos if the Magnolia Table is on your list.

Magnolia Market

I could honestly just stay there all day and never leave and walk through the store 12 times. It just feels good to be there. Not for the 4 year old though so we didn’t actually stay there all day. If you haven’t heard, they’re currently expanding. The plan sounds really interesting so I’ll definitely be going back when that’s done.

Cameron Park Zoo

I’d heard great things about this place so I decided a zoo trip would be a great way to replace any hiking we would have done at the State Park. Y’all it’s a great little zoo. It helps when your kids decide to not be complete jerks about the whole thing like mine were, but it’s maybe my new favorite zoo (not that I have a lot of experiences to work with here). It’s a totally manageable size, clean, and they have a great variety of animals to see.

Lake Waco Marina

If you got the impression we didn’t enjoy the time we spent at Lake Waco Marina, you’d be wrong. Sometimes I find expectations a bit limiting. It’s like if you know what to expect, you go into it with ideas in mind and sometimes those preconceived ideas keep you from noticing what else something has to offer. Does that make sense? It’s too rigid and I’ve never been a rigid kind of girl. It’s a blessing and a curse really. There wasn’t much to see, but we got to experience it together. The kids were happy to just be and I was happy to just experience that with them through photography. I’m not sure we’ll ever go back to Lake Waco Marina, but it’s an experience I’m glad we had.