10 May Saying Hi From Hico, but not Before a Quick Ride in the Sheriff’s Wagon…
Hi! We sure did pack a LOT of fun into a short amount of time over Mother’s Day weekend. This road trip was planned with Mom in mind with a tad bit of adventure with epic proportions of good eats and sugary sweetness. NO cooking for Mom!
The adventure portion of our trip began with a stop in Cleburne, to visit The Chisholm Trail Museum; Big Bear Native American Museum. I was thinking this would be a 45 minute stop, but we ended up spending almost 2 hours there, and STILL didn’t see everything we wanted to see! This place is so interesting and engaging for children and adults alike. The rich history of the buildings and artifacts combined with the large outdoor grounds to explore made this stop a HUGE hit with the whole family. My kids particularly loved the animal print scavenger hunt inside the museum. When they found all the animal tracks, they won a prize.
My husbands favorite part was talking to Mr. John the Blacksmith on the property. If you know my husband, you know anything that involves fire is his favorite. Mr. John showed us his tools, some of which have been used for over 100 years. He let hubby blow air into the fire. At its hottest point, this fire can get up to 3,000 degrees. Mr. John gives official Blacksmith training to anyone interested in signing up for the class. My favorite part was buying all the cool things Mr. John makes.
I also really loved the adorable school house. As a former teacher, a classroom is my happy place. A place full of fun supplies, books, and chatter from children. This classroom setting took me back in time to somewhere like the town of Walnut Grove on Little House on the Prairie. I could imagine little Laura Ingalls reciting her essay to the class while Willy gets sent to the corner for interrupting. My daughter would have spent the entire day playing school in this building if we would have let her.
We couldn’t leave without throwing the kids in the Sheriff’s wagon and hauling them off jail. Ha! Ok, we didn’t take them to jail THIS time, but we did take them inside the oldest existing courthouse in Texas.
The grounds of the Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum are expansive and fun to explore. We didn’t have time on this trip to walk any of the nature trails or to bird watch on the viewing deck that overlooks Pat Cleburne Lake. I think a great time to come back would be during one of the Bluegrass Music Concerts they host once a month. For more details about this museum and the events they host, check out their website at: https://www.jcchisholmtrail.com/
This outdoor museum was seriously cool, and I wasn’t ready to leave, but we were getting hungry for lunch. Our destination for the weekend was about 45 more minutes down the road in the town of Hico. I’d driven through this town many times before, but had never stopped to look around. It always looked so cute and charming as i’d look out the window at the little shops and restaurants! Let me tell you, Hico was absolutely even MORE cute and charming than I’d imagined!
Lunch was at Po Campo BBQ. I did not know this trivia, but Po Campo is the name of the cook on the movie Lonesome Dove. You will find this movie playing on repeat inside Po Campo. We ordered the sampler platter. For only $36 it included ALL the meats and sides, and a dessert. It was enough to feed ALL 8 of us! Everything we tasted was delicious! I would recommend stopping here.
It’s a good thing we shared lunch, because we needed a little room left in the tummy for our next stop. Wiseman’s House Chocolates was one of the top reasons I picked Hico to bring my mom here for Mother’s Day. Her chocolate obsession is real! Now on one hand it was good that my kids were with me, so I wouldn’t hang out there all day like I probably wanted to. However, I didn’t want to rush browsing, but I had to go through fast or my kids would have started eating everything on display. If you have the time and focus, take the time to look at everything in here! When I come back I’m stocking up on the gourmet marshmallows. This time my focus was on truffles. My husband found spicy chocolate to satisfy his sweet tooth. I didn’t know that was a thing, but it is. You MUST visit here, and buy all your people gourmet chocolates and sweets. If you just can’t wait to get home to dig in to those truffles, there is a lovely covered patio with tables and chairs, and a garden area on the property.
Time to walk off all of that food! We headed to downtown Hico. What a quaint square to walk, shop, and eat (maybe later)! We found some adorable shops and admired the historic buildings. If you decide to visit the Billy the Kid Museum, make sure you leave plenty of time for a LOT of reading. It is self paced, and the kids lose interest very quickly.
It was time to check into our hotel, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. You never know how a hotel will turn out based on online pictures, but this SURPASSED my expectations. Ya’ll this hotel is ADORABLE! I might be more excited about the hotel accommodations than anything else on the trip. My daughter says its the best we’ve EVER stayed at lol. Not exaggerating by too far there! The Upstairs Inn is not only amazingly decorated, but the tiny touches of add-on details took this hotel over the top. The location could not be better in regards to walkability to everything in the downtown area. There are only 3 rooms in this hotel, and we booked them all. Each bedroom had a private bathroom. One king bedroom and 2 double queen bedrooms. It was awesome to have the common area with the kitchen and living room for the kids to play, and watch the cars out the window. The Upstairs Inn added chocolates on our bed from Wiseman House Chocolates, and I was able to add on a bouquet of flowers for my mom in her room. They have an outside courtyard area with bikes you can use instead of walking if you prefer. If stairs are a challenge, I would not recommend booking here.
>>>>SIDE NOTE>>>>Do you know someone who is a grammar snob? Loves to correct others grammar? Like, we sometimes purposely speak improper grammar around her just to get a rise?? Maybe an English major of sorts? I certainly do! I lovingly call her Mom. She helps us all speak and write properly! Thank you Mom! When I saw these Grammar Hilarity Tee’s from Jane.com, I KNEW without a doubt I had to grab some for Mother’s day. All in good fun and love of course.
Just when we thought this trip couldn’t get any more exciting…then we discover an ice cream shop is literally right underneath our feet. The downstairs portion of this building is called Eis (German for ice). They serve sandwiches and ice cream. We were basically still full from lunch and chocolate (and popcorn at this point), but who cares! Its vacation and its ice cream, find a way! I tried the Mexican Vanilla flavor and YUMMMMM. Not sure I can describe how it tastes different than regular vanilla, but it does. You must try!
One of the other big things on my list to see/do in Hico was to rock climb at Siloville. This portion of the afternoon post ice cream was supposed to be dedicated to Siloville, but I discovered last minute that they happened to not be open the weekend we would be there. I was very bummed, but it’s now on my list of things to do when we come back and visit. Siloville is 2 large silos that have been turned into rock climbing walls and they also have obstacle courses and a “ninja” course. Instead of doing Siloville this trip, we drove just past the silos to the city park. We were pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. Aside from the usual playground, it had covered pavilions and a “stage” area that looked like it might be used for outdoor concerts. The park is surrounded by pastures on one side and a river on the other. This setting made for much exploring. For more information on Siloville, check out their website http://www.siloville.com/
It was time to wash up and get ready for our dinner at the Chop House downtown. We heard amazing reviews about their food, and were excited to treat ourselves. This delicious steakhouse is located inside the historic Midland Hotel. They have done a beautiful job decorating this building. We started with chips and queso as an appetizer, because how do you say no when they throw smoked brisket in it?!? My dad says that it is the best queso he has ever had, and man we’ve had a lot of queso!
Funny enough, none of us ordered steak this time. My Red Chile Fried Chicken and mashed potatoes was AMAZING!!! I ate as much as I could, and my husband cleaned up the rest because it was that good.
We finished dinner just in time to watch another beautiful Texas sunset as we walked back to the hotel.
This was a weekend trip for us full of activities, but could easily be cut down a little to make a day trip from the DFW area. Don’t forget to stop at the Koffee Kup for some coffee, french toast, pancakes, eggs, bacon, homemade pies, and homemade GIANT donuts the next morning on your way out of town. You are quite the charming little slice of Texas, Hico! God bless Texas and God bless the Upstairs Inn!
| This was a weekend trip for me. |
| What I made sure to pack: |
| cowgirl boots |
| dinner attire-but not too fancy |
| snacks and bottled water for hotel |
| shopping money |
Have you ever visited Hico? What is your favorite thing to do there? Do you have questions about my trip? Comment below!
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