I came to a profound realization the other day: pretty soon there will be a Guitar Center and a Freebirds not only in our town, but both within a 10-minute walk of my house.
To be clear, Freebirds is already here as it opened in September of 2012 and Guitar Center will be opening in mid-July.
In 2001, I would've considered stopping at Freebirds in Austin or looking around Guitar Center in Dallas as excellent items on the docket for trips to those cities. If you told me then that I would live in Waco and both entities would be within a short walk of my house, I don't think my brain would've accepted it. My head might have exploded.
But that's the reality and what's crazy is that I feel like I'm taking these things in stride. In fact, there are plenty of other reasons to be pumped. Here's 10 that spring to mind:
10) It's a mark of a decent bar in other, bigger cities when they have Balcones whiskey.
9) The Valley Mills shopping center anchored by Aldi is going to include Mama Fu's, SmashBurger, Rusty Taco and Jimmy John's.
8) The Baylor football team will more than likely begin the season ranked in the top 25 (please understand that this is difficult for me to write as I have Red Raider blood, but I recognize the benefits of this especially since some directly affect my bank account).
7) Common Grounds has become a legit concert venue, making it less of a surprise
when zeitgeisty indie artists choose to stop here.
6) Within a five-minute conversation on Wednesday I heard rumors that Whole Foods (awesome!) and Joe's Crab Shack (eye roll) will soon land in Waco.
5) Dichotomy's roof-top deck.
4) As mentioned, there is a Freebirds and will soon be a Guitar Center within a short walk from my house (near the Waco Drive-Valley Mills intersection).
3) The Waco Downtown Farmers Market is the perfect way to begin a lazy Saturday.
2) In-N-Out is playing musical chairs with Firehouse and Potbelly for Waco real estate.
1) There's a grand football stadium being built here.
