We only live a short distance from this town, and we'd passed through and stopped for BBQ or another quick stop before, but a whole day? We read enough on line that we thought we could do it, and we did. It was super fun!
Did you know that many small towns have walking tours available on line? Taylor is no exception, so we copied and printed out the tour and began our walk. But, of course, first my husband had to have coffee. There's a really cute place right downtown, called Curbside Coffeehouse.
As we walked, we read about the buildings and their history. We enjoy that kind of thing, and we were glad to get in some exercise, first thing in the morning! We had read that Taylor has five parks (which quite surprised us) and one of them is new and downtown. It's on the walking tour and it's called Heritage Park - a great place to stop and rest or splash in the water or just observe the foliage!
There are also junk/antique/treasure shops in downtown Taylor, so we stopped in a few. Jon found another old tool (for his collection) and I found some punch-out paperdolls for a Christmas gift! Yes, Christmas in July!
By noon, we were hungry so we drove to Bull Branch Park and set up under a shade tree. We had packed edamame succotash salad, broccoli artichoke dip and strawberry rhubarb crumble. There were ducks, but with a a couple of runs at them - they vanished and left us alone. :) There was a long pier out over the water, and the park was nice and green - there was a nice breeze! We lingered there a bit.
We opted to then drive around town, and find a shady spot to read and nap in the car, in the cool AC, which we do often for 30 minutes or so. We had a little time to kill before the movie we had scheduled to see. Yes! There's an old old movie theater in downtown Taylor, Howard Theatre, that has two screens, and we had hoped to see Spiderman! The ticket prices are only $8 and it's so cool to see a movie in the ambience of 100 years ago...or so.
The best part was there were no long lines, the snacks were great, the chairs leaned back and were comfy, and we were all set for the heat of the afternoon - away in the cool of a dark theater - to see an action film! (It was pretty good...not the best, though).
By now, it was almost 6pm! We settled in for the evening at Murphy Park. The first thing we did walk take a walk again - around the trail - maybe a mile or two. It was quite lovely. Since we were there on the 4th, people were arriving, as there was a band playing on the stage...and food trucks too. The band was playing old school rock music which we loved!
At 7pm we purchased a meal from a food truck called Southern Hospitality. Turns out, they have a restaurant in downtown Taylor that we want to visit soon. We ordered grilled BBQ chicken and mac/cheese and shared it - so delicious! Especially the mac/cheese!
We had brought a puzzle book, and I had a book to read, the sun was setting, and we enjoyed people watching until the fireworks began.
Even without it being a celebration, this park would have been fun. There are those ducks again...but there's also a swimming pool...and water...and swings...all for enjoying! Did you know the duck is the mascot of Taylor? I can see why!
If you have a day to get away, check out Taylor. We didn't even finish the walking tour or hit all the shops or eateries. Who knew there was so much to do so close by?