MARCH 30: SAN ANTONIO TO AUSTIN – DAY 6

We checked out and headed north and west to Fredericksburg, a quaint small town in the Texas Hill Country with a German flair and a vibrant main street with several blocks of eclectic shops.  Luckily the rain held off while we walked up and down Main Street and did a little shopping.  They have quite the collection of benches lining the street, the wagon wheel benches were our favorite.

We experienced our first bad weather on the drive to Spicewood and the Travis Lake Area.  We took the long route through Spicewood to have lunch at the famous Opies BBQ.  It did not disappoint, maybe the best BBQ I’ve ever had.  We have yet to make to Lockhart, the “BBQ Capital of Texas” so I’ll reserve judgment till then.  They had an awesome line of T-shirts that used famous rock album covers and replaced the band’s name with Opies BBQ.  I’ll probably regret not getting one.  The Travis Lake Area was disappointing, not nearly as nice as it looked on a map.

Late afternoon we arrived at our hotel in Austin to take a break and let the rush hour traffic subside before heading back out to explore.

We meandered through the neighborhoods of West Austin including Tarrytown to Covert Park at the top of Mount Bonnell.  The park and walking path at the top of the hill was a pleasant surprise – a must see if you are in town.  From the top you have fantastic views of the Austin skyline and the Lake Austin portion of the Colorado River.  Multi-million dollar homes line each side of the river.  We found a dead end route to a few of the homes that did not have gated drives to see them up close.  We found an empty lot that we had guessed must be worth half a million dollars.  Boy were we wrong.  We looked it up and found it could be had for a mere $5 million, land only.

We ended our day with a small dinner at a Cheddars near the hotel and prepared for a big day tomorrow.

Fredericksburg

Mount Bonnell in Austin

(Zoom in on these pictures to get the full effect.)

MARCH 29: SAN ANTONIO – DAY 5 (Part 2)

After lunch we visited various landmarks downtown including the Bexar County Courthouse, San Fernando Cathedral, City Hall, Spanish Governors Palace, and Market Square.

On our way back toward the hotel, we visited the Briscoe Western Art Museum.  We almost skipped it but were glad we didn’t.  The collection was especially interesting to the kids with some unique collections including saddles, spurs, guns and photographs of American Indians.

A river cruise was next on deck.  The tour guide was funny and gave some history of the Riverwalk and surrounding buildings.  We enjoyed the boat ride but if tourist trap boat rides aren’t your thing, you could easily skip it.

Dinner followed at the popular Casa Rio, the oldest Mexican Restaurant on the Riverwalk. Two-thirds of all restaurants in the area are Mexican or Tex-Mex so we thought we ought to try what appeared to be the busiest.  It was very good.

Downtown San Antonio was a fantastic way to spend several days.  We were not overly impressed with the rest of the city, but to be fair we did not spend much time in the surrounding areas.  Tomorrow we head northeast to the state capital, Austin.

MARCH 29: SAN ANTONIO – DAY 5 (Part 1)

Today was spent in downtown San Antonio.  We started, of course, at the Alamo.  Cole had recently studied the Alamo and Davey Crockett so he was extra excited.  I was impressed with how much he remembered.  The Alamo was interesting.  Before planning the trip, I did not realize it was downtown surrounded by tall buildings.  It was crowded but manageable.  All in all it is not an overly impressive structure but it was a must-see for the historical importance.

We returned to the Riverwalk Area for lunch at The Republic of Texas.  We enjoyed eating riverside but the food and service was barely above average.

The Alamo

MARCH 28: SAN ANTONIO – DAY 4 (Part 2)

As we entered San Antonio from the south we stopped at the Mission San Jose.  Originally we had planned to follow the Mission Trail to see four Spanish Missions but we were short on time so we chose to stop at the most famous one.  I am always amazed at the complex and ornate structures that were built so many years ago in the middle of vast unsettled lands, and Mission San Jose was another good example.

We finally made our way to our hotel in the Riverwalk Area of San Antonio.  We enjoyed walking along the man-made riverwalk and had dinner at County Line BBQ.  Everyone loved the food.  It might need to be considered for a top-10 ranking although restaurants in St. Louis and Kansas City are still holding down the top spots.  County Line is a chain that we had previously heard about.  We had planned to stop at one during our 2013 Big Trip but never made it.  After dinner we continued to take in the area and do a little shopping before heading back to the hotel for the night.

Mission San Jose

San Antonio's Riverwalk

MARCH 28: CORPUS CHRISTI – DAY 4 (Part 1)

Our first stop in Corpus Christi was the USS Lexington, a WWII era aircraft carrier ship.  Cara and the kids enjoyed it even more than I could have imagined.  At one point I suggested we needed to leave to stay on schedule and they insisted we stay to complete the final leg of the tour.  The kids could not decide which was their favorite part of the trip so far, Johnson Space Center or the USS Lexington.

From there we headed south to the Padre Island beaches.  We took a short walk on the beach and then turned back north toward San Antonio.  Before we left Corpus Christi, we stopped at a local fast food chain, Taco Cabana.  The kids first noticed them in Houston and have been singing their version of the Taco Cabana theme song – think Copacabana by Barry Manilow, but about Mexican food.  Everyone thought it was fine for a change, but no need to go back.

Corpus Christi Shoreline

USS Lexington