Hill Country/San Antonio in late October
 

I was in San Antonio around five years ago, and I pretty much stuck to the Riverwalk area, which I thoroughly enjoyed. This time around, I would like to explore other things in and around San Antonio. Since I only have a few days, I would like to keep things within a reasonable driving distance (no more than an hour+ or so) from my Riverwalk hotel, and I'd like to group activities and places of interest, if I can. Some suggested areas, which I've read about, include: New Braunfels, Gruene, Wimberly, Fredericksburg, and Boerne.
I'd like to come up with itineraries for two separate days. I'll have a rental car available.
I wouldn't mind exploring some shops, trying some interesting restaurants, doing a brief river, or other type of tour, or even checking out an evening rodeo.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

We love Gruene. It's a really charming little town full of cute shops, antiques, and you can get Bluebell ice cream, visit Texas oldest dance hall to see some live music, and eat at the Grist Mill right along the river. They have yummy homemade wine coolers there and sometimes have live music.

http://gruenetexas.com/

Have you already done the river barge tour of San Antonio? That's a neat tour. Boudro's is a good place for dinner - they make prickly pear margaritas and tableside guacamole that's good.

I would plan to spend at least one night in Fredericksburg. There is enough to see and do in that area that you won't want to have to drive back to a hotel in San Antonio just to return again the next day.

In Fredericksburg, you can spend half a day just perusing the interesting shops along Main Street. Be sure to stop in at Rustlin' Robs for free tastes of all the Texas-based sauces, spices, dips, jams, etc. that they sell. http://www.rustlinrob.com/ If you have an interest in WWII history,you'll need at least a half-day in the National Museum of the Pacific War (Nimitz Museum). http://www.pacificwarmuseum.org/index.asp If you enjoy outdoor activities, go hiking at Enchanted Rock. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/f...nchanted_rock/ I would also recommend a drive over to the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park (LBJ Ranch). http://www.nps.gov/lyjo/planyourvisit/visitlbjranch.htm You can get a CD for your car for a self-guided tour of the grounds of the ranch and then take a guided tour of the ranch house. We found both tours to be excellent. Finally, plan to go to Fredericksburg on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday so that you can attend a show at the Rockbox. http://www.rockboxtheater.com/default.html

You have a lot of choices for excellent dining in Fredericksburg, both fine dining and casual dining. We were just there this weekend visiting relatives that live there and they took us to Cabernet Grill for dinner. It's fine dining in a somewhat casual atmosphere. They said they prefer Cabernet Grill to the more formal Navajo Grill. They said the food is equally good to that at Najavo Grill, but the prices are much better.

To me New Braunfels is better in the summer months when you can tube and go to the Schlitterbahn, but if you end up around there Huisache Grill is a great little restaurant.

If you decide to stay in Gruene, the Gruene Apple is a cute B&B.

Check out the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.

Many visitors to San Antonio are unaware that the Alamo is only one of five missions in the area. The other four missions are also quite interesting.

http://www.nps.gov/saan/planyourvisit/index.htm

The King William district in S.A. is also very nice; beautiful historic houses there. Guenther House is a nice place to grab breakfast or brunch.