S.A.-Houston-Galveston-N.O. trip
Apr 1st, 2000 | 11:46 AM
#1
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S.A.-Houston-Galveston-N.O. trip
We're planning to trip -- driving from St. Louis area/Illinois to San Antonio/Austin, then Houston/Galveston, then a quick side-trip to New Orleans. We want to take in as much as possible, but are under time (and reasonable monetary) constraints. Any "must see" or "don't waste your time" sites? Best places to stay? What would be a reasonable amount of time for such a trip?
Apr 1st, 2000 | 04:05 PM
#2
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Hi,
I can help you a little bit. I live in San Antonio and depending on what you like to do you will find a lot of everything here. We have Sea World of Texas and Fiesta Texas if you like amusement-theme parks. Don't miss the Riverwalk downtown. I live here and love it. The Alamo is right downtown also and that's a must see. The River Center mall is on the Riverwalk. There are other missions besides the Alamo if you want to follow the mission trail and see those. There is a Market Square a little north of downtown off I-35 which is nice. It's like being in Mexico without having to go there. They have lots of stuff just like in Mexico. Lots of places to shop here also and you can find Texas souvenirs at the malls and even at the large grocery chains where sometimes things are cheaper like the Texas shaped noodles and Texas shaped tortilla chips and the salsas. You could see quite a bit in San Antonio in 3 days I would think. We also have an interesting historic district downtown. Outside Houston the Johnson Space Center is very worthwhile. It costs about $12 to enter and it includes the tours. Very interesting place and you can touch a moon rock and see how the astronauts train and how they live in space. That takes up a day and then you can drive down to Galveston in an hour or so and stay the night or two there. It is a very interesting place. You can see quite a bit in a short amount of town. There is an old ship you can visit and a maritime museum. There was a terrible hurricane in 1900 there and they have an interesting movie for aobut $5 that you can see in the hurricane museum. The downtown area is really nice, it reminds me of New Orleans. There are beaches there and just walking around the historic district is very interesting. Can't help you with New Orleans though.
Hope you have a good time.
Carol
I can help you a little bit. I live in San Antonio and depending on what you like to do you will find a lot of everything here. We have Sea World of Texas and Fiesta Texas if you like amusement-theme parks. Don't miss the Riverwalk downtown. I live here and love it. The Alamo is right downtown also and that's a must see. The River Center mall is on the Riverwalk. There are other missions besides the Alamo if you want to follow the mission trail and see those. There is a Market Square a little north of downtown off I-35 which is nice. It's like being in Mexico without having to go there. They have lots of stuff just like in Mexico. Lots of places to shop here also and you can find Texas souvenirs at the malls and even at the large grocery chains where sometimes things are cheaper like the Texas shaped noodles and Texas shaped tortilla chips and the salsas. You could see quite a bit in San Antonio in 3 days I would think. We also have an interesting historic district downtown. Outside Houston the Johnson Space Center is very worthwhile. It costs about $12 to enter and it includes the tours. Very interesting place and you can touch a moon rock and see how the astronauts train and how they live in space. That takes up a day and then you can drive down to Galveston in an hour or so and stay the night or two there. It is a very interesting place. You can see quite a bit in a short amount of town. There is an old ship you can visit and a maritime museum. There was a terrible hurricane in 1900 there and they have an interesting movie for aobut $5 that you can see in the hurricane museum. The downtown area is really nice, it reminds me of New Orleans. There are beaches there and just walking around the historic district is very interesting. Can't help you with New Orleans though.
Hope you have a good time.
Carol
Apr 1st, 2000 | 08:17 PM
#3
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we've done all these places, and can provide some feeback...but you haven't said whether or not your group includes kids.. That will make a difference. W/o kids, I'd def say SKIP any theme parks, etc....they can do that much closer to home. The Riverwalk and Mission Trail DO make San Antonio a prime stop -- we've enjoyed SA on at leaast 3, maybe 4, visits now. The water taxi trip is a worthwile expenditure. Galveston was the site of a tremendous hurricane disaster that is the subject of the current NPR Chapter a Day book (i think)...Anyway, a worthwhile read is Isaac's Storm, by..somebody Larson. There are lots of condo accommodations available...About a decade ago, we stayed at Port Royal by the Sea on Padre Island...they had five pools and it was terrific..Maybe y0u can find a website. In NO, do NOT stay on Bourbon St == and do NOT judge NO by Bourbon St....Check the search option here for many past NO posts for some good hotels...I sure wouldn't want to cover the groun you're outlining in less than almost two weeks.....3-4 days for SA (plus the time to get there)....3 days on the texas coast (so un discovered/underrated), another day to get over to NO, and a few days there and your return to SL. You've laid out a great trip...
Apr 13th, 2000 | 11:51 AM
#5
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Check out www.mysanantonio.com and www.traveltex.com for some good information. I am not sure what you mean by a "sidetrip" to N.O., but it is a long drive from Houston. In Austin is the Capitol, LBJ Library, lake and near the Hill Country. If you are driving, I would go between Austin & San Antonio on TX 287 & 290 (I believe) to get to Fredericksburg & Johnson City. You can take a wonderful drive up to the Hill Country for beautiful wildflowers. Even if you don't get to see the flowers, an hour north of SA and west of Austin is Johnson City (with LBJ's boyhood home & Texas White House), Fredericksburg (with its German culture), Willow City Loop (different topography from Illinois).
In San Antonio see the Riverwalk, Alamo, Mission San Jose has a mariachi mass on Sundays at noon. There are several art, circus & Texan culture museums. If you are there around 4/22-4/30, you will be in the middle of Fiesta--great fun. Corpus has nicer beaches than Galveston but you are talking a 3-hour drive from SA, while Galveston is only a 45-minute drive from Houston. Houston just opened a new baseball park downtown which is nice. Be sure to see NASA (about 20 minutes from Houston on way to Galveston) off NASA Road 1. On down NASA 1, turn right on TX 3 to Kemah & see the Boardwalk along the water with restaurants and carnival rides. In Galveston, take the ferry ride.
As for food: in SA, Mi Tierra is an institution for tourists & natives (Mexican) in Mercado (Market); also in Mercado is La Margarita; under the freeway from there is Pico de Gallo; for Italian-Paesano's is on the river. In the NASA area I went to Pier 8 in Seabrook (not beautiful but nice) with $9.99 all you can eat. You pick out the raw seafood (fish, clams, scallops, shrimp, etc.) with noodles & vegetables & they stirfry while you eat your appetizers (steamed shrimp, oysters on the half-shell, steamed crabs, gumbo & salad). Have fun, the natives are friendly and it's "like a whole other country"
In San Antonio see the Riverwalk, Alamo, Mission San Jose has a mariachi mass on Sundays at noon. There are several art, circus & Texan culture museums. If you are there around 4/22-4/30, you will be in the middle of Fiesta--great fun. Corpus has nicer beaches than Galveston but you are talking a 3-hour drive from SA, while Galveston is only a 45-minute drive from Houston. Houston just opened a new baseball park downtown which is nice. Be sure to see NASA (about 20 minutes from Houston on way to Galveston) off NASA Road 1. On down NASA 1, turn right on TX 3 to Kemah & see the Boardwalk along the water with restaurants and carnival rides. In Galveston, take the ferry ride.
As for food: in SA, Mi Tierra is an institution for tourists & natives (Mexican) in Mercado (Market); also in Mercado is La Margarita; under the freeway from there is Pico de Gallo; for Italian-Paesano's is on the river. In the NASA area I went to Pier 8 in Seabrook (not beautiful but nice) with $9.99 all you can eat. You pick out the raw seafood (fish, clams, scallops, shrimp, etc.) with noodles & vegetables & they stirfry while you eat your appetizers (steamed shrimp, oysters on the half-shell, steamed crabs, gumbo & salad). Have fun, the natives are friendly and it's "like a whole other country"
