San Antonio & Texas Hill help

Old Jan 10th, 2010, 02:51 PM
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San Antonio & Texas Hill help

We are four adults planning a ten-day spring trip to San Antonio and surrounding area. We like B & B's. Looking for suggestions on restaurants, accommodations and any attractions. Thanks!
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Old Jan 10th, 2010, 04:27 PM
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We have enjoyed Ruckman Haus B&B in an historic district; lovely, great hosts, good food, pretty convenient. Have you been to the area before? You of course start with the Riverwalk and the Alamo; lots of shopping, both in the city near the river and at different malls; wonderful foods (try Budros and Bigas, both on the River-- Bigas needs reservations). How far away do you want to travel? We here in Corpus on the Gulf are only about 2.5 hours away with beach, USS Lexington, a nice aquarium, great seafood. Greune's cool--as is all of the Hill Country. And then there's the whole Austin thing, a bit up the road. Texas is a big place, but San Antonio area for 10 days gives you lots of possibilities.

Might want to give us a few more specifics (age? interests? how far away to travel?) and get more ideas. (and I'll bet stuff starts filling up soon if you're traveling around school's spring breaks--South Texas is a popular destination at that time.)
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Old Jan 10th, 2010, 06:09 PM
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San Antonio - Things to go: Riverwalk, Alamo, Market Square, The Shops at La Cantera, Sea World, Six Flags.
Places to eat: Biga on the Banks, Mi Tierra

New Braunfels(30 miles northeast of San Antonio) - Depending on if its warm enough you could go tubing on the Guadelupe or Comal Rivers. You could also go to Gruene Hall for some live music. Places to eat: Huisache Grill & Wine Bar, The Gristmill, Rudy's (it a Texas BBQ chain).

Fredericksburg (70 miles north of SA) - Small German town. Lots of shopping, great restaurants, and several wineries in the area. Places to eat: Navajo Grill, Fredericksburg Brewing Company. Lots of local B&B's here.

The Texas Hill Country is beautiful in the spring. All the wildflowers should be blooming and the temperatures are the best! Have fun!
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Old Jan 10th, 2010, 06:25 PM
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In Fredericksburg try West End Pizza for good pizza and Italian food. There are 2-3 good German restaurants there also. My parents stayed at Angels Lodge Above the Creek in Fredericksburg, http://www.angelsabovethecreek.com/. They really liked it. Look on the Fredericksburg website for more lodging suggestions. We just got back from three nights in the Hill Country area. We did a tour of LBJ's Ranch. People are now able to go into part of the house. Also check out Wild Seed Farm near Johnson City. Get a map of the back roads and drive them for fun. Definitely do the Willow City Loop outside of Fredericksburg. Be careful of the cows!! If you are energetic try climbing to the top of Enchanted Rock at the state park. You will have a great time!!!
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Old Jan 11th, 2010, 04:39 AM
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San Antonio attractions:

- Riverwalk ***
- Spanish Governor's Palace ***
- (Spanish) Market Square **
- King William Historic District ***
- The five missions (not just the Alamo) ***
- La Villita neighbourhood *
- Institute of Texan cultures **
- the Buckhorn Saloon & Museum **
- and several art museums (according to your taste)

Texas hill country attractions:

- Gruene (be there in the evening for music performances)
- Luckenbach
- Fredricksburg, especially the park with the maibaum and the sculptures which both show the negotiations of the famous treaty with the Indians (visit first the Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio to learn about that treaty)

Can't say something about lodging and dining - we rented a vacation home in and cooked ourselves.
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Old Jan 11th, 2010, 05:45 AM
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Because I'm local, I've never stayed here, but I love the looks of the Oge House in the King William Historic District. http://www.ogeinn.com/ It's in a beautiful quiet area, away from the hustle and bustle of the Riverwalk,.

Of the restaurants on the river, my favorite is Boudros, but the better restaurants are away from the river. Best Tex Mex close to the Riverwalk is Rosario's, also close to the King William District. http://rosariossa.com/

Near Rosario's, new and cool (and more expensive), is Oloroso. http://www.oloroso.biz/ Intimate dining space, upscale menu.

My favorite place for breakfast or lunch, (only open at those times), Guenther House, also in the King William District. https://www.guentherhouse.com/Main.aspx If the weather is nice, you can eat out back in their covered patio.

Both El Mercado and La Villita are fun for shopping trinkets/souvenirs. If you want serious shopping, we have one terrific upscale mall, LaCantera, a lovely "outdoor" mall, very nicely done with the best of the San Antonio shopping.

If you enjoy hiking, my two favorite hikes (day trips, both) are Enchanted Rock, a huge granite dome near Fredericksburg, and Lost Maples State Park, further west...a drive, but a beautiful one because you are really in the hills of the Hill Country.
http://tinyurl.com/yg8wmrs
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/f.../foliage.phtml

The pictures in the above websites don't do either location justice. Enchanted Rock is a short but vigorous hike, which can be combined with a visit to Fredericksburg. Lost Maples has a couple of well marked loop trails, one section going up and another going down quite steep, and for which we are happy to have our hiking boots, but the steep areas are short, and the views from the top are wonderful. You can do miler hikes along the river, not going all the way to the top, and that's what many do. The drive out, with beautiful scenery past Bandera, makes the entire trip worthwhile.

We usually go out to Lost Maples and back the same day, but we stayed out there once in the Lodges of Lost Maples. http://www.lostmaplescabins.com/ What a neat place! Accommodations are small rustic cabins with The Best breakfasts delivered to your door each morning by the delightful hostess. It is quiet and beautiful...a wonderful getaway from the city, and we plan to do that again. Although it's quite near Lost Maples, we'd never made the drive off the main road that you must take to get to the Lodge. It is just incredibly beautiful...after already beautiful roads leading to that point, these views surpass the others. There are cooking facilities in the cabins, refrigerators etc, and all restaurants are a drive away. Our favorite was the Laurel Tree Restaurant in Utopia. http://www.utopiagourmet.com/ We had a wonderful meal there.

We also love Gruene, and that's an easy day trip from San Antonio. Don't miss Gruene Hall with it's live music. http://www.gruenehall.com/ It's one of our favorite ways to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon. The music is almost always free earlier in the day (afternoons). You can eat at the Grist Mill next door, or Mozie's across the street. There are shops to wander as well. We had a busman's holiday there a couple of weekends ago (my DH is in the hotel business) and stayed at the Gruene Mansion Inn, next door to Gruene Hall. We had gone for a concert of one of our favorite groups and didn't want to make the drive back home afterward. The mansion has a few rooms in the main house, then others scattered around the property. Ours was a Sunday haus, nicely decorated although I wasn't too keen on the spiral stairway leading to the bedroom upstairs. We had a gas fireplace down, very nice. Good breakfast in the morning.

You can combine Gruene with a trip to Natural Bridge Caverns...always a steady 70 degrees no matter what the temperatures outside. We were quite impressed with "rooms" and formations in them. http://www.naturalbridgecaverns.com/ Don't miss the short video on that page...gives you some idea what the caverns are like. http://www.naturalbridgecaverns.com/...html?title=NBC It's only a few miles up the road from our house...makes me wonder what's under the ground in our yard!

Enjoy!
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Old Jan 11th, 2010, 06:10 AM
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great WWII museum in Fredricksburg
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Old Jan 11th, 2010, 06:44 AM
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We loved the Mt. Gainor Inn in Dripping Springs. It's in the middle of nowhere and that's why we liked it--great for bike riding, nice hosts, great breakfasts. Very peaceful, clear skies at night, etc. Not a long drive to restaurants in Wimberley and in the town of Dripping Springs.
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Old Jan 11th, 2010, 12:32 PM
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Thanks to all. We're looking forward to trying a lot of these attractions/hikes/wineries/restaurants. Keep the ideas coming!
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Old Jan 11th, 2010, 01:37 PM
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Second the idea to not miss the National Park Service San Antonio Missions in addition to the Alamo. Near one of them is the oldest aquaduct (acequiea) ?east of California or something. Interesting short sidetrip. Agree about Boudros being good on the Riverwalk. And Enchanted Rock. Lots to choose from!
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Old Jan 11th, 2010, 01:52 PM
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I read about this in the December issue of Texas Highways, but I have not had the opportunity to see it yet- Benini Galleries and Sculpture Ranch, which is just outside of Johnson City. If you go let me know what you think!
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Old Jan 11th, 2010, 03:45 PM
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Tourists and locals alike enjoy Tex Mex 24/7(since 1941) at Mi Tierra at El Mercado in SA. Really fun at midnight or after when it is still packed (at least on Saturday nights when I've been there). I like the decor and the traveling musicians. http://www.mitierracafe.com/about_history.html

I enjoy strolling the Riverwalk but have found the restaurants there cater to tourists they'll never see again meaning overpriced, mediocre food and lackluster service. Instead I like Guadalejara Grill just off the Riverwalk for lunch. Easy to find on S. Alamo near La Villita and never crowded. http://www.guadalajaragrill.us/index.html

I'm not a San Antonio expert, I've just spent 3 long weekends there the past three summers in a row so take my advice for what it's worth.
Ann Marie
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Old Jan 12th, 2010, 03:37 PM
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thanks to all. We plan on 2+ days in San Antonio --- then a couple of b & b's in the surrounding area. Any b & b suggestions in SA or area?
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Old Jan 12th, 2010, 05:26 PM
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I already mentioned Ruckman Haus in San Antonio
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