Adios Texas

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”  Mark Twain said this in 1869 and 144 years later they are words to live by.  I think even the most open-minded of people have places that they aren't interested in visiting or already have an opinion of.  I know that I do and for me, Texas was one of them.  I knew I'd get there at some point just to cross it off my list but I certainly couldn't claim to having a burning desire.  But you know what, it's a pretty fun place with welcoming people and I think that's exactly what Mark Twain was getting at.  If you go in to a trip with an open heart, you will usually find yourself pleasantly surprised.

So what were some of the highlights?  San Antonio was a great city with so much history.  The missions are a unique experience for those that don't live in the southwest.  The mythology of The Alamo has probably become bigger than the actual building but it is an integral part to the fabric that makes up Texas.  I was pleasantly impressed with the Lyndon B. Johnson-related things that we saw.  Visiting things like presidential libraries, or even museums about certain aspects of history, might not completely change your view of that person or event but I think it does enable you to put it in context and appreciate the complexity of it.   Of course, the food was flavorful and one of the key points of traveling is taking in the local flavor, literally and figuratively, so it is not to be missed.  

If you expect a trip to be flawless then you really should probably just stay at home.  Life isn't perfect so why should a vacation be?  Driving in Texas was definitely an experience.  I would probably rank them 2nd, so far, on my Bad State Drivers list.  Connecticut still holds strong in 1st place (seriously, they need to give out anti-rage pills with every rental car up there.)  But with Texas drivers, I honestly think it was more like a window into the Texas mindset.  I mean this state was it's own independent country and today that independence is definitely alive and well on its roads.  

But while driving quirks can be looked over and can even add a little excitement to the trip, a less then glowing experience with your hotel isn't as fun.  I've stayed in a La Quinta before and for the more part they are perfectly fine.  The price is right and it's a step up from a motel.  But no matter what good deal you got, when they seem to totally disregard comments and requests it's hard to boast about them.  Our first night in the room our shower was leaking, you could hear from the main room and conservation-wise they must have gone through a good bit of water.  So the next morning we said something and the front desk clerk promised to have someone look at it.  Three days later, they still hadn't done a thing to it.  As I've mentioned before, the breakfast left a lot to be desired.  I get that it's free but I kind of like when hotels don't treat a free breakfast like they're feeding cats out in the back alley.  But the worst experience of the trip was check out.  The 'employee' that checked us out might as well of been someone they dragged off the street, because he was that helpful.  There was a inconsistency about the price and rightly so we asked about it.  The only thing this guy could say was 'I don't know nothing bout that.'  He even claimed to not have access to the managers cell phone number or know when the manager would bother showing up.  Turns out, a week later when Tiffany finally got a call back from the manager, that this was the guy's first week.  Fine, I certainly know I don't have all the answers when people call me up at work and I'm no hotel manager but I don't think check out time was probably the best shift to start him.  Someone like that needs to work the graveyard shift until he's been given the manager's phone number!  So needless to say, we left La Quinta with a less than favorable opinion.  But like I said, no trip is without it's little speed bumps.

Since I've ready shared plenty of pictures, I thought I'd close out this trip with some songs.  We have all experienced the joy of getting a song stuck in your head.  Here are some of mine from this trip.

Ballad of Davy Crockett- I dare anyone to read about or go to The Alamo and NOT start humming this song.  Dare Disney for making such a catchy, though historically inaccurate, song.

(Boy, I haven't listened to the lyrics of this song in a long time...not the most PC of songs!)

Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey- Now this one is a stretch.  I was wandering around the Admiral Nimitz Museum and I got to thinking about Admiral Halsey and that led to me humming this song as I went through the rest of the museum.  "Hands across the water...water."

Colonel Bogey's March- To be fair, this song get stuck in my head a lot.  But when you are going through the Museum of the Pacific War it's hard not to think about Bridge on the River Kwai!

Theme to The Magnificent Seven- Driving through the Texas hills, it wasn't hard to imagine cowboys riding over the ridge.  Even though this movie wasn't set in Texas it sure could have been!

And finally...this one is thanks to the LBJ Presidential Library.  They had a few sections that cataloged the years of his presidency with what was going on in music, movies, fashion, etc.  This song was one of the ones featured and since it's also a favorite on mine, it got hummed a bit too.

Thanks so much for reading.  I hope you enjoyed it and I hopefully it will get you planning your next vacation!  My next vacation isn't until July (booo!) but until then I'll be posting about previous trips and favorite places.  Keep tuned in!
         

Texas- Austin

Day 4

Our last full day in Texas had arrived.  After stopping off at Starbucks for some halfway decent coffee, we headed north again (though this time, slightly to the right).  I had heard about a new toll road that had just opened that had the speed limit of 85.  I was hoping to try it out but I had forgotten to write down its name and to be honest, I’m pretty sure our car would have imploded if Tiffany attempted to push that far down on the accelerator.  Traffic was wonderfully light and Tiffany was pretty confident she knew why; “everyone is on their way to church…except for us!” 

LBJ All the Way

Austin was like a ghost town when we rolled in just before 9:00am.  I guess that shouldn’t be too much of a surprise since it’s a university city AND our first stop was said university.  The Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library is on the University of Texas at Austin campus.  I should probably admit that I don’t know a lot about ol’ LBJ but in general I leaned towards that he isn’t one of my favorites.  I think it was the combination of Vietnam and that he made his whole family have names that used his initials (Lady Bird Johnson, Lynda Bird Johnson, Luci Baines Johnson).  So needless to say, I didn’t have a lot of expectations going into this visit but since I’ve been knocking out presidential libraries I wasn’t going to turn it down.  Fun fact: There are only 13 official presidential libraries which are run by the National Archives.  The first is Herbert Hoover’s in West Branch, Iowa (shout out to my Iowans).  There are other libraries out the, like Lincoln’s, but they are private.  There was a statue of LBJ that greeted visitors at the entrance.  Even though it was kinda creepy and not even made out of metal, we paused for a photo op.  According to the website, the library had just started charging an entrance fee but the travel gods were shining on us and we got in for free because the system wasn’t working yet, sweet!  The library also recently had an overhaul and the exhibits were updated.  I’m all for updating and using new technology but the animatronic LBJ was just creepy!  I mean, I’m still having nightmares. 

Weird robot president aside, I really enjoyed the library.  I learned a lot about LBJ.  Of course no presidential library is going to focus on the not-so-popular parts of their presidency but I definitely learned about all the positive things that he did: Civil Rights, creation of PBS, creation of NPR, Pell grants, the Kennedy Center, Medicare, Anti-Poverty programs, Water Pollution Control, International Education and Fair Housing to name a few.  It shows that the job of president is a complex one and how that complexity is viewed by the regular citizen will paint how you are remembered.  In Johnson’s case, it was made even more difficult when assuming the position in the wake of a national tragedy. 

The Capitol in Austin

 We left LBJ behind and headed over to the Texas State Capitol.  It turns out that there was a marathon going on in Austin today.  Talk about perfect timing!  Thankfully we were able to park somewhat close but we did have to rush across the end of the marathon course, dodging runners.  But hey, now I can say that I’ve ran a marathon (I never said I completed it).  I don’t know what everyone is complaining about the last .2 miles about, seemed pretty easy to me!  The state capitol building lives up to Texas’ favorite motto: everything is bigger in Texas.  The building is the largest state capitol in the country.  The national capitol in D.C. is biggest but the Texas building is 15 feet higher.  Talk about competitive!  The building, completed in 1888, also stands out because it is built of granite, giving it a lovely mauve hue.  Apparently there is a state law that prohibits the view of the capitol from being obscured, good to know.  On the inside, the capitol is much like any other: dome, Senate room, House of Representatives room, supreme court.  Thankfully, in case you forget which capitol you are in, a literal representation of the famed Lone Star is everywhere.  And it turns out not to be limited to just inside the state capitol.  It was definitely time to get that fake, dead cat out and start swinging because there were stars on buildings, on street signs, on sidewalks, bronze ones in front of buildings…you get the idea. 

Bullock Texas State History Museum

After a quick stop at the visitor’s center gift shop, we walked over to the Bullock Texas State History Museum.  Seems like an odd name for a museum, especially when it’s so similar to an unsavory British slang word, but it’s named after Bill Bullock a former lieutenant governor who pushed for the creation of the museum.  The museum is one of those that the ticket price depends on the options you pick.  We went with the general exhibit and The Star of Destiny 4D movie (I told you they love their stars).  I’m always up for a 4D experience even though inevitably they are a bit disappointing and, in this case, incredibly cheesy.  We learned that we all have the star of destiny in us and we all have a little bit of Texas in us.  I learned that Tiffany, and other audience members, don’t enjoy getting the 4D experience of being poked by a rattlesnake.  I found it rather hilarious but then again, I’m that kind of friend!  So yes, the movie was schmaltzy but the museum was pretty good.  It was a timeline of Texas from the American Indians and the arrival of the Spanish to the 1970s and the heyday of NASA.  I did think they were a bit heavy on the ‘we love oil’ sections but I do understand that that is a big part of the Texas story and the economy of the state.  Of course, it shouldn’t of come as a big surprise that on the list of big donors Big Oil was strongly represented.  In the gift shop you could buy any manner of Texas mottos emblazoned on magnets, coffee cups and t shirts: Don’t Mess With Texas, Everything’s Bigger In Texas, You Can Go To Hell And I Will Go To Texas (I still don’t know if that’s a compliment), Come and Take It (another Alamo motto), God Bless Texas and I Shall Never Surrender Or Retreat, Victory Or Death.  Though I was disappointed by the lack of Houston We Have A Problem knick knacks.

Granny's Pie- graham cracker, pecans
& caramel

Dosa

With all that history out of the way, we headed across the Colorado River (which I only know now that I have googled it) and headed for the funky side of Austin. South Congress Street was the place to be with its hip shops and plentiful food trucks.  I've never done the food truck thing before and I was determined to get the full experience in Austin.  The trucks, usually a couple to a half dozen, are set up in vacant lots and there are local artists and vendors selling their wears.  So many options; there were cupcakes, snowballs, Creole, Indian, subs, Thai and fried goodies.  I decided on some Indian dosa from Nomad Dosa, which is a lentil pancake with your choice of spicy goodness inside.   Another stop found us at Gourdoughs, which lives by their tag line "Big. Fat. Donuts."  I will just say that there is no reason that any person needs that much dough, but darn if it wasn't yummy!  But since we had barbecue to taste on the way home, we got the dough to go.  

The Salt Lick

Pork Ribs

We had done the Tex Mex cuisine proud but we couldn't leave the Lone Star State without trying its BBQ.  We were headed for Driftwood, Texas and to get from Austin to there you went through a veritable wasteland of nothingness.  Out of the darkness we saw the famed Salt Lick.  It was hard to miss!  I'm not exaggerating when I say that it was like a small city.  The parking lot was about the average size of a mall parking lot.  Not only were there at least four buildings for the restaurant but there was also a winery attached and a grotto featuring live music.  With all this going on, it wasn't too surprising that the wait was 90 minutes.  Needless to say we opted for the 15 minute wait and went for to go.  With our BBQ joining our dough, we headed back to San Antonio (hehe, that rhymed).  The smell permeated our little Chevy and with an hour still to go, I was a bit worried that Tiffany was going to veer off the road from hunger.  It was nearing 8 o'clock so when we finally saw the lights of civilization (AKA Kyle, Texas) we pulled in to eat.  There's really nothing like the ambiance that a Walgreen's parking lot offers when eating barbeque.  I'm just glad the Walgreen's wasn't busy that night and we didn't have random people walk by while we were devouring meat in the front seat (there I go again).  I'm not a huge fan of pork ribs, I'm more of a pulled pork kinda gal, but The Salt Lick ribs were very good.  Once our ravenous hunger was sated, we continued on our journey.  

It had been a long but eventful day and when we finally got to our La Quinta, we were ready to relax.  My first visit to Texas was coming to an end.  Tomorrow Tiffany and I would fly back to our respective frozen tundras.            

Texas- Hill Country

Day 3

In my perusal of hotel breakfast offerings I have noticed a trend; personalized waffle irons.  They seem to be all the rage.  Tiffany had been to a conference at the University of Richmond (VA) and they apparently had the shape of their mascot pressed into waffles.  Sounds spirited, until you learn that the mascot is a spider.  I don’t have a phobia about them or anything but I certainly don’t want them on top of my waffles!  Well at the good old La Quinta on the 1604 Loop, they had waffles in the form of Texas, no shock there.  Tiffany’s waffle turned out perfectly Lone Star-shaped.  Mine on the other hand looked like Texas after a horrible car crash.  I should have known it would turn out like that when the orange juice container spit out yellow water and the waffle batter was like soup.  But we are made from tougher stuff and a bad breakfast wouldn’t get us down.

Entrance to the Admiral
Nimitz Museum

The plan for the day was to head northeast to Fredericksburg.  Fredericksburg was founded in 1846 and named after the Prince Frederick of Prussia.  With that in mind, it shouldn't come to anyone as a surprise that Fredericksburg became THE place to be for German immigrants.  The main reason we were heading there was for the Admiral Nimitz Museum and National Museum of the Pacific War.  Who knew a small town would have such a big museum?!  It took about an hour to drive from San Antonio; thank you 70 MPH back roads!  You pretty much can’t miss Main St and that’s where all the action is.  The building which houses the Nimitz Museum is odd looking; as if they cut off the top of one house and placed it on the roof of another.  It was actually the hotel that Nimitz’s grandfather and uncle operated.  The small museum chronicled the Fleet Admiral’s life and it was definitely interesting; especially since I admittedly don’t know more than his name and WWII experience. 

Towards the back of the block, sits the actual War in the Pacific Museum.  I have been to my fair share of WWII related sites (National D-Day Museum in New Orleans; D-Day Memorial in Bedford, VA; First Division Museum in Chicago; National WWII Memorial in DC; Imperial War Museum in London; Normandy, France) and this one was a nice surprise.  It was HUGE.  Guides usually exaggerate the number of hours visitors will take going through the museum, but the three hour estimate wasn’t that much of a stretch.  Since I’m pretty well versed in WWII (not to toot my own horn) I can gloss over some of the more general bits; I have never been the type to read every plaque on the wall.  I’ve usually focused more on the European side of WWII so the breakdown of all the major battles for the islands of the Pacific was really interesting.  There were a few sections where I thought they could have gone more in-depth (POWs, the atomic bomb) but then again, they probably would have needed another building!  There were a lot of personal artifacts and videos with veterans and others who lived through that period.  There were a few families with pre-teen children and the kids seemed to keep fairly engaged so that’s always a glowing recommendation. 

Outside, there was a memorial wall and a Japanese Peace Garden.  The memorial wall had nice plaques to ships, military groups and even individuals.  I will say that the garden was a bit disappointing.  I don’t know whether it was not well-cared for or just a small garden but Japanese gardens are usually more impressive.  There was also another part of the museum complex farther down the road, the Combat Zone, but it was by hourly guided tour only and the timing just didn’t work out. 

Pioneer Museum

Vereins Kirche

Instead, we headed down Fredericksburg’s Main Street and did some shopping.  I love streets like this, filled with quirky and one-of-a-kind shops.  If German food is your thing, this is the place for you.  You couldn’t swing a dead {fake} cat without hitting a German Restaurant.  In the town square, the Vereins Kirche stands out against the regular buildings.  The small building was built in 1847 in the octagonal German style that dates back to Charlemagne.  While it’s a unique building, there isn’t much more to it than its shape.  But if you’re walking by, why not take a quick peek.  A little further down is the Pioneer Museum.  This is right up our alley!  The museum was an open air collection of houses and public buildings from the early days of Fredericksburg.  The Sunday House was about the size of the shed you probably have out in your back yard.  It’s called a Sunday House because people who lived out in the country would buy these houses and use them on the weekend when they came in for shopping and church.  I think my bedroom was bigger than the entire house, and that isn’t saying much.  Add to that fact that they probably crammed at least half a dozen people in there.  No thanks!  There was a schoolhouse and bathhouse and it was a nice quick stop.

Now that we had enjoyed the history that Main Street had to offer, we wanted to enjoy some of the wine it also had to offer!  After all, this area is known as wine country.  We’d be doing ourselves a disservice if we didn’t check it out.  Fredericksburg Winery was just a few buildings down from the Pioneer Museum.  While I enjoy wine, and wine tastings, I do sometimes get a bit tired of the snobbery that sometimes appears when you aren’t a red wine fan.  Sure, when you first start out on wine you are probably going to go for the sweeter kind but some wineries act like you just suggested opening a fine vintage of Boone’s Farm when you mention, I prefer the sweeter wines.  Our tasting lady was one of those people.  Whatevs, the samples were free and the ones we tasted were pretty good.  We each ended up buying a bottle and then went on our merry way.  Most of the other wineries are on the outskirts of Fredericksburg but before heading out there, we made one last stop- the Fredericksburg Pie Company.  I tell ya, Tiffany can really pick them!  We had a delicious slice of German Chocolate Cake pie, it seemed fitting.  Fun fact: German Chocolate Cake is not German.  It was actually first created in, you guessed it, Texas.  The reason for the name is that the chocolate was German.

Back at the car, I booted up the GPS and plug in the next winery.  Then I made a mistake…I listened to the GPS.  I tend to have a love/hate, leaning more to the hate, relationship with my GPS.  I’m a bit old school when it comes to navigation.  Give me a good map and someone to tell ‘that way’ or ‘this way.’  On the other hand if the GPS is working correctly, and that’s a big if, then why not?  Well this time, it was not working.  We headed out of Fredericksburg expecting to see sign after sign for wineries.  We saw one…in 40 miles.  40 miles of desolate ranch land.  The only thing we saw plenty of is goats.  Fun fact: did you know that goat is the most eaten meat in the world?  That led to conversations about what meat I would eat.  Bison?  No, my residual White guilt precludes me.  Ostrich?  Yes, I don’t like those horrible animals with their beady eyes.  It wasn’t until we hit the highway again and saw the sign for El Paso that I looked at the GPS and said ‘um, I think this is the wrong way.’  A half hour later, we found ourselves in Fredericksburg AGAIN and headed the correct way.  It wasn’t long before we started seeing wineries.

The Texas White House

The other wineries we visited were packed but the wines we did try didn’t exactly blow us away.  Instead of trying more, we headed over to Stonewall and the Lyndon B. Johnson State and National Historic Site.  Our first stop was the state site, it wasn’t much besides a Visitor’s Center but we wanted to grab a map before heading over to the Texas White House.  Of course the couple in front of us was taking their sweet time chatting, so by the time we got the map it was almost 4:30pm.  The ranger told us that we wouldn’t be able to see anything because the gates to the national site closed at 4:30pm.  We grabbed the map and headed over in the hopes of at least getting a glimpse of the ranch over the other side of the river.  Turned out we couldn’t; darn trees!  As we rounded the bend towards the national site, we noticed that the gate was only closed on one side.  If that wasn’t an invitation, I don’t know what is!  We zoomed through the gate giddy with our reckless disregard for official closing times.  Turns out this is becoming a bit of a pattern.  Last year when Tiffany and I were in Atlanta, we went to tour the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library.  As we went up to pay for the ticket, the woman told us the museum closed in 15 minutes and it wouldn’t be worth it.  We ignored her warning and did it anyway.  We got through the museum with plenty of time; we even had time to do a little shopping in the gift store.  But back to LBJ, as we made our way to the Johnson family graveyard there was still plenty of people milling about (though they were on their way out).  We jumped out of the car and took a few snaps of LBJ and Lady Bird’s graves, respectably of course.  Just as we were getting close to the ranch house, the road turned one way and we went off on the longest road in the world!  It took us past the show barns, the airfield, the ranch manager’s house, etc.  I was half expecting to drive by the actual White House!  After being tailed by what we can only assume was a ranger rounding up the herds (of tourists), we made it to the Texas White House.  Victory!  Our photo op with the building complete, we figured it was best to hit the road in case we had outstayed our welcome. 

Another successful day, despite a slight detour, was complete and we were again heading south to San Antonio.  We were back on Mexican food and had what I think was our best meal so far at El Mirasol.  The salsa was roasted and my enchiladas a la Mexicana was que sabroso!  It definitely pays to have foodie travel buddies! 

Tomorrow was our last full day in Texas and we’d be heading to Austin. 

Texas- San Antonio

Day 2

There’s probably a good reason that the breakfast at La Quinta is free because I certainly never would have paid for it.  I have long been a fan of HIE with their yummy omelets and cinnamon rolls.  Other hotels really ride the line between breakfast and crap.  It didn’t help that I got to breakfast with 15 minutes left before the end but basic things like plates, utensils and cups should always be resupplied.  I wasn’t expecting them to bring out ‘fresh’ eggs just for me but it would have been nice if the toaster was actually working.

The Alamo

But despite the lack of a good morning meal, Tiffany and I headed for downtown San Antonio.  Our goal was to see all that the city had to offer.  After surviving in the traffic, which would become a victory in and of itself, we parked in the nearby Crockett lot.  I wonder if Davy Crockett ever dreamed that one day he would become so famous that a parking lot would be named after him?  Of course, could be worse…coming soon to Leicester, the Richard III lot.  (As we left for the day, the ticket machine wasn't working so we ended up getting free parking.  Thanks, Davy!)  We walked over to the infamous Alamo, or the more historically accurate Misión San Antonio de Valero.  In the build-up to this trip I can’t remember how many times I was told, ‘you’ll be disappointed with The Alamo.’  Well, I wasn’t.  Maybe it’s because I never built it up in my mind.  It is what it is.  I guess if I had it in my mind that the clouds would part and a ray of light would shine down on the doors of the Alamo and a heavenly choir would start going ‘ahhhhh,’ then yes, I would have been disappointed.  But having studied history, I guess I’m more of a realist.  Actually, I was surprised there was more to it than just the chapel section.  Some of the barracks are left and the walls line a nice bit of garden where plenty of cacti grow.  The Shrine part of the complex is rather small and it's hard to imagine almost 200 people crammed in there, with nearly 2,000 enemy soldiers surrounding the building.  In the Shrine, state flags and national flags lined the walls.  Each one had a ribbon with the name of the state or nation and a number.  Of course, I zeroed in on the Welsh flag (if you know anything about me, this doesn’t surprise you).  Thankfully, there were volunteers milling about and one of them told us that each flag represented a defender.  Who knew it was such an international group?    

I will admit to one disappointment, that there was no sand in the area for which I could draw a line through.  The saying ‘drawing a line in the sand’ is often attributed to the Battle at The Alamo.  Colonel William Travis, after hearing the terms of surrender from Santa Anna, took out his sword and drew a line in the sand and anyone who was willing to stay and die had to cross over it.  I was all ready to reenact that for my uncle and send the picture off to the snowy Midwest but there was no sand.  How could they?!  I attempted to draw a line in the rocks but that just didn’t cut it.  C’est la vie.  The only other thing I will say about The Alamo is that I don’t think you left there really understanding more about the event.  The information was sparse.  There was a nice outdoor section about the follow-up to the siege but all in all, it was more of a memorial (which it has every right to be) than a museum. 

The Riverwalk

After The Alamo, we walked over to The Riverwalk.  It’s exactly how it sounds, walking along a river.  But it’s actually quite nice.  It was still pretty early so we had the ambling paths to ourselves for the most part.  The majority of The Riverwalk is restaurants.  It reminded me slightly of the canals in The Venetian in Las Vegas, minus the cheesiness.  Plus it’s also a nice way of walking through the city without having to stop for street crossings.  We headed back up to the road and went to take a quick peek at the San Fernando Cathedral.  Right inside the left entrance of the building is a tomb that holds to remains of those that fought at The Alamo: Davy Crockett, William Travis and Jim Bowie in particular.  That took about all of five seconds to see.  The cathedral was small and sedate, at least compared to the European cathedrals I’m used to (not to sound like a snob).  We also made a quick stop at the Spanish Governor’s Palace.  Again, palace is a very kind way to describe the building.  It definitely looked like an outpost in some provincial land, and that’s probably what it was when it was first built.  Outside there was a statue of a generic conquistador, it made for a perfect photo op, ‘say massacre!’  Just across from the Palace was a statue of Moses Austin who got a land grant from the Spanish government to start the first English settlement in Texas.  Can’t help but think a lot of people see that as mistake numero uno. 

The bakery at Mi Tierra

A little bit further along is The Mercado, or the Mexican Market.  I was kind of hoping for a festive environment.  I should have known not to trust the pictures on the Internet that showed roving Mariachi bands and traditional dancers.  They did have some good shops down there if you wanted Mexican goods but there were also plenty that were selling junk to gullible tourists.  We did eat down there at Mi Tierra.  Now that was festive.  Every inch of the ceiling was decorated with streamers and piñatas.  The waitresses wore red, white and green peasant skirts and the salsa was plentiful.  I guess it was Tex Mex more than Mexican food but regardless it was yummy.  And the strawberry margaritas were VERY yummy.  After having our fill of some down home Texas food, we headed back out.  We didn’t head back down to the Riverwalk, wanting to stop off at the Hard Rock Café.  Again, here is where San Antonio’s lack of signage becomes a bit of an annoyance.  Tiffany and I are pretty good with maps, I can’t count how many trips I have been the official navigator for, but when you hide the building and then put a big rotating sign on the road a block in the wrong direction, of course people are going to get a bit turned around.  But despite that, the Hard Rock couldn’t hide from us.  We made the compulsory visit to the gift shop (since I collect the city pins) and then headed out.  I had to laugh that they had a small section of memorabilia dedicated to Ozzy Osborne, since one of his many colorful tales includes when he dressed up in women’s clothes and peed on The Alamo.

Mission San José

Mission Concepción

We were done with the downtown area of San Antonio and rest of the day would have us on the Mission Trail.  There are four more missions on the outskirts of San Antonio.  When in doubt, we followed the brown signs (which amazingly they had).  But first we had to find our way through the detours.  We took an extended driving tour of the King William neighborhood, the section of the city where German immigrants made their home.  Some of the houses were amazing to look at.  There are some that you can tour but you have to call ahead and reserve a time and we just had too much to do.  After taking some tours of other not so nice neighborhoods, we finally got to the first of the missions, Mission Concepción (proper name, Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Acuña).  With the Spanish not getting as far north as Maryland, we certainly don’t have buildings like this readily available so I always enjoy visiting them when possible.  The missions were built in the early 1730s; for my Marylanders, Baltimore City was founded in 1729.  The first two missions, Concepción and San José, are definitely the more impressive of the four on the Mission Trail.  The inside of Concepción still has the bold ochre paint covering the vestibule.  The outer walls and living quarters of the Native Americans are still intact at San José (proper name, Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo).  At San José, you got the best picture of what missions were all about.  It wasn’t just the religious aspects, which was a big part of it, but it was a community.  Housing, agriculture, commerce; in that way the missions are probably the closest thing to castles that you can get in the US.  Mission San Juan Capistrano was getting a bit of a face lift.  It seems from older pictures I have seen that it recently was given a white wash, which is what the missions would have looked like back in the day.  It’s definitely a lot smaller than the first two but that doesn’t make it less worthy of a visit.  Of course since it was getting some work done, we weren’t able to go inside, oh well- next time.  The last of the missions was Mission Espada (proper name, Mission San Francisco de la Espada).  This mission is a lot greener than the others and feels more like a local church in some village as opposed to a multi-functioning town center like the other ones.  If you time your visit just right you can hear the mission bells ring, a sound that goes back almost 300 years.

Mission Espada

With the missions in the record book and five o’clock fast approaching we headed back out into the fray of rush hour traffic, admittedly not our smartest move.  It probably took us about an hour to get back to the good old La Quinta.  We needed a break from Tex Mex so Tiffany scoured Urban Spoon for some other options, which isn’t easy when the WiFi is about as slow as an elderly turtle walking through molasses in January at the South Pole, and we finally settled on Bourbon Street Seafood Kitchen.  Having been to New Orleans a few times and eating my fair share of Creole/Cajun food it wasn’t bad for being in Texas.  But of course, it still had me wishing for the real stuff in the Big Easy.

Tomorrow, we were headed off to Hill Country (AKA wine country) and the city of Fredericksburg. 

Texas or BUST!

“You Can All Go To Hell, I Will Go To Texas.”

-Davy Crockett

One of my goals in life is to visit all of the States. It’s a common enough goal and I think all in all, I’m doing a pretty good job of it. This past weekend, Texas became #35. I was flying into San Antonio to meet up with Tiffany, one of my travel buddies. We have been taking trips with each other for over ten years; it all started back in the University of Wales Swansea days. But before we met up in the San Antonio International Airport, I had to catch my flight.

Day 1

Remember that scene from Home Alone when the family is running through the airport, trying to make their flight? I’m usually the one that pipes in and says ‘they’d never let them on the flight nowadays’. Well it wasn’t as cinematic, but that was me early Thursday morning. I awoke (at an ungodly hour) to a light dusting of snow, which in Maryland means ‘let’s freak out about it and drive like infants’. Two hours, and a mild panic attack, later Nicole, my best friend and other travel buddy, dropped me off at the airport. It was about 8:40am as I rushed into the building; my flight was at 9:20am. YEAH. I rushed into the security line, doing the limbo under the barriers. I’m sure I looked suspicious- all twitchy and ready to karate chop anyone who took too long filling their little buckets. Fresh out of the body scan, I didn’t waste time putting my shoes on. That was a bad move. In an effort to share important travel tips, here is what I have learned: bare feet on the escalator = no problem; bare feet on a moving sidewalk = painful! My gate wasn’t too far off so I paused to slip on my shoes and as I was, the PA announced that the San Antonio flight was fully boarded and just waiting for two people. I sped walked, trust me…it was kinder than running to the innocent bystanders in the terminal, to the gate. “I’m here!”

Happy Valentine's Day to me!

Sigh…I thought it was beyond a lost cause but I made the flight. Of course, now came the fun part of finding a seat. I have nothing against open seating on flights, it just isn’t fun when you are the last person on the flight. Add to that that you take up your fair share of space and you KNOW everyone is looking at you like ‘oh crap, she better not sit next to me.’ Nothing like a slap to the self-esteem first thing in the morning! But I got a window seat and hunkered down for the flight. Since I didn’t have time to grab food in my dash to the gate, I needed sustenance.  Well Ritz crackers were all they were offering but I did discover another VERY helpful travel tip. If you fly a certain airline, named after two compass directions, on a holiday you get a free drink…AKA free booze. Valentine’s Day finally does something for me! Now, maybe you are thinking ‘it’s before 10am…that’s a bit early’ or ‘you just said, you haven’t eaten yet today’ but to that, I say “whatever.” It’s free! And I’ve got nothing else to do for the next four hours. AND I wasn’t the only one partaking so that totally makes it okay. After all, it’s Always Happy Hour at 39,000ft (trademarked!).

Flying over the Appalachian Mts. (I think)

The rest of the day was uneventful. I landed in San Anton and waited for Tiffany to arrive. We picked up our rental car, which was the Chevy equivalent to a windup toy, and headed to the hotel. It didn’t take long to discover that driving in Texas was…unique. Not only do they seem to frown on proper signage but they also like to make things way more difficult than necessary.  Instead of two way access roads off of highways, they prefer one way access roads and then make you go out of your way to U turn. On the up side, even some of the secondary roads are 70 MPH. Of course, that sounds less fun when you factor in the insanity that is Texas driving.  They seem to have no problem proving the Wild West-stereotype correct. Cars veered into other lanes with no concept of signals or checking; there was passing on hilly dirt shoulders; medians were turned into express exit ramps. It was so bizarre you almost couldn’t get angry; it was like being in a game of Mario Car Racing with a five year old.

Somehow we survived and checked into our La Quinta room. I will have plenty more to say about the hotel later on, but I’ll just say now that when the front desk person asks if you want a quiet room and you say ‘yeah that sounds good,’ you kind of expect a little quiet. Instead, they gave us the room right across from the elevator. Thankfully, I sleep through most things but why ask if you end up doing to exact opposite of what you said? Maybe that’s how they roll in Texas.

Evening fell and it was time to go get some Tex Mex. Tiffany would definitely fall into the ‘foodie’ category so she always comes prepared with a list of places to try out. And she’s got standards too; if it’s not above an 80% on Urban Spoon it’s a no go. Our first dinner was at Papa Nachos. The food was pretty good, the standard Tex Mex, and all in all it was a good start to the trip. The highlight of the night was dessert at Brindles Ice Cream. We both couldn’t turn down the Red Velvet ice cream and it was delicious. Though we hadn’t had much of a chance to see Texas yet, the trip was off to a good start.

Tomorrow we would head off and see all that San Antonio had to offer.

Vacation at Last!

My first trip of 2013 is less than a week away!!  Very exciting.  And to celebrate, I started organizing my next one!

Talking to people about my next trip, the conversation doesn't change much from the last one (only the location).

"So where are you off to next?"
Me- Texas
"Why?"
Me- Why not...I haven't been there yet.
"Huh.  What part are you going to?"
Me- San Antonio and Austin.
"Huh, the Alamo is disappointing."
Me- Thanks for the warning.

So far I know that A) I will be disappointed with the Alamo and B) there is no basement in the Alamo.  I actually didn't know there was no basement since I never watched Pee Wee Herman so that comment struck me as weird the first time I heard it.  But you know, I don't focus too much on what other people say when it comes to attractions.  I've been to plenty of places that people rave about and I think "ehh" and some of my favorite places no one has ever heard of.  That's the beauty of travel, it's all in how you look at things.

Be sure to check back after next weekend when I'll be posting pictures and stories from my trip to Texas!