Yes - San Antonio again (otra vez)!
Why we love San Antonio! Living in a suburb of Houston is no picnic. The traffic is horrendous. There is always, always, always ROAD CONSTRUCTION. Just to get across town can often be a two hour affair or longer. If you hit the traffic just right you can travel from League City to Conroe in about an hour. But you have to know your interstate pulse to accomplish that goal!
So, why do we make the trip to San Antonio? First we usually leave on a weekday so we make sure to avoid morning rush hour and leave between 10 a.m and 11 a.m to also avoid noon rush hour. Once we clear Houston it is a lovely easy drive to San Antonio and we generally get there in about 3 1/2 hours from our house. That in and of itself is amazing!
We always stay at a hotel either on or within one block of the Riverwalk. We truly love to just park our car and not drive again unless we want. San Antonio is perfect for walking everywhere.
What to do? Some years we go to the Zoo others the botanical gardens.They are both an easy drive from downtown with very moderate traffic for tourist hours. Next time I'd like to go to the museum which we passed on our way to the Zoo this time. Sometimes we go to the Mercado and while in the past we have walked from downtown to the Mercado - it can be quite a hike and make sure you have a map - last year we took the trolley car which was fun. We took the public bus back which was my first time on a public bus. San Antonio has the bus routes well marked.
We like to visit the Alamo and also the Governor's mansion/compound which is also a bit of a hike but managable for people who are in shape. We also stopped in a couple of shops in the same block as the Towne Suites that we stayed at this time. One was a tri-level antique mall where I found to wooden trays to go with our new bedroom suite for my perfume and David's cologne. And he stopped in a shop that sold Stetson Hats but unfortunately the belt he wanted wasn't in his size.
And of course the main reason we go is to simply walk on the riverwalk, eat at the restaurants and watch life go by. This time we stopped in the English Pub for a couple of beers where I took a picture of strangers in a partial Mini-cooper
Our first stop is always always the County Line for Bar-b-que. I usually get the ribs and David got the 5 meat plate this time!
Lucky for us the Towne Suites had a tiny galley style kitchenette with a decent sized fridge so we could take home leftovers! PS the County Line's cole slaw is to die for so if you're a fan be sure and choose that as a side.
We looked at the reviews of a restaurant called the "Iron Cactus" - you can't go to San Antonio without eating Tex-Mex right? Well my blood red orange margarita on the rocks was so good I had two and the first night we had the white con queso with a scoop of guacamole, pico de gallo and we chose the steak bits (you had a choice of chicken or steak) -- it was delicious. However, the guacamole I ordered as a side to my enchiladas was way to salty and I had the enchiladas Colorado (or some name along that line) and it had way to much chile pepper/cayenne on the enchiladas. David had a Mexican Stew. We were both disappointed in our main dishes but he also enjoyed his Mexican Martini which of course was a margarita/martini combo and he had two. He also hired the Mariachis to sing to me and I always love to hear them sing. The lead singer who also played the violin had a lovely voice and the two accompanist on their guitars were excellent.
Our last day we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe there on the Riverwalk. It was our first time ever to eat there and it was delicious!!
We did a little bit of shopping on the Riverwalk. We were sad to find out Jake's Place of the Life is Good clothing line is moving off the Riverwalk. However, we racked up on caps, t-shirts and sleepwear in their 40% off moving sale. We walked over to the Rivercenter and David surprised me by purchasing a new diamond wrap band for my diamond and had my ring sized (I've put on weight since he bought me my diamond years ago and I've been struggling with moisturizer and soap to get my wedding band and diamond on and off for a few years now)!
Unfortunately, for him the ostrich skin boots he liked he couldn't get over the high arches in his feet. He couldn't find a new belt he liked. And he didn't see the sense in buying a new cowboy hat without getting new boots first. So, other than his new Life is Good caps and T-shirts his shopping spree was a bust.
They were having a free Jazz concert in Travis Park that our waiter at the Iron Cactus told us about but we were to lazy to walk the one block over after we got back to our room. Yes, we went to the Iron Cactus one more time and decided we'd just have another of their delicious Margaritas but then added the same Con Queso from the night before -- while the margaritas were just as delicious -- the con queso seemed to have the incredibly salty guacamole from the night. Once again we were disappointed in the food.
The Towne Suites had a free breakfast buffet which was totally horrible -- at least mine was. The scrambled eggs were cold and so was the bisquit. They also had a tiny indoor pool on the ground floor which was open but it was cold and probably doesn't get much sun throughout the day. But it was nice to just walk in it after having swollen feet from the heat and walking and drinking! They had workout equipment but we worked out enough walking the Riverwalk and the Zoo. It had a great big shower but no tub. The bed was decent. Having the little kitchen was GREAT.
We got up early on Sunday and were back in Houston before church let out - so we missed most of the Sunday traffic. We made our stop at Bucees coming and going and bought some of their delicious White Cheddar Jalapeno popcourn on the way to San Antonio - on the way back we bought another bag and also added a bag of the yellow cheddar jalapeno.
San Antonio for us is just a nice quick trip to blow off some steam and get out of Houston. It's always the easiest trip we take. So, that's why we like San Antonio.
So, why do we make the trip to San Antonio? First we usually leave on a weekday so we make sure to avoid morning rush hour and leave between 10 a.m and 11 a.m to also avoid noon rush hour. Once we clear Houston it is a lovely easy drive to San Antonio and we generally get there in about 3 1/2 hours from our house. That in and of itself is amazing!
We always stay at a hotel either on or within one block of the Riverwalk. We truly love to just park our car and not drive again unless we want. San Antonio is perfect for walking everywhere.
What to do? Some years we go to the Zoo others the botanical gardens.They are both an easy drive from downtown with very moderate traffic for tourist hours. Next time I'd like to go to the museum which we passed on our way to the Zoo this time. Sometimes we go to the Mercado and while in the past we have walked from downtown to the Mercado - it can be quite a hike and make sure you have a map - last year we took the trolley car which was fun. We took the public bus back which was my first time on a public bus. San Antonio has the bus routes well marked.
We like to visit the Alamo and also the Governor's mansion/compound which is also a bit of a hike but managable for people who are in shape. We also stopped in a couple of shops in the same block as the Towne Suites that we stayed at this time. One was a tri-level antique mall where I found to wooden trays to go with our new bedroom suite for my perfume and David's cologne. And he stopped in a shop that sold Stetson Hats but unfortunately the belt he wanted wasn't in his size.
And of course the main reason we go is to simply walk on the riverwalk, eat at the restaurants and watch life go by. This time we stopped in the English Pub for a couple of beers where I took a picture of strangers in a partial Mini-cooper
Our first stop is always always the County Line for Bar-b-que. I usually get the ribs and David got the 5 meat plate this time!
We looked at the reviews of a restaurant called the "Iron Cactus" - you can't go to San Antonio without eating Tex-Mex right? Well my blood red orange margarita on the rocks was so good I had two and the first night we had the white con queso with a scoop of guacamole, pico de gallo and we chose the steak bits (you had a choice of chicken or steak) -- it was delicious. However, the guacamole I ordered as a side to my enchiladas was way to salty and I had the enchiladas Colorado (or some name along that line) and it had way to much chile pepper/cayenne on the enchiladas. David had a Mexican Stew. We were both disappointed in our main dishes but he also enjoyed his Mexican Martini which of course was a margarita/martini combo and he had two. He also hired the Mariachis to sing to me and I always love to hear them sing. The lead singer who also played the violin had a lovely voice and the two accompanist on their guitars were excellent.
Our last day we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe there on the Riverwalk. It was our first time ever to eat there and it was delicious!!
We did a little bit of shopping on the Riverwalk. We were sad to find out Jake's Place of the Life is Good clothing line is moving off the Riverwalk. However, we racked up on caps, t-shirts and sleepwear in their 40% off moving sale. We walked over to the Rivercenter and David surprised me by purchasing a new diamond wrap band for my diamond and had my ring sized (I've put on weight since he bought me my diamond years ago and I've been struggling with moisturizer and soap to get my wedding band and diamond on and off for a few years now)!
Unfortunately, for him the ostrich skin boots he liked he couldn't get over the high arches in his feet. He couldn't find a new belt he liked. And he didn't see the sense in buying a new cowboy hat without getting new boots first. So, other than his new Life is Good caps and T-shirts his shopping spree was a bust.
They were having a free Jazz concert in Travis Park that our waiter at the Iron Cactus told us about but we were to lazy to walk the one block over after we got back to our room. Yes, we went to the Iron Cactus one more time and decided we'd just have another of their delicious Margaritas but then added the same Con Queso from the night before -- while the margaritas were just as delicious -- the con queso seemed to have the incredibly salty guacamole from the night. Once again we were disappointed in the food.
The Towne Suites had a free breakfast buffet which was totally horrible -- at least mine was. The scrambled eggs were cold and so was the bisquit. They also had a tiny indoor pool on the ground floor which was open but it was cold and probably doesn't get much sun throughout the day. But it was nice to just walk in it after having swollen feet from the heat and walking and drinking! They had workout equipment but we worked out enough walking the Riverwalk and the Zoo. It had a great big shower but no tub. The bed was decent. Having the little kitchen was GREAT.
We got up early on Sunday and were back in Houston before church let out - so we missed most of the Sunday traffic. We made our stop at Bucees coming and going and bought some of their delicious White Cheddar Jalapeno popcourn on the way to San Antonio - on the way back we bought another bag and also added a bag of the yellow cheddar jalapeno.
San Antonio for us is just a nice quick trip to blow off some steam and get out of Houston. It's always the easiest trip we take. So, that's why we like San Antonio.
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