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Suggestions to do in San Antonio?


Snakejaw_Joe

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Wife and I are going to be in San Antonio this weekend to meet with her dad, who grew up there. He's flying from CA and we're meeting there as a halfway point.

 

He mostly wants to show us his old neighborhood, go to the Alamo, walk the river/drink a bit and watch his Dodgers play our Rays together.

 

He's leaving Sunday early morning and we leave that night, so we figured Sunday during the day might be a good time to do some exploring on our own.

 

Any of you TX pards know of any fun cowboy stores (clothes, gun shops that sell antiques, antique anything shop for that matter) that we can check out in the area that Sunday? Might be a stretch with covid and it being a Sunday, but worth a try.

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The Alamo, of course.

The River walk....lots of shops and restaurant's, and boat rides, and strolling along the path that parallels the river..

The Alamo, and the River Walk are pretty close.

The Zoo. It's a pretty good one.

 

The Dodgers and the Rays are playing in Arlington, west of Dallas. That is a long way from San Antone.....it's over a 4 hour drive, if you factor in traffic, and pit stops, at Bucky's.  There is a loop around Austin, but no loop around Waco. You are on Interstate 35, but it slows down through Waco, somewhat, because of traffic. The Texas Ranger Museum, and the Dr. Pepper Museum are in Waco.

 

 

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If time permits,  check out the other missions in the area. Since the Alamo is in the middle of the city and a museum, the others help put it in a historical context. 
 

If shopping is a thing, head up to New Braunfels for a bit. 
 

It has been awhile since I lived there, but those are a couple of ideas.

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Lots of construction on I 35 between Dallas and San Antonio. Not worth the drive.  Strange part is counting checkin and baggage pick it takes about 4 hours by plane, 10.5 hours by train and 5.5 hours by car or buss if there are no delays. 

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48 minutes ago, Waxahachie Kid #17017 L said:

The Alamo, of course.

The River walk....lots of shops and restaurant's, and boat rides, and strolling along the path that parallels the river..

The Alamo, and the River Walk are pretty close.

The Zoo. It's a pretty good one.

 

The Dodgers and the Rays are playing in Arlington, west of Dallas. That is a long way from San Antone.....it's over a 4 hour drive, if you factor in traffic, and pit stops, at Bucky's.  There is a loop around Austin, but no loop around Waco. You are on Interstate 35, but it slows down through Waco, somewhat, because of traffic. The Texas Ranger Museum, and the Dr. Pepper Museum are in Waco.

 

 

 

Didn't think to do a boat ride, that's a great idea. Booking one for during the day Saturday now.

 

We're actually gonna enjoy the game from the hotel, or a sports bar if we find one with outdoor or spaced-out seating. We bought us all a suite so we can stay in one place together. That way we can just hang out and laze away the day in whatever venue we find best.

 

 

37 minutes ago, DocWard said:

https://www.nps.gov/saan/index.htm

 

I was on my phone earlier.

 

Thanks DocWard, I always like to go to the old missions. Used to be a lot up the coast in CA, from Santa Barbara on up. That looks like the perfect Sunday morning spot!

 

I'm excited to check it all out. Only really spent a couple days in Austin for a trade show, didn't get a chance to see any history, but the bbq/tacos were amazing.

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Watch out on the river walk. There are places where it goes down one step. I was looking ahead and encountered one. I sprained my ankle. Luckily, that was my last day there. Later, I had to catch a plane home.

 

The only good thing was, I could walk okay until I got to the airport. They told us to form a line. Then, I discovered a problem. From there on, I got wheelchair service. The flight attendants moved me to the front, where I would have more leg room, and gave me ice for my ankle.

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6 minutes ago, Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217 said:

Watch out on the river walk. There are places where it goes down one step. I was looking ahead and encountered one. I sprained my ankle. Luckily, that was my last day there. Later, I had to catch a plane home.

 

The only good thing was, I could walk okay until I got to the airport. They told us to form a line. Then, I discovered a problem. From there on, I got wheelchair service. The flight attendants moved me to the front, where I would have more leg room, and gave me ice for my ankle.

 

ouch, sorry that happened to you Allie Mo. But that is good to know. I already have a tempermental ankle from an old sports injury so I'll keep an eye out!

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About the only places not mentioned are Mi Tierra and El Mercado, across the closed-street mall from each other. There's a parking garage right near 37.

Mi Tierra was mentioned in a Lyle Lovett song, about taking Polaroids at the table. Good, pricey, old-style Mexican food. They have a panaderia, too. He also sang about Hemisfair Tower, but it might be covidated. Covidated. Has anyone else used that, or did I just make it up?

El Mercado has all kinds of hand-made things, mostly from  Mexico. Some quality stuff, some souvenirs.

The King William District has some big, cool houses.

It's a really neat city. I hope you have fun.

Brazos

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10 hours ago, Snakejaw_Joe said:

Wife and I are going to be in San Antonio this weekend to meet with her dad, who grew up there. He's flying from CA and we're meeting there as a halfway point.

 

He mostly wants to show us his old neighborhood, go to the Alamo, walk the river/drink a bit and watch his Dodgers play our Rays together.

 

He's leaving Sunday early morning and we leave that night, so we figured Sunday during the day might be a good time to do some exploring on our own.

 

Any of you TX pards know of any fun cowboy stores (clothes, gun shops that sell antiques, antique anything shop for that matter) that we can check out in the area that Sunday? Might be a stretch with covid and it being a Sunday, but worth a try.

It’s been a few years since I visited the Alamo.  I recall that the Menger Hotel next door to the Alamo has some nice shops for souvenirs.  Also, in the hotel basement is the famed bar that many roughriders had some beers before heading to Florida and Cuba.

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If you go to the Alamo plan a couple of hours and take the guided tour.  It is a ton of information and stuff most people don't know.  Our tour guide was named John (if I remember correctly) a couple years ago and he is a huge history buff that had studied the Alamo a lot and worked there for a good bit.  Very interesting and informative.

 

The riverboat tour will give you a lot of the town's history as well.  Try and do that one after dark-very enjoyable.

 

Don't waste your time on Paesanos Italian restaurant--nothing beyond average Italian fare there. 

 

King William District is definitely a fun afternoon walk to look at the houses.  A lot of renovation has been done there.

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This is a great museum.  https://www.briscoemuseum.org

 

As was already stated the missions are great!  Spend a day start with San Jose with the guided tour then go to all the others on your own and don't forget The Espada Aqueduct a small but often overlooked part of the mission network.

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My wife suggested some ideas to avoid seeing while in San Antonio. All of which happened and / or we saw while living there:

Cars screaming out of the post office parking lot onto Perrin-Beitel Rd, to smash into cross traffic.

Pickups backing up on 410 being monster trucked by semis (Thankfully only read about it and saw the aftermath, but it happened three times in the short time we lived there).

Drive around trying to find alternate routes anywhere when it rains heavily and roads are closed.

Enjoy a nice drive on 410 and not exiting to stay on 410 and realizing it when you're on 35

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On ‎10‎/‎21‎/‎2020 at 9:21 AM, Snakejaw_Joe said:

Wife and I are going to be in San Antonio this weekend to meet with her dad, who grew up there. He's flying from CA and we're meeting there as a halfway point.

 

 

Howdy, Snakejaw,

I hope you found some good times in San Antone.

What did y'all end up doing?

Brazos

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/29/2020 at 9:43 PM, Brazos John said:

 

 

Howdy, Snakejaw,

I hope you found some good times in San Antone.

What did y'all end up doing?

Brazos

 

Howdy Brazos, time sorta slipped away from me past few weeks, the holiday time-warp has arrived :lol: in laws flying in next week and the schedules all chaos from there. 

 

San Antonio really took me by surprise... we had such a great time with the in-laws, thanks to all of y'alls suggestions. The riverwalk was world class and probably our favorite place to take a walk. We also did the boat tour which was a great way to take it all in and see the scope of it all. Menger was a treat, all that wood detailing and the antique guns just made me feel like I was at home. Alamo was a lot smaller than I expected, but glad I finally got to it. We did the guided tour as suggested and learned a lot of details that I never knew. Ate bbq and tacos pretty much all weekend. Had the best taco I've ever had at Pete's Tako House (previous champion was La Cabanita in Los Angeles). The bakery at Mi Tierra was well worth the wait, with their dia de los muertos specials.

 

I really wished we had time to go the missions outside of town, but with two days on the schedule and one of those days reserved for her parents to show us his childhood landmarks, it will have to wait until next time. Like I need an excuse to come back! 

 

Here are some pics for anyone who wants to see:

 

an Old Fashioned at the Menger Hotel:

 

20201023_164827.thumb.jpg.c4455e685bf6569e1721fb1347642704.jpg 20201023_163838.thumb.jpg.f9ee35ea910fbc0d79de422b6baadbe8.jpg20201023_163921.thumb.jpg.81080d710ff6c1213caf2f58fcdf57e2.jpg20201023_163848.thumb.jpg.3c76605072bd5c15f2cffd5519275245.jpg

 

 

Strolls along the Riverwalk, most restaurants there are not that great but the atmosphere was worth it:

 

20201022_222114.thumb.jpg.4088d35532c664050c121b185123aefa.jpg 20201024_113110.thumb.jpg.2f0bb459afe6b55b63fa19c1a675f85d.jpg

 

 

 

Found my latest gunbelt accessory in a little store near Mi Tierra, the quickdraw beer holster. Wife wouldn't approve the purchase. Maybe I'll make one myself someday:

 

20201024_175404.thumb.jpg.d754609fca94a8847352e7b60d2a9e5c.jpg

 

 

Really juicy brisket at SmokeShack BBQ:

 

20201023_180859.thumb.jpg.dc20633d769bf82526c374bbea37e12b.jpg

 

Mi Tierra bakery:

 

20201023_141557.thumb.jpg.cb3c13c9727e6b8310a131dd4d7a0192.jpg

 

And the best for last, Petes Tako House. There was a 45 minutes wait Sunday, but they took our number and called us when the table was ready so we could walk the river. They make their tortillas there from scratch and you can tell. I caught a glimpse of the operation when the server went into the back. There was a mountain of flour they were processing into tortillas. I got two flour tortillas and one corn tortilla. Good no-frills homestyle tacos. I'd honestly go back to San Antonio just to eat there again! Y'all know how much I appreciate good food...

 

20201023_121405.thumb.jpg.09e6de876a9c35c6a7dbeabea527c170.jpg 20201025_121901.thumb.jpg.b40b482412c83a293559eab3da20e6d5.jpg 20201025_120630.thumb.jpg.738b041a7fc69c6079988dc02158c77c.jpg20201025_123711.thumb.jpg.de43201e64db44e016206b60c3ebacf0.jpg

 

 

Thanks again to all on this thread for all the great suggestions! Wouldn't have been such a great trip without your input.

 

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