We just got home from an 8-day Texas road trip and had an absolute blast! Nate had been to Dallas as a child and I had never been. We have some good friends who we’ve been meaning to visit for some time now, so we took the plunge… and a trip to Texas!
Saturday at 5:15 am- we leave our driveway from Bluff Park, AL. Let the adventures begin!
The drive was a beautiful one. All 11.5 hours of it. Really, it was beautiful and we were lucky to be driving on such a sunny day. The time went quickly and we were in Austin before we knew it!
We arrived in Austin around 6pm. We stayed at a great home in Hyde Park (we found the home through VRBO). It was an older home with tons of character and charm… I loved it! Around 7pm, we were whisked off by one of my best friend’s cousins, Lee. He has lived in Austin for 47 years and showed us around while we were there. We went to dinner, then on a short tour of downtown Austin.
On Sunday, Nathan and I spent the day walking around Austin. We walked on the trails at Lady Bird Lake for a bit. We met a lady visiting friends. She lives in Miami and loves Texas and Alabama. She was pretty funny. Then, we walked from downtown to South Congress. All in all, we found a relaxing rooftop bar, a liquor store (where I bought their last bottle of J.R. Ewing bourbon whiskey), an old-school horror wax museum, a vintage clothes shop (LOVE!!), a print shop (where Nathan found some great prints by a local artist!), a restaurant with a fun patio with good live music and delicious tamales, and more cool shops/bars.
We went to the bridge at dusk for the bat awakening and waited for the little guys to come out. And waited. They were just too tired to make a real appearance. Or perhaps they haven’t all gotten to Austin, yet. My Adam-West-Batman-loving-husband was disappointed. But we met a sweet family with two young sons. Those boys were so funny and cute! Anyway, we missed the bats but we’ll be back, so we’ll catch them next time. After that, we stopped at couple of restaurants but were too late (it was around 9:15 at this point), so, hungry and tired, we returned to the rental home.
On Monday, we went to breakfast with Lee then on a tour of Austin. We went all over and loved every minute of it! He knows so much about Austin and is utterly fascinating! After he dropped us off, Nate and I went downtown again. Our first stop was the Texas State Capitol. It was magnificent, to say the least. We were fortunate enough to catch a random choir group singing downstairs. There was a man conducting in the middle of six or so people. I don’t know what they were singing, but it brought tears to my eyes. After walking around the grounds of the Capitol, we went to Antone’s to hear some good ole’ blues. Antone’s was fabulous. B.B. King has even played there… wow! I don’t know who the band was, but they were so good and nice. The lead singer even went up to Nathan to thank him for listening. It was certainly our pleasure! We then went to the Continental Club. It was fabulous! It is our kind of dive… good atmosphere with character and great live music. Dale Watson was playing. He was so great and what a funny personality! After that? Home.
Tuesday morning, we checked out of our rental home, went to Quack’s for a quick breakfast, and then drove to Barton Springs Pool. It was closed because of rain and flooding, but we walked around the area and it was really beautiful. We drove around Barton Springs, then went to Shady Grove for lunch. I love this place! It reminded me of an old-school camp that they turned into a restaurant. We sat outside and enjoyed every minute.
Then on to San Antonio. The drive was tiring as it rained pretty hard. A beer in the hotel room upon arrival helped that, though. 🙂
We stayed at an old hotel, The Riverwalk Vista, which I loved! I am not a big, corporate hotel-loving person (I prefer smaller mom-and-pop businesses) and this hotel was perfect. It was clean, comfortable, and in the perfect location. We were on the Riverwalk and only about one block from the Alamo. I noticed and really loved that they had early jazz and blues (Ella Fitzgerald, for example) playing quietly over the main speakers. Their breakfast was delicious, too.
While in San Antonio, we mainly just walked around and saw things. The Alamo was fascinating. The tour guides were very informative. There was a retired man, Jeff, who had his private collection on display. He had guns and knives that were so beautiful and a great knowledge of each piece’s history. The River Walk was beautiful! We walked and walked and still could not get enough. We took a boat tour late Tuesday afternoon. Our tour guide was funny and very knowledgable about the history. We even saw the bridge from “Selena”….
We left San Antonio Thursday morning headed to Sugar Land with a stop in Shiner. The drive was so beautiful! Shiner is about halfway between San Antonio and Sugar Land, so that was nice. We stopped at the Spoetzl Brewery, sampled some beer, watched a short film about them, talked to the sweet ladies there, and bought some goodies. We left and stopped at Janak’s Packing for lunch. It was a small restaurant with a quaint little gift shop run by a family who had been there for forever. We talked to them for a short time while eating. The husband’s family started the business and he and his wife were running it after traveling the world. I had the best BBQ ever, a brisket sandwich. And bought some jerky on the way out. YUM!
We got to Sugar Land around 4:00. We stayed with some dear friends, Alfie and Kristi, who have lived there for a few years (Cool side note: Alfie and Nathan used to play together for years. They only quit playing together b/c Alfie and Kristi moved). They took us to see James Mcmurtry at The Mucky Duck. He was great! Another great place with great food and atmosphere. Check.
On Friday, we helped Alfie and Kristi get ready for their house show where their very talented daughter, Emmie, sang and played that night. The show was fantastic in every way! Emmie and Alfie played and sang with Berkeley (Emmie’s sister and Alfie & Kristi’s daughter) and several friends. Nate even played a few with them, just like old times (Another cool side story: Emmie is 19. Nate was 19 when he started playing with Alfie. Emmie was a baby when the guys would practice at Alfie and Kristi’s home. So Emmie has literally grown up hearing her dad and Nate play together. And now, she’s playing!). Anyway, the entire night was AMAZING! That is one talented family! Saturday morning, we went to breakfast, hung out for a short time, then headed home. Boo.
We stopped in Pascagoula for the night and drove the remaining four or so hours home Sunday morning.
Texas was incredible. I absolutely loved every second of it. Thank you so, so much to Lee, Buffy, Alfie, Kristi, Emmie, Berkeley, Jack, Mom, Leigh, and every single other person that had anything to do with this trip. Y’all made our trip! The stories, the histories, the personalities… I loved every single second. THANK YOU.
PS- Sorry for this looooooooooong post about our Texas road trip.
Highlights:
Austin:
Fonda San Miguel (dinner Saturday night )- One word: Delicious! Ok, more words: Quirky, artistic, cool, great atmosphere, super friendly, etc etc etc!
Quack’s Bakery (breakfast Sunday and Tuesday)- we walked here. It was only a block or so from our rental home. Their breakfast was delicious! I had a blueberry muffin (yup, both mornings. It was that good) and Nate had a fruit pastry/muffin (blueberry on Sunday and raspberry on Tuesday). We got some pumpkin bread and pretty cookies to go… delicious!
Gueros (lunch Sunday)- fantastic place. We ate outside (delicious tamales!) while listening to a great band. The guy looked like John Hiatt, which I love.
Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds (Sunday afternoon)- one of the coolest shops ever. They have costumes and vintage clothes that you can rent or buy. The lady there showed me a beautiful black Helen Rose dress. So we started talking about HR. I mentioned that HR designed Grace Kelly’s wedding dress. We had a lot of fun talking about HR and our love for vintage clothes.
Sfanthor House of Wax (Sunday afternoon)- This is right up Nathan’s alley… an old horror wax museum. I liked it, too. He found a “Plan 9 From Outer Space” poster that he has been looking for forever.
Shiner’s Saloon (Sunday afternoon)- we had a couple of beers on their rooftop while hanging out looking over the city. Very relaxing and cool.
Cisco’s (breakfast Monday morning)- The best breakfast ever in a super artsy area. Also very friendly with a great, down-home feel.
Antone’s (Monday night)- Another really great place with a great atmosphere. They staff was so friendly, too. We heard a really good blues band here.
Continental Club (Monday night)- We couldn’t come to Austin and not go here. This club is a legend for a reason… the iconic atmosphere and music by Dale Watson. My favorite new dive bar…
Shady Grove (lunch on Tuesday)- what a great camp-type setting! The food was delicious and the portions are huge. Nate and I could have shared food, but neither one of us like to share, so… And again, the staff was very friendly.
We loved everything about Austin! The people were SO friendly, everywhere we went, every person to whom we spoke. People love their dogs in Austin and we love this. We found out that it’s a no-kill city. People were out strolling their kids and walking their dogs, especially in out neighborhood.
San Antonio:
Casa Rio (dinner on Tuesday night)- Absolutely delicious! Nathan said that his margarita was the best one that he has ever had. And the food was incredible as was the atmosphere. We couldn’t sit outside because of the rainy afternoon, but the interior was great. This restaurant opened in 1946 and was the first business to open its doors to the River.
The Esquire Tavern (Tuesday night)- Wow what a fabulous tavern! The history and interior are amazing! It opened just a few minutes (12, If I remember correctly) after Prohibition ended in 1933. Much of it is original: the bar, the lower cabinets behind the bar, and many of the booths. The floors are original too, I think. It has the longest bartop in Texas. The staff was friendly and the live music was fun. We loved this place!
Schilo’s (lunch on Wed.)- This was recommended by the people at our hotel. It was easy, light, filling, and delicious! Again, the staff was so friendly and the interior was amazing!
Tower of the Americas, Chart House (dinner on Wednesday night)- One word: wow! Our boat tour guide recommended this restaurant, so we went. And it was incredible! The bar sits just above the restaurant, which continually rotates. The view was just amazing and the food was delicious.
I loved every single thing about San Antonio. It is full of history and culture! It is relaxing and fascinating. We were in a great location, so we got to see a lot easily.
Sugar Land/Houston:
McGonigel’s Mucky Duck (Thursday night)- great place for music, food, and beer! I love the atmosphere as it is a little dark (but not too much) and cozy. The sound is great, too!
Bob’s Taco Station (brunch Saturday)- another great place with a great atmosphere and food.
The best thing about Sugar Land and Houston was getting to spend time with Alfie, Kristi, Emmie, Berkeley, and Jack! And their house show was AMAZING (thank y’all so much for providing people with such fabulous music!). We didn’t see a whole lot of Sugar Land and Houston, but we liked what we saw!
