San Antonio

I had a few long yet successful days in Corpus Christi celebrating my sister getting her Naval Wings, and now it was time to move on to San Antonio. Rather than giving a detailed reenactment of my time there, I thought I would share the places I visited, what I liked, and what I wasn’t a fan of.

The weather

It was early July, and it was hot and humid. We spent most of our first day walking around the Downtown and Riverwalk area while we waited for hotel check in. We eventually retreated to the mall to escape the heat. Air conditioning is a must down there, pools are a plus, bring lots of water, and don’t worry…everyone has the same sweat marks you do.

Our hotel

We stayed at the Red Roof Inn. It had a pool, which we didn’t end up using, but the thought of it was nice. The A/C worked great, and the location was pretty good. The hotel was located just outside of downtown so you could walk everywhere. The room was nice, but I was not a fan of the check in process and the bathroom. Since we booked last minute, I’m assuming that is why we given the room with the handicap bathroom. I don’t have an issue with that, but the bathroom was gross. We wore our sandals in the bathroom and shower because the floor looked dirty. There was a sink but no counter. The bathroom needs a remodel. I stayed in a roll in handicap bathroom in New York, and it was clean and chic. The one at the Red Roof Inn needs a makeover. Check in was awful because it was painfully long. And after over 20 minutes of what felt like torture, they put us in the wrong room. If I were to stay in San Antonio again I would look to stay somewhere else first.

Downtown and the River Walk

Both were great. The highlight of downtown I would say is the Alamo. It’s an amazing historic site which I was surprised was free to enter. They have a lot of tourist things like Ripley’s Believe it or Not, souvenir shops, pubs, and the mall in their downtown area. The mall is huge. The Riverwalk is something different entirely. It is below the city, and I think about 10 degrees cooler. It’s filled mostly with restaurants, pubs, night clubs, and some shops, but it is still a site to see. The river you can tell is man made. It is funneled off of the main river into this large canal that runs right down the middle of everything. The landscaping is done well, and it is a very popular place. Very busy. I definitely recommend it for lunch, dinner, and a night out on the town. At night, the streets are lined with glowing carriages like from Cinderella that you can hire to take you around.

The Pearl

This is another “area” of San Antonio just outside of downtown. It is less crowded and to me had a more hipster vibe. More cafes, and boutique kind of shops. There is also a large brewery there, but I did not get to see it. We showed up on Sunday, and a lot of the places were closed. I couldn’t really tell if the Pearl had much of a nightlife, but it definitely looked like a place you could spend the day, have lunch and get out of the downtown area. We visited a macaroon shop there and all the flavors were delicious.

The Safari Park and Six Flags

San Antonio reminded me of Southern California in a sense of all their amusement parks. You have Schlitterbahn, Six Flags, Sea World, Aquatica to name a few. They also have a Safari Park. Most of these parks are a little bit out of town and are accessed best by car. While I was there I visited the Safari Park and Six Flags. Both were great. I went on a safari in Africa about 6 months ago, so I found it a little funny to be seeing the same animals planted here in States. The difference though is you could feed them and pet them. Just don’t get out of your car. The animals at the park include goats, deer, a variety of antelope, buffalo, longhorns, zebras, and ostrich just to name a few. It was really a fun experience, if you have a car to get there I highly recommend it. I also spent a day at six flags. Again, the weather was boiling, so the water rides were heaven. It wasn’t too crowded when we were there, and there is a water park attached to it. So with the price of one ticket, you get access to both parks. I also recommend Six Flags if you ever find yourself in San Antonio.

Last but not least….the food!

I definitely had to detox myself when I returned to the west coast after a week in Texas. I wanted to enjoy all the good Texas food and then some. After getting off the airplane, I went to a Cracker Barrel. I had Chic-Fil-A for dinner that night, and again for lunch the next morning. (The only two times I’ve ever had Chick-Fli-A in my life, we don’t have one where I live). I ate at Whataburger and consumed a lot of Mexican food and BBQ. My taste buds were surely satisfied. I drank a Big Red soda and tried out some local Texas beer. The beer was okay, they can leave the craft brew to the west coast. At one bar we asked for something local and they suggested Lagunitas. I grew up in California, so I stood there scratching my head for a bit trying to figure out how that was local. One of my best food finds was J  & I cafe. It’s a small hole in the wall on the other side of downtown. I was a bit weary walking to it from my hotel in the morning. It’s a Mexican restaurant that serves the most bomb breakfast tacos and horchata. It was super cheap too. I had never had a breakfast taco before then, and I might be ruined for them now because it was delicious. I definitely ate my way through Texas, so it’s probably a good thing I walked so much in the heat because I sweated everything out.

Bottom line

Go to San Antonio. I did not make it to Austin (before you slap me, I ran out of time!) But I know it’s about an hour from San Antonio, so you can easily take a drive down, or even a mega bus, and check out San Antonio. It’s a city full of a lot of history, activities, and some really neat niche areas to check out. I will make it to Austin soon, and if I have time I’ll for sure swing back down to SA and get myself another breakfast taco.