YEAR VISITED: 2008, 2018, & 2020

FAVORITE CITIES AND EXPERIENCES: Jill and I have been to Texas three times. The first came in the spring of 2008 where we decided to fly into Dallas, explore the city, and then rent a car to drive to Austin and San Antonio. It was a fantastic site-seeing trip and our last get away before our 2nd daughter was born. While we readily admit we did not take full advantage of all that Dallas has to offer, we greatly enjoyed what we did experience. At the time I was a high school history teacher so our Dallas experience revolved around the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.

To this day this tour remains one of my favorite historical museums. By far my biggest takeaway revolved around the fact everywhere I looked it appeared that time had stood still. Whether I was in Dealey Plaza, peaking out from behind the infamous white picket fence, or looking out the fateful window that Lee Harvey Oswald did I couldn’t help but feel I had been transported through a time warp back to November 22, 1963. For history buffs, this is a must do experience.

We then continued onto San Antonio where we spent a couple of days exploring. The whole family then returned in 2020 and I fell in love with the city both times. As a result if we could only return to one major city in Texas it would be San Antonio. Our favorite attraction is the River Walk.

This “American Venice” is a must see destination to window shop, people watch, and take in the million dollar views. Not surprising this is the #1 tourist spot in Texas – thus be prepared for crowds. Both times we boarded a Go Rio Cruise where we navigated the River Walk from the Gaudalupe River.

This is a great way to relax and simultaneously learn a little history of the area. I would also recommend wandering into the Buckhorn Saloon & Museum. Whether you just want to visit the restaurant, experience the Texas Ranger museum, or merely explore the collection of Texas oddities, this is the place for a fun Texas experience.

While there are hundreds of restaurants and eateries on the River Walk, we ate at Casa Rio (the restaurant with the multi colored umbrellas). This is the oldest restaurant on the River Walk and is a great setting to take in the ambience of it all.

Also in this same area is the Alamo and you can’t go to San Antonio without at least walking by the famous structure. We chose to tour the Alamo and wandered through the adjacent grounds, mission buildings, and gift shop. While we admired the architecture and enjoyed our tour, we were happy when we exited the premises as the crowds combined with the excessive heat felt oppressive. Again, be prepared for large crowds.

While I am not sure if it is because I grew up in Washington state in the shadow of the Space Needle, or I am just attracted to tall shiny objects, but either way we decided to purchase an observation ticket for the Tower of the America’s. This is the 2nd tallest observation deck in the United States (behind the Stratosphere in Las Vegas). In our experience this is a great way to gain your bearings when exploring a new city.

On our drive from Dallas to San Antonio in 2008 we decided to spend a afternoon in Austin. We only had the day and it was raining as hard as possible, which definitely limited what we were able to experience. However, we did get to visit the Texas Capital building and the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Museum.

Judging from the simple size of the capital building itself, it is true that everything is bigger in Texas! As alluded to in prior posts, I have always greatly enjoyed presidential museums and the LBJ library was no different. Personally I was fascinated by the collection of paraphernalia around the JFK assassination.

STADIUMS AND/OR SPORTING EVENTS: I have a laundry list of Texas professional sports teams and stadiums where I would love to attend a game but so far have not yet had the opportunity. However, Jill and I were able to attend a University of Texas vs Texas A&M basketball game.

While the University of Texas is definitely a member of NCAA collegiate athletics, in my experience a handful of professional sports teams would be envious of the wealth of resources that Texas has. Hands down the facilities, intensity of fans, and the atmosphere around Austin is second to none. The game we attended was back and fourth for awhile before the Rick Barnes led Longhorns ultimately pulled away and earned the ‘W’ against the rival Aggies. We were also able to wander around the humongous campus where we found ourselves in awe. Definitely some of the best looking education buildings and athletic facilities of any campus I have been to across the country. Specifically we were able to explore Darrell Royal Memorial Stadium (Football) as well as Disch-Falk Field (Baseball).

ADVENTURE(S): On our drive from Dallas to San Antonio we detoured to the Natural Bridge Caverns. They are located just over 30 minutes outside of San Antonio and are the largest caverns in Texas. The deepest portion of the cave is 180 feet below the surface but interestingly enough is always continuing to grow.

In 2018 the family drove across the panhandle of Texas. While cruising east on interstate 40, less than an hour from our days destination of Amarillo, a Texas sized storm arose and we began experiencing large gusts of wind and hail. So much wind that a huge gust blew the front of our Yakima gear carrier open and our personal items flew all over the freeway. Fortunately most items settled in the median rather than the road. Once the dust settled, we had safely pulled the car to the side of the road, and determined everyone was safe and okay … I am not too proud to admit my first reaction was ‘no harm no foul’ and to continue on. As if reading my mind, that was the exact moment that the kids looked at me with tears in their eyes and asked me to “save their stuff.” Needless to say, I will forever remember the Texas panhandle and interstate 40 as the freeway I hiked a half mile back on the shoulder to collect any items not completely destroyed. While we now look back and laugh, thank god the freeway was not busy that evening. Once we safely arrived in Amarillo we had dinner at the #1 rated steakhouse in Texas, The Big Texan. The best way to describe this restaurant is to think carnival or a fair.

The seating area is huge, the gift shop is second to none, and the fun loving picture opportunities are fantastic. Personally, the coolest aspect of the Big Texan is their 72 oz Steak Dinner Challenge. According to their webpage, if you eat the entire meal (steak, shrimp cocktail, baked potato, salad, and the roll with butter) in under an hour then your meal is free. I was not man enough to attempt the challenge, but did have an outstanding regular sized steak dinner. If you ever find yourself in or around Amarillo, this is a must do.

Cadillac Ranch is just off interstate #40 and the old Route 66. The ranch is a collection of 10 Cadillac’s buried nose deep into a field that have since been spray painted time and time again by passerby’s and tourists alike. In reading the webpage advertising the ranch, I discovered this was a vision of hippies and funded by an eccentric billionaire that collectively referred to themselves as the Ant Farm. The day we visited it had recently rained and there were giant puddles around the cars, and used spray bottles littering the area around the cars. This may be the most unique tourist site I have ever visited.

Nearby the Cadillac Ranch is the Muffler Man Cowboy just outside an RV park. The statue is a 40 foot Cowboy labeled the “2nd Amendment Cowboy). I for one do not pass up a photo-op with a 40 foot Cowboy!

NOTABLE DESTINATIONS & STOPS: After my wife got hooked on the HGTV show Fixer Upper, it was determined that Waco was a must visit destination in 2020. Therefore, the family spent an afternoon at Magnolia Market (the Chip and Joanna Gaines shopping complex) where we toured the store, took pictures in front of the iconic silos, and ate fantastic Texas barbeque.

What I didn’t realize before our arrival at Magnolia was that the Dr. Pepper Museum is also located in Waco, directly around the corner from the Magnolia site. Therefore, after leaving the silos we walked over to the birthplace of Dr. Pepper, toured the museum, and did some taste testing of the original soda pop version of Dr. Pepper.

Also in 2020 we stayed in New Braunfels, just outside of San Antonio. New Braunfels is the home of Gruene Hall the oldest dance hall in Texas. It was built in 1878 and the laundry list of famous singers (Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, and BB King just to name a few) that have played the venue are as impressive as any I have ever seen. Unfortunately when we were there it was closed due to COVID issues. As a result we were only able to walk around the outside of the dance hall. While we were unable to experience as much as we would have liked, the entire area is a fantastic place to explore boutique shops and restaurants.

As a kid I was always fascinated by stories of the legend Pecos Bill. Whether he was wrestling huge rattlesnakes or lassoing fearsome creatures, I was ‘all in’ on Pecos Bill. Therefore, when we stumbled upon Pecos (the fictional West Texas home of Pecos Bill) I felt like a kid in the candy store.

There are gas stations, and then there are Buc-ee’s convenience stores and gas stations. While there are close to forty Buc-ee’s across Texas, we stopped at the location just outside of New Braunfels. At 66,000 square feet this is the largest convenience store in the world. This site also proclaims to be the worlds largest conveyor style car wash. Needless to say I have never experienced another gas station like Buc-ee’s.

• OUR LIST TO VISIT OR RETURN TO:
• Houston Astros Baseball, Houston TX
• Texas Rangers Baseball, Arlington TX
• Cotton Bowl Football Game
• Red River Football Game
• Space Center, Houston TX
• Big Bend National Park, Marathon TX
• Padre Island, Corpus Cristi TX
• Galveston Beach, Galveston TX
• The music scene in Austin