PLACES TO SEE:
1. The Alamo -
The church turned fortress during the Texas Revolution where 189 brave Texians (as they were called then) were defeated by Santa Ana's army is located downtown.
2. The Riverwalk-
Beautiful tree shaded sidewalks with shops and restaurants.
3. San Antonio Botanical Gardens - located in Alamo Heights, has flora and fauna native to the area.
4. Pearl Brewery - an old brewery that has been converted into shops and restaurants. The brewery used to be the home of Pearl Beer. It was built in 1883.
5. Fiesta Texas - A Six Flags water park that is open between May and September with limited openings during other times of the year, home of watersparks, shows, and rides.
6. Seaworld of Texas - The home of Shamu with numerous water related shows, a waterpark, and rides. Open May-September daily with other limited openings during the year.
7. Schlitterbahn - Not really in San Antonio, but worth the 32 mile trip north to New Braunfels. It has been rated the #1 waterpark in America for the last 10 years.
PARKS:
San Antonio Missions National Historic Park - Preserves five frontier missions. This is a driving tour and some of the parishes are still active. It usually takes at least 3-4 hours. Mission San José and the park's Visitor Center usually take about 1½ to 2 hours to see and do everything. Missions Concepción, San Juan, and Espada can be viewed in 30 minutes or less. Add more time in order to visit the Espada Dam and Aqueduct.
Government Canyon State Natural Area - Government Canyon State Natural Area is an approximately 8,624-acre area in Bexar County, just outside San Antonio. The State Natural Area was purchased by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in 1993, in cooperation with Edwards Aquifer Authority (formerly Edwards Underground Water District), San Antonio Water System, the Trust for Public Land and the federal government Land and Water Conservation Fund. The park opened to the public on October 15th, 2005.
Friedrich Wilderness Park - This is the birdwatchers paradise. The geology can be somewhat steep, depending upon the trail. See bird list.
EVENTS:
FEB: San Antonio Live Stock Show & Rodeo - actually the second largest in the country only to Houston.
APR: Poteet Strawberry Festival - takes place in a southern suburb. Anything and everything strawberry available.
Fiesta SA! - a 10 day celebration to commemorate the Texians victory at the Battle of San Jacinto. It has turned into numerous activities as well as a street party well worth the visit.
San Antonio also has numerous historic hotels that offer specials. Some include: Sheraton Gunter, St. Anthony, Emily Morgan, Omni La Mansion Del Rio, Emily Morgan, Hotel Valencia (not historic, but nice), and of course the historic Fairmont Hotel.
I have to include the story behind the Fairmont from their website:
As The World Watches
Then came the move that made The Fairmount famous and sparked its first rebirth.In 1984, the city struggled with the fate of The Fairmount. Developers were preparing to erect a major new retail center and hotel that would one day be known as Rivercenter Mall and the Marriott Rivercenter Hotel. Public improvements for that project called for the widening of Bowie Street, but The Fairmount stood in the way.
Another city with fewer ties to the past might have easily gone forward with the demolition option, but San Antonio is a community famous for its conservation efforts. A local development team and local financial backers organized the Fairmount Hotel Company, which worked with the City of San Antonio, the San Antonio Conservation Society, the Texas Historical Commission and the University of Texas Center for Archaeological Research to plan and execute an out-of-the-box strategy - moving the three-story building to a new home next to the La Villita National Historic District.
The move took six days, from March 30 to April 4, 1985, and cost approximately $1 million to complete the feat. A total of 36 dollies with pneumatic tires transported 3.2
million pounds of brick, mortar and steel six blocks to The Fairmount's new home. The trip required that the Commerce Street Bridge over the San Antonio River be reinforced to accommodate the unusually heavy traffic of one building.
Moving crews met at 5 a.m. each day to begin the slow trek toward Alamo and E. Nueva streets, with thousands of local residents lining the way to watch the engineering marvel. International press covered the event, with stories about The Fairmount's move appearing across the country and in more than 30 foreign countries. The Guinness Book of World Records noted that it was the heaviest building ever moved on wheels.
If you plan on visiting San Antonio - you HAVE to try the local cuisine - tagged "Tex-Mex". Some of my favorite restaurants include:
Mi Tierra, Los Barrios, Jacala's, Mamacita's, and a small restaurant called Gilbert's off Marbach and 410. Gilbert is a sweetheart and he has a plate called the Jave special (Carne Guisada enchiladas) - the place ain't fancy - but it has great food!
