Any ideas for a holiday in Texas?

[Jen1984]

Hi all,

I'm planning an adults only trip for March next year. We are most likely going to be on a 7 night cruise from Houston on the 29th, and can arrange 7-10 nights beforehand to sightsee (we will have a car so can go anywhere). As neither of us have ever been before (and it will be a long time until we're able to go again) I'd appreciate it if anyone can give me any hints of where to travel to/ where to stay/ eat etc! I'm so used to endlessly planning our Disney holidays that I'm not sure where to start with this one!

Many thanks in advance!

[emerzmom]

Hi Jen1984,
I live in Houston so I can give you lots of ideas. The first idea is that Houston has the biggest and best Rodeo in the world (IMHO). The dates for the 2014 shows are March 4-23. They have not announced the line up yet but it is always a great mix of big bands and headliners. Lots of big country music stars but others too. The Livestock show is a lot of fun and they have the biggest carnival I have ever seen. Check out HLSR.com (Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo) for ongoing updates. The Houston Rodeo is definitely a fun event! If you want to venture out of Houston I would suggest San Antonio. The Riverwalk is pretty and always has something going on along with plenty of good Mexican food (Tex Mex) and lots of shopping. You can also visit the Alamo. Austin is only about 1 hour drive north of San Antonio and is very pretty. In between Austin and San Antonio is Gruene (pronounced Green). They have a very famous venue "Gruene Hall" that usually has great entertainment and an awsome Sunday Gospel Brunch (Texas Style). Don't bother with the beaches in Texas. If you are going on a cruise you will see much more beautiful beaches than anything we have in Texas. (I live here, I can handle the truth). Galveston (where the cruise ships leave) is a small island city. There are a few good seafood restuarants (Gaido's is the best) and The Strand has some cute shops but not much else to do in Galveston.
I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any questions I would be happy to help.
Happy planning!

Julie

[MNNHFLTX]

Julie gave a lot of good suggestions. If you have 7- 10 days available before the cruise I would do a little Hill Country (what the area immediately west of Houston is called) tour. Drive over to San Antonio, see the Alamo, stroll on the Riverwalk in the afternoon, have supper at a good Tex-Mex place, as Julie suggested. If you can spend the night in hotel on the Riverwalk you'll get beautiful views and can walk to bars, restaurants, etc. Then head north to Gruene--love that little town! It's actually considered a part of New Braunfels, TX. They do have live music most evenings, but my favorite time to go to the Music Hall is on Saturday or Sunday afternoons from 1-5 pm. It's just a great vibe and you can visit the little shops then too. They also have Gruene Market Days on the 3rd full weekend of every month, where vendors sell crafts. However, I see that it falls on March 15-16, 2014, which might not fit into your plans. Swing a bit east from there to Lockhart, which is the BBQ capital of Texas. I think there are six BBQ places in this little town, but our favorite is Smitty's Market. For the full experience, walk in the front door and walk the full circuit around the smoke pits before ordering your meal.

Then head up to Austin, the capital of Texas. There's a great museum there, the Bullock Texas State History Museum. Also a lively music scene at various venues. And Zilker Park with Barton Springs Pool, a spring-fed public swimming area that stays 70 degrees for year-round swimming (that may sound chilly, but when there's a nip in the air it actually doesn't feel too bad). The University of Texas is also located in the city and it's a very large and interesting campus to drive or walk through. You can go an hour north to Waco and see the Dr. Pepper Museum (Dr. Pepper was invented there in the 1800's) or continue back to Houston. Make sure and stop in at the Bluebell Creameries in Brenham, TX, where you can take a tour or just get a sampling of some of the best ice cream in the country.

In Houston itself, aside from the rodeo (which is a lot of fun and definitely a slice of Texas for those who have never been to it before), there is a wonderful museum district with the Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Natural History and Holocaust Museum, to name a few. The St. Arnold Brewery is located nearby and offers tours and tastings and on a related note there is the Beer Can House in the area, which has to be seen to be believed. There is also a theater district where you can see a variety of plays and even musicals straight from Broadway. Hermann Park (Houston's central park) has an outdoor theater where the Houston Symphony sometimes performs and the Houston Zoo is also located on the premises.

As far as Galveston, it's got a few highlights. Besides the Strand for shopping, if you happen to be there when there's a show at the Grand 1894 Opera House, that would be a real treat. Moody Gardens, which has an Aquarium and Rainforest located inside huge pyramids; it's considered an eco-attraction, I guess you could say. Of course, there's lots of fresh seafood places along the coast, and sailing/fishing charters, if anyone is into that. I wouldn't totally discount the beaches along the Gulf Coast there--Padre Island National Seashore is beautiful; there's wildlife and lots of birds that migrate through the area in spring. It's not tropical, like some of the beaches along the coastal areas in Mexico or in the Caribbean, it's a different type of beach experience.

There are a lot more places to explore in the eastern half of Texas--Dallas, Big Bend National Park way south along the Rio Grande, the swamps along the border with Louisiana, but I thought I'd touch on some of my favorites. Hopefully we given you a few ideas to research. Wherever you go, remember to drive the backroads for the real small-town Texas experience.

[wdwaggie]

My fellow Texan previous posters did a great job letting you know a few things to see and do that are all within 2-3 hours drive of Houston/Galveston. What you can definitely see from them and all of us here is that we are a very proud, very friendly state and quite literally we are like our own country with everything from Mountains to beaches. Enjoy and welcome!

[Jen1984]

Wow! Thank you so much for taking the time to give me all those ideas! I really appreciate it!

We're both really looking forward to seeing a bit of real American life (rather than the Disney dream- although of course we love that too!). It's always brilliant to get the advise from locals, as you know the real good places rather than the tourist traps!

Really intrigued by the idea of the rodeo too, something we definitely haven't done. I'm not sure if we will be heading to the beach when we are there, we live on a tiny little island in the English Channel and we are famous for our beaches(although Texas will definitely be a lot warmer in March!)

Again, thanks for responding, you have given me some brilliant ideas. When i have narrowed down the plans a little I will post again and get your opinions!