ON THE ROAD

I'm figuring on making a Texas road swing in a month or so, probably renting a car in Houston, swinging south through San Antone, then hitting the Gulf Coast and the Rio Grande Valley. Any suggestions?

Being an old space nut from the 1960s, I am sure NASA in Houston will be a must-see. Probably the Alamo too. Dunno about Dallas - that may extend the trip beyond how long I want to take it.

Luckily, I'm ahead of the chart on my weight-loss plans. I suspect I may lapse a bit on my smart-eating regimen. :

 

San Antonio is a great city. You'll have fun. Make sure you take the tour of the Alamo that includes the basement.

San Antone is more west than south, though.

 

Not counting El Paso, I don't have any experience with southern Texas. But I hear Corpus Christi is a nice place to visit -- given it's not spring break.

Dallas is decent. I haven't been there often, but the West End is the place for mainstream dining, night clubs, retail, etc.

Maybe I'm a stooge, but I enjoyed the farmers market there. It's an interesting place, and there's nothing like quality, fresh fruit. Yeah, call me lame. It isn't far from downtown, either.

Oh, yeah. Almost forgot. Avoid South Padre Island. The motto, "what happens in Mexico, stays in Mexico" applies to this place, also. Forget borders.

 

Well, here goes...

Houston, the city, is ass. NASA is worth the stop, though. Although there are better exhibits at the Air and Space Museum in D.C., in my humble opinion, it's still pretty neat. Them there rockets are huge.

Galveston, which is a pretty quick and straight shot from Houston has a cool feel to it. Good food. A little tacky by the beach, but still, I liked it. You should read Isaac's Storm, which is great book about the hurricane that hit down there a ways back (written by the guy who wrote Devil in the White City; I'm drawing a blank on his name... something Scandanavian sounding.) Anyway, you read it, and then you can look up the buildings that survived the storm, and picture the people who survived, too, bundled up above the surge. Kinda chilling, really, especially given the recent tsunami.

Oooo... Got a little heavy there. Sorry. Okay. San Antonio is a nice town by Texas standards. Walkable, unlike, say, Houston or Dallas. River runs through it. The Alamo is a little disappointing, because -- and I didn't really understand what was what -- but none of it is actually the Alamo. There's a big traffic circle where the joint used to be. (And yeah, jackasses, I know it had the unmerciful crap blown out of it, but I'd rather look at ruins than a reconstruction.) Again, though, San Antonio's a pleasant pitstop.

Just so you know, Starman, there is nothing between Houston and San Antonio, except a nearly four-hour drive over flats.

Austin, though, is where you should be heading. Cool, cool town. Eat and drink just about anywhere and be happy. (You can drive a nice little triangle-loop between Houston, San Antonio, and Austin. Someone can correct me, because my memory's foggy, but I think it'd be maybe 10 hours to do all the driving.)

I have a hatred for Dallas that I have for no other city in the Union. I don't know why. Hate it.

El Paso, though, is the bigger pit. Walking over the bridge into Juarez is a trip all on its own and worth doing if you get there. I ate dinner in ol' Mexcio, and somehow didn't shit my pants from the food. Just out of fear.

And that, hombre, is Texas. Except for Amarillo, where I haven't been since I was a kid. All I remember is one of those place where you eat the 72-ounce steak and you get it for free. It had a shooting gallery in it, too.

My dad tried to do the steak thing and failed. If you do go to Amarillo, perhaps you might find his small bowel there.

 

I crossed the border at about 11 p.m. local time. I have never been more nervous in my life.

That is, until I can back into America a couple days later. Massive amount of cars. One guy, who had no legs, "walked" up and down the line of vehicles begging for money as cars passed through the checkpoint. His knuckles were bleeding.

My group still managed to get a few butterfly and switchblade knives past U.S. border patrol. Both items are illegal.

The Juarez marketplace. Gotta love it.

 

OK, here we go.

In San Antonio, do a boat trip on the Riverwalk through town. You'll see the places you might want to check out later. Lots of good clubs, bars and restaurants. The Riverplace Mall on the river is nice, too. The Alamo is almost next to the mall. It'll be smaller than you thought.

Austin? Check out Sixth Street, of course. It's the main entertainment strip in town, sort of a cleaner and smaller Bourbon Street. Great live music up and down the street. Also go to the Continental Club. Very well-known joint on South Congress.

About an hour west of SA and Austin is the Texas hill country. Very picturesque. If you're near Fredericksburg, have someone tell you how to get to Luckenbach (remember the old Willie Nelson/Waylon Jennings song?) I don't believe there are any road signs pointing the way.

If you make it to Corpus, there's a fun little seafood/burger shack under the Kennedy Causeway called Snoopy's. It's several miles out of town on the way to Padre Island. The beaches around Corpus are kind if hit-and-miss. They're sandier and nicer the further south you go towards the Valley.

Sure this is more info than you needed. But I spent some time in Texas. 8)

 

Hmm, well I'm debating right now what my itinerary will be. I have a sister who lives down near Padre Island and my general plan is to take a week-plus two weekends to fly down there and spend a few days driving around the state with a couple digitals and video cameras in tow. (I have definitely timed it NOT to go during the normal 'spring break' time frame.)

Haven't decided exactly where I am going to fly into.
Right now I'm thinking mainly of the SE side of the state, the Gulf Coast side, which is going to leave El Paso and Dallas out of it. Probably Houston, Austin, San Antone, Corpus, then down to the Valley. We'll see.

For the more experienced travel vets here, the frequent flyer wizards -- what's the usual lead-time window to get the best airfare rates?? 30 days?? One way or another, I'm gonna have to get off the pot pretty soon.

 

If you're in Milwaukee and in the mood for Italian, check out Balistreri's. There's two locations, both near Miller Park. Get the fried eggplant, great stuff.

If you're in Madison and in the mood for some variety, check out the Kabul Restaurant on State Street. If you like Middle Eastern food, this place is choice. And you can get drunk afterwards at State Street Brats or any number of other watering holes.

I like Bazbeaux's Pizza in Indianapolis. Good stuff, nice atmosphere. There's one downtown and in the Broad Ripple bar district, though I don't think that one is a sit down place.

It's down homey, but I also like Mark's Feed Store in Louisville. And I second the vote for Jack Fry's.

Anyone have any suggestions for -- gulp -- Wichita? I'm headed there in the near future.

 

I started it. For this thread if you want to go back through looking for posts on a certain city, it makes it easier to find.

 

I lived in San Antonio, so I can be of some help.

The cuisine to eat is Tex-Mex of course. Best Mexican food in the USA is in San Antonio, and the worst place in town is better than anyplace outside Texas' border.

Among the touristy favorites: El Mirador, 722 S. Saint Mary's St. (excellent soups and a surprising menu); Rosario's, 910 S. Alamo St. (way overpriced, but the most trendy and has a very pleasant collection of senoritas on any given night); Mi Tierra, 218 Produce Row in Market Square (One of the older reataurants, lineage-wise, in town and good food. A little pricey, but open 24 hours. Definitely great at 3 a.m. after some serious drinking on the River Walk.

The best Tex-Mex in town is at a little counter-service joint called Teka Molino, 2403 N. Saint Mary's. Great everything, and you'll likely leave for under $6. Guy that owns the place is a big Texas A&M booster. Family has run the restaurant since the 40s. Get the Carne Guisada with flour tortillas. Tell Arthur "Mr. Lee" sent you. He'll know who I am.


As for sight-seeing. McNay art museum is OK. Alamo is alright, but you might not find it moving unless you're into history. The other four Spanish Missions on the Mission Trail through town are really cool. Like California, the influence of the Catholic Missions in Texas cannot be underestimated.

Mission San Antonio de Valero (The Alamo) is very much different from the way it appeared at the time of the battle.

Mission San Jose and Mission Concepcion are both stunning.

Mission San Juan and Mission Espada stand out for their glimpse into how hard life on the Texas frontier had to be.

Sea World is a good time if you have kids. So is Six Flags Fiesta Texas.

The River Walk is what you make of it. always overpriced, but the eye candy is there.

I never found a truly great drinking establishment in San Antonio.

If traveling from Houston, some of the best barbecue in Texas is near I-10. One of my favorites is Barbecue Smokehouse and Catering, just North of I-10 at 716 N. US Highway 77 in Schulenberg. Even has an all-day buffet. It is outstanding. That's the best that doesn't take you too far off the road. That part of the state has a heavy German/Czech influence.

You could also run up to Shiner and take a tour of the Spoetzl Brewery. It's a Czech town, and the brewery is a good time.

 

Why?

For its size, Wichita isn't all that great. Maybe I expect too much from Kansas' largest city.

But, if you must find something to do, Towne East is the only mall in town. Don't even think about any other place. Towne West isn't comparable.

Rock Road has some good eats (Olive Garden, On The Border and a good Memphis-style barbecue place). This is where Borders is located, too.

I think the Old Town district is overrated. Try it if you want. There are a few good bars and restaurants down there.

There is a great sports bar/steakhouse just off Kellogg near the airport. I can't remember the name, though. (CJ's???)

I hope you're staying at the Hyatt... The Marriott is OK, but its breakfast isn't in the same league.

The best part about Wichita is the huge Warren Theater. I'm not sure how reservations work, because I'm not of "acceptable age," but there is one theater in this building of about 20 screens that has a self-service bar balcony. Waitors bring drinks (and food, I think) to your table throughout the show. Tickets for the special balcony seats are expensive, but I hear the experience is a blast.

Exploration Place is an OK place for the kids.

If you have a couple days, make the short trek to Yoder, Kan., and you'll eat at the state's best Amish restaurant. If you're really in the mood, go a little bit further and try the Dutch Kitchen in Hutchinson for breakfast.

My knowledge of Wichita is limited, though. Take it for what it's worth.

 

Actually, you gave a good scouting report, Huska.

Like he said, not the best city. Enough to do sometimes with Old Town and the bars there. I avoid the malls since I hate malls, but they just put a Steve and Barry's in the Towne East last month. Rock Road has some places to eat, including a Hooters which triples the size of the old one on Kellogg. (So I've heard.)

But a sports bar called Player's does it for me. It's in the northwest corner on 21st St., down the street from the original Warren Theatre. So much sports memorabilia to look at, especially Wichita State and classic boxing. The atmosphere is unreal, even if the wings are average sometimes. The East Warren on 13th is the one where you get trashed drinking in the balcony, BTW.

The Yoder restaurant is Carriage Crossing.