Texas Road Trip

Written By Jessica Moriarty

San Antonio to Austin to Fort Worth

San Antonio to Fort Worth….Let me start by saying we are last minute travelers.  With my husband being in Real Estate, he tends to be very buys in Summer which means our opportunities for big trips to Europe or anything international isn’t an option.  Our go to trip is usually Hawaii, but after getting my family the Thunder Bunny 50 States Map, I am determined to hit all the states. So we went for…..TEXAS.  My initial thought about going to Texas was mainly because I have a cousin who lives in Midland and I thought, I should just hit some spots in Texas and if my husband can’t go because of work, then at least my cousin can meet me with her kids and it will be fun. I have always wanted to go to San Antonio, Texas to see the Riverwalk and I happened to come across an epic family friendly hotel and so we went for it.  My husband has always wanted to see the Stockyards in Fort Worth so we decided why not make it a little road trip stopping in Austin in between.  My favorite thing to do is plan trips for my family with activities that will be fun for all of us and Texas didn’t disappoint.  I have to say that when we go on trips, we tend to go big….and by that I mean we have a yolo attitude and think to ourselves, we may never come back so we should make the most of it and just do the experience.

We went from August 10-19th, and it was hot but it ended up being an amazing time to go. Not only was it nice because all the pools felt so refreshing when it was this hot out, but the Texas started school the week we got there which meant most places we adventured to didn’t need to be booked in advanced and were quiet which I liked.  I will also add that we are Marriott Bonvoy Members and use our status with them to upgrade to get larger rooms that give my kids space to move around.  We also have a friends and family discount with Marriott and get a better rate than most people. Please note: Most the orange wording is a hyper link for your convenience.


San Antonio:

Stay: JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country

This hotel was beautiful and perfect for families.  Not only did they have an epic pool area complete with water slides, a lazy river, multiple pools including a sand bottom pool, they also had a great spa for the mom who wants a little pampering and a PGA Golf Course for the husbands.  They also had plenty of great food options, daily kids activities such has rubber ducky decorating, s'mores and finger painting and they even had a babysitter for parent nights out from 6-10pm every night. It was about $80 per child but hey, sometimes it is worth it for a little alone time. We opted to stay in San Antonio for 4 full days and it was amazing. We spent many days by the pool because it was 100 degrees when we visited.  We split a few of our days by doing some activities outside of the hotel.

View from our room of the pool

Other Hotel Options:

If we didn’t stay at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country, we probably would have stayed on the river walk at The Westin Riverwalk.  I liked that it was a little toward the end of the Riverwalk so it was a little quieter but still close enough to get to all the action fast

Things to do:

The Alamo: When in San Antonio, you have to go see the Alamo. The Alamo is primarily famous for the Battle of the Alamo, a pivotal and tragic event in Texas Revolution against Mexico. Now if you are a millennial like me you may also thing of the Alamo from Miss Congeniality where Sandra Bullock plays the water glasses and dives into the crowd yelling “gun” tackling a bystander in the crowd. The entry into the Alamo is free with a reservation but it costs money to get into the museum. We did not plan ahead, as I mentioned before, things were slow and we walked to the ticket booth in front of the Alamo and got a ticket right before entering. Here are a few facts about the Alamo:

The Battle of the Alamo (1836)

  • Date: February 23 – March 6, 1836

  • Context: A small group of about 180 Texan defenders (including famous figures like James Bowie, William B. Travis, and Davy Crockett) held the Alamo against a much larger Mexican army (1,800–6,000 troops) led by General Santa Anna.

  • Outcome: After 13 days of siege, the Alamo fell. Almost all Texan defenders were killed.

  • Impact: Though a military defeat, the battle became a symbol of heroic resistance and sacrifice in the fight for Texas independence. The cry “Remember the Alamo!” became a rallying call in future battles.

San Antonio River walk:  I highly recommend going to the River Walk in the later afternoon and into the evening.  It was magical down there, but as the sun goes down the lights com on and the River walk comes alive. It is a totally different vibe.  Grab a bite to eat and relax just taking in the views.

Miss Congeniality and Selena both have spots that they filmed down at the River walk.

  • Go Rio River boat tour on the River walk:  I really enjoyed this boat tour.  It got us off our feet and I loved listening to the history of the river walk.  They also gave facts about those filming locations and about some of the hotels surrounding the riverwalk. You can book ahead of time or there are several spots along the river walk that you can stop to book a boat cruise.

Natural Bridges Wildlife Ranch:

About 30 minutes from our hotel you will find the Natural Bridges Wildlife Ranch.  This wildlife ranch is around 500 acres and about 500 animals and 40 different species that you are allowed to feed as they wander the land.  You can take this journey at your own pace in your own car or you can opt to do a private tour with a guide.  We opted for the private tour because we wanted to add the Rhino and Giraffe experiences that you can only do if you book a private tour.  Originally we were only going to do the Rhino experience because how often can you say you pet a rhino, but ended up deciding why not do the Giraffe too.  I have to say I was surprised by how much I loved the Giraffe experience.  I have fed Giraffes before at our local zoo and a few other zoos around the country, but this was not like those experiences.  You are at ground level so you truly feel the size of these incredibly sweet and docile creatures.  We got to spend about 30 minutes with them and it was really a special experience.  If you can do both, do both, but if I had to pick one I would say do the Giraffes.  The tour through the property was equally fun.  You get to see so many animals and many of them come running right up to your car and you can feed them pellets that you buy from the front gate. Our private tour game with a bag each but we opted to buy more at the half way point.  Several animals we were even allowed to feed out of our hand.  My favorites to feed were the ostriches and the bongos.  After the tours we also checked out the Aviary.  It wasn’t something I needed to do, but we thought, why not we are here.  I was pleasantly surprised by how much my whole family enjoyed it. Once you are in there for several minutes the birds will just start flying to you and landing on your.  At one point my husband had over 10 parakeets on him.   

Animal World & Snake Farm:  This place actually came up on my instagram while we were in San Antonio so we decided to hit it on our way to Austin.  Its about 30 minutes from where we were staying.  It is a relatively small zoo but the enclosures are pretty small and you can get a pretty close view of the animals.  They also have a petting zoo portion with the cutest baby goats, llama and baby deer.  You can purchase food to feed them at the front but just be prepared to be surrounded by the animals.  This place also had a list of animal encounters.  We each picked one to do because we thought, why not, so we did the Capybaras, Skunk, Dwarf Crocodile and Brown Lemur.  Compared to the animal ranch, it was a bit pricier for a shorter experience.  If I had to only do one, I would have picked the Brown Lemur.  She was very interactive and walked right onto my boys laps.  Beware she will scent mark you which means she pees on you a little bit.  OI also would have maybe traded the Capybara experience for the Fennec Fox.   The Capybaras are housed right next to the petting zoo and I think we could have snuck a few pets in through the fence.  Overall, it was a fun stop before we drove to Austin and my boys love a good animal experience.

Things we didn’t make it to but wish we had more time to do:

STOPS ON THE WAY TO AUSTIN: 

  • Blue Hole: Located in Wimberley about an hour away from our hotel in San Antonio was the most beautiful little oasis nestled amidst the cypress trees. I was bummed we got a little bit of a late start and only was able to spend an hour here. This little spot was so beautiful, refreshing and fun. My kids especially love the trapeze swings that you could use to swing into the water. You can get a half day pass from 9am-1pm or 2pm-6pm. We got there a little before 5pm and an hour was not long enough here. I will say by 5pm the crowd had died down which meant lines for the swings weren’t too bad. My husband was tired and opted not to get in and just take pictures with the thought that we would come back another day. However, it ended up selling out not he weekend and we didn’t go back and his biggest regret of the trip was that he didn't get in. I would definitely book ahead of time so you don’t miss the opportunity to hit this spot. This was probably my favorite pool we went to this trip. Book your pass here:

    • *Wimberley: We didn’t stop in the town of Wimberley but we drove through it on our way out from the Blue Hole and it was such a cute little town. I would definitely stop grab a bite to eat and do a little shopping in town.

AUSTIN: 

August 14-17

Stay:  Westin Downtown Austin

If I went again, I would have stayed at the JW Marriott Austin near the Congress Bridge.  The Westin was nice but I would prefer to be closer to Congress Bridge and the Water.  We only had 2 days in Austin and we had been there before so some of the things we did on our other trip but not this trip.

 

THINGS WE DID: 

CONGRESS BRIDGE BATS: Between March and Early Fall, around sunset, you can catch the Mexican Free Tailed Bats come out of their cave and fly into the night. It is pretty spectacular to see these bats start trickling out into a sudden flood of bats. This activity is completely free, if I had thought ahead I would have probably rented kayaks, a boat or paddle boards about 1.5 hr before the bats come out and watched them from the water.  However, watching from the bridge or underneath the bridge ( I have done both) gives you a great view and it is pretty wild to see this colony of bats come out and swarm the sky.

Shopping at the Domain: We spent an entire day venturing around the stores here and playing VR.  They have shops like Nordstrom, lucchese, dolce vita, Madewell, free people and plenty of delicious restaurants in here.  We ate at both Velvet Taco, Culinary Dropout and Jeni’s Ice Cream.

  • Sandbox VR: Now I know these places are all over the place but the one closest to me is an hour and a half away. My husband really wanted to do this. I wasn’t so thrilled about it, I thought it would be better if he just took my oldest son but he wanted us all to do.  I was actually surprised by how fun it was.  They have family friendly ones but my boys both opted to do Deadwood Mansion which is shooting zombies.  My boys are almost 8 and almost 5 and both were able to participate in the virtual reality games.  If your boys scare easily, then definitely opt for squid games or the more family friendly options.  The first game we did a grown girl was screaming the entire time the zombies were coming.

Hamilton Pool Preserve: This is the only thing I booked in advance because tickets were almost sold out and I didn’t want to miss it.  About 45 minutes from Austin, this beautiful pool is waiting.  There is a short hike to get there so it is not a stroller friendly place but my almost 5 year old and almost 8 year old did perfectly fine with the walk getting down and up from the pool.  You can reserve a spot from 9-12:30 or 2-5:30pm.  Like I mentioned I wasn’t feeling that well so we got in a little late and only had about an hour there before our time slot was up.  This was enough time for my family to enjoy it and by the last 15 minutes we were the only ones left and we had the place to ourselves which was kind of nice.  They no longer allow you to go back under the cliff due to falling rocks but it is really beautiful and peaceful back there.  They also have life jackets free of charge for anyone who may need one.

Get your photo ops with the awesome murals in Austin: My favorites are:

  • I love you so much Mural: Get your photo op at the I love you so much sign. We did this 9 years ago before we had kids so we made sure we came back to get a photo with the kids this time and recreated our photo from 9 years ago. Located at 1300 South Congress Avenue (SoCo)

  • Greeting from Austin Mural:

Things I wish we had time for:

  • Kayak/Paddle Board on Lady Bird Lake:  This was one of my must do but we just didn’t quite make it because I was feeling really drained after getting a chest cold.  I would have loved to do this in the evening time a little before sunset and then watched the bats come out. If Kayaking or Paddle boarding isn’t your thing, book a boat instead. Here are a few boat rentals and tour that looked nice to me:

    • Retro Boats: I think my kids would have loved this but I actually stumbled across this after we left Austin. It is definitely on my to do list if you go back.

    • Capital Cruises: They have a fleet of boats from something more fun and private to larger charters.

  • Swim at Barton Springs Pool:  This place is fun and would have been a nice cool down.  We didn’t go this trip but I had been in a past trip to Austin and it was a cool spot to visit.  It was very crowded when we went but it opens really early so I would opt to get in early before the crowds.

  • Museum of Ice Cream: I put this on the list as something fun for the kids to do and get out of the heat if we needed to but we found so many more fun things to do an opted to skip this. I know this isn't specific to Austin either.

  • The Thinkery: This is a children’s museum. I usually opt for a good children’s museum on our trips as a way for the parent to relax and kids to run around and explore but we just had too many other outdoor things to see that we didn’t go here. It looked pretty cool though.

  • McKinney Falls State Park:

  • Jacobs Well - a permit is needed for this place and it happened to be closed when we were in Austin due to low water levels. Definitely check the website to see if it is open before going

  • Zilker park - Take a ride on the Zilker Eagle Mini Train: This was also closed when we were in Austin due to a broken axel.

  • Nature and Science Center:

  • Hike/Bike the Barton Creek Greenbelt Area:

    • While doing this I really wanted to check out Sculpture and Twin Falls:  It was something I really wanted to check out but it was a little bit more unfamiliar to me in regards to where I would park and how far the walk was to get there and if there would even be enough water in these areas so we didn’t end up making it here. It was also so hot, and like I mentioned I was under the weather so the thought of hiking to these places in the heat was not what I felt like doing at that moment in time.

  • Krause Springs:  This is another pool area that looked really cool but we opted for the other areas.  This was out near Hamilton Pool but still took about 30 minutes to get to from Hamilton Pool Preserve. If I had more time I would have visited every one of these beautiful pools.

 

Food in Austin: There are two places I have to mention in Austin when it comes to food. I used to travel and make sure I made it to the top restaurants but since having kids that is more difficult because I have a bunch of picky eaters. However, we sometimes can scramble out and hit a good spot if they have a decent kids menu.

  • Fixe- I don't love the rest of their menu but if you could go here and just get an order of their biscuits they are to die for. I came to Austin for the first time 9 years ago and I dreamt about these biscuits ever since. I had to stop here again for their fresh, warm biscuits.

  • Gordoughs Gourmet Donuts: This is another spot I hit 9 years ago and dreamt about these donuts ever since. I got the Sarahs Joy and it was so yummy and fresh. While we were here, a sudden rain storm hit and it definitely made the visit much more memorable.

STOPS BETWEEN AUSTIN AND DALLAS

Buc-ee’s:  This is a must stop.  I have never seen any place like this and it was well worth the stop.  Buc-ee’s is the largest gas station in the United States.  You will probably never look at another gas station the same again.  We went to the one in New Braunfels which is about 30 minutes outside of San Antonio but there is another one before you hit Waco.

Waco: Waco is a perfect stop between Austin and Fort Worth.  It is basically half way in between.  In Waco you can find the famous Magnolia Market and our stop Waco Surf.

  • Magnolia Market: I am sure most people have heard of this place.  The famous Market created by Joanna Gaines.  Unfortunately we drove through Waco on a Sunday and the market was closed so we did not stop.

  • Waco Surf:  I found this place as we were driving from Austin to Fort Worth, it was hot and I googled pools near Waco and up popped Waco Surf.  This place was awesome.  There are 3 areas, the waterslide/park area, Surf area, and cable park area.  If we had more time we probably would have booked a night at the hotel there and made the most of all three areas, but we were had a flight home in two days and had to get to Fort Worth. We ended up staying for 2-3 hours at the water park area. The slides were really fun, a little scary, but nothing like I had ever done before.  My 5 year old wasn’t allowed to do the big slides but there was a small kids area that he could enjoy as well.  My almost 8 year old did all the big slides with a little bribery of VR in Fort Worth if he was Brave enough to ride the Waco Surf slide.  Warning: it can hurt when you hit the water coming off these slides.  There is also a lazy river that goes around the surf area but we were so entertained by the slides we never even got in it. Life jackets were provided at the water park as they are mandatory for the slides.  The surf area is a spot where you can learn to surf a manmade wave. It looked really fun but again we didn’t have a lot of time there.  The cable park was also really fun looking.  A 6 tower Cable system pulls you around a donut shaped lake on a wakeboard  as enjoy ramps and rails in the water.  You can book a two hour session and rent all the equipment you need there. 

Fort Worth: 

August 17-19th

Stay: Hotel Drover:  This hotel is absolutely stunning and is in a perfect location for the stockyards.  I could have spent a day just lounging in the hotel and looking around at all the stunning decorations.

 Things we did:

  • See the Longhorns at the stockyards -cattle drive 11:30am and 4pm daily: My advice is try to make the 11:30 cattle drive.  We missed it the first day and the 4pm cattle drive got cancelled due to it being too hot.  I think the best spot to sit and watch them would be right in front of Lucchese and King Ranch Saddle Shop there is a little bend int he curb/road and would give you the best angle to see the longhorns without anyone leaning out in front of you. After the cattle drive you can cross the street and take your picture with the longhorn. They joke that it is free but to get off the longhorn will cost you $10.

  • Shop at the stores: I came her 5 years ago and there are so many more awesome shops there now.  Here are some of my favorites:

    • Flea Style:  They had cute women’s clothing and a hat bar where you can make your own hat.  Hats are around $200 and each item you add to it has an additional price.  It was a fun experience and cheaper than the ones in other stores.

    • Mavericks Western Wear:  Another place where you can make a hat for a much steeper price tag.  I also loved their water glasses in there.  They are the same ones they use at the 97 West Kitchen and Bar at Hotel Drover.  I also loved the children’s books and kids stuff in here.  They are the pricier sister store to the General Store

    • The General Store:  Perfect spot to get your souvenirs and kids cowboy boots and cowboy hats.  I also picked up a few cute stuffs for our kids, and some cute stockyard hats and shirts.

    • M.L. Leddy's: Get some boots or hat at M.L. Leddy’s.  Last time I was in the stockyards I picked up a wallet from here.

    • Lucchese:  You have to stop in the Lucchese store.  The boots are expensive but it is worth the walk through.  I can’t tell you how many people walked in the Hotel Drover with multiple bags of Lucchese boots. If you watched the Netflix show about the DCC cheerleaders, these are the boot they wear.

    • Tucker Brown: I bought multiple things from this store.  They had really cute women’s clothing.

    • Tecovas:  These are more affordable boots than Lucchese and have some really pretty boots

    • Stockyard Station Shops: So many little shops in stockyard station to check out.

Things We would have done if we had another day:

  • Walking tour in the Stockyards:  I wanted to do this but it was so dang hot I couldn’t make my kids walk in the heat and listen to history

  • Stockyard Rodeo:  We weren’t here on a weekend or else we definitely would have gone to the rodeo here. They have rodeo every Friday and Saturday night.

  • Fort Worth Zoo: 

  • Water Gardens: This was something I actually really wanted to see and thought my boys would enjoy but since we only had one full day in Fort Worth we never made it to the downtown area.

  • watch them make custom hats at ML Leddys

  • Check out Sundance square

  • Stroll the trinity trails 

  • Kimbell art museum

  • Modern art museum

  • Fort Worth farmers market

  • Fort Worth Botanical Gardens

  • Take a Train Ride from the historic stockyard station - Stockyards trinity river excursion  Friday-Sunday only :  we were suppose to do this but didn’t make it on time.  We opted to do Waco Surf and miss our train.

Take a look at the Texas Map I created with all my points of interest!

Jessica Moriarty
Next

Seattle