Remember San Antonio

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Last summer, Sean, Jackson, Lucy, and I visited San Antonio, a vibrant city in south-central Texas. Visiting San Antonio was a dream of Jackson’s. When he was younger, Jackson studied the Alamo, watched movies about the battle, and even had play figurines of Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie. Needless to say, the family was excited to visit this fantastic and historic city.

It was summer, and we knew it would be hot in Texas, but hey, we are from Atlanta; how much hotter could it be? Um… a lot hotter! There was a different moisture level in the air, and San Antonio was sweltering. When we went to sleep at night, the temperature would remain in the 90-95 degree range. Our camper had a difficult time cooling in these conditions.

The Best Restaurant on Earth

Sean is our destination planner when we travel, but the dining is left up to me. I want the family to experience local cuisine, but we do not have an infinite budget. Therefore, dining out one time a day was reasonable on this trip. I like to designate my time in the passenger seat riding from one city to another to find authentic, local restaurants. Since we were traveling from Beaumont, Texas, I had plenty of time to research.

After we unhooked the camper, it was time to grab a bite to eat. After reviewing many websites, especially TripAdvisor, I picked Pollos Asados Los Nortenos in San Antonio. Pollos Asados just so happens to be my favorite restaurant that I have ever dined at on earth, and I am pretty picky.

I know that the name of the restaurant translates to the roasted chicken of the north (north of Mexico), but they should have named it the best thing you can ever put in your mouth. We all loved Pollos Asados so much that we ate there twice on our visit. Eating there twice is a big deal because two visits mean that we were willing to give up another adventurous meal for one we had already experienced. I would give up many meals to eat there again.

SeaWorld San Antonio

I have mentioned this in other blog posts, but when planning our vacations, we look to see if we can use an annual season’s pass in different cities, which makes purchasing season’s passes economically worthwhile. In San Antonio, we used our Busch Gardens Season’s Passes that we purchased in Williamsburg, Virginia, on spring break. Sea World is owned by Busch Gardens, so we could visit Sea World San Antonio at no cost when we arrived. Sea World San Antonio was excellent.

Included were the Aquatica Waterpark and the actual Sea World park that has animals, roller coasters, and shows.

It is essential when we travel to give the kids and ourselves some time to decompress and relax. Both Sea World and Aquatica allowed us to do just that! Lucy and Jackson were able to view their first Clyde and Seamore show, and they visited Shamu, the killer whale, on this inaugural visit.

On the way back to the campground from Sea World, we made our obligatory stop at Whataburger to pay homage to the state of Texas.

The Historic River Walk

While in San Antonio, we visited the River Walk and took an iconic riverboat gondola ride. Our tour guide gave us a detailed history of the River Walk and how it came to be one of San Antonio’s largest tourist attractions. We caught lunch at Casa Rio, the oldest restaurant on the River Walk, while visiting.

Remember the Alamo

After experiencing the River Walk, we visited the Alamo. Jackson was bustling with excitement, and the Alamo did not disappoint. We were able to see how Davy Crockett, James Bowie, General William Travis, and other fearless men and women protected the fort from General Santa Anna and the Mexican Federales during those 13 fateful days in 1836. After we were decked out in Remember the Alamo souvenirs, it was time for a National Park stamp.

The San Antonio Missions

The Alamo is the most famous mission in San Antonio, but four missions make up the San Antonio Missions run by the National Park Service. The four missions are Mission San Jose, Mission Espada, Mission Concepcion, and Mission San Juan. The missions are all within a general proximity of each other, but they require transportation to visit them.

The National Park Visitor’s Center and all information regarding planning the best route to visit all four missions is located at Mission San Jose. From Mission San Jose, we traveled to Espada, Concepcion, and we ended up at San Juan. I will say all the missions are full of rich history and detail. Visiting all four of the missions in one day takes some planning. We saw all of them, and we were worn out when we finished the last one. If you are interested, all of the missions still hold mass and church services regularly.

The Hill Country

From San Antonio, you can take several day trips to visit other areas of Texas. We decided to take a day and see the Hill Country. We began by visiting a revitalized ghost town called Greune. The town is very neat but it was also very crowded. If you decide to visit Greune, check out the local festivities and what is going on… we had difficulty finding a single parking space in the entire town!

From Greune, we traveled to Lyndon Baines Johnson’s (LBJ) childhood home in Johnson City. His childhood home is beautiful, and we learned so much about LBJ as a child, and the path he took that would one day make him the 36^th president of the United States.

After we visited LBJ’s childhood home, we took a 30-minute drive to visit his adult home, located in Stonewall. This home, which is really a ranch, is often called the Texas Whitehouse. The ranch consists of 1,570 acres, and it is still a working ranch today, maintained by both national and state park services.

While visiting the ranch, we were able to see LBJ’s airplane and view his interesting collection of automobiles.  

Next, we visited Luckenbach, Texas. Sean was thrilled about visiting Luckenbach. However, when we arrived, we realized that the town (comprised of 9 acres with a population of three people) was having a music festival and was closed. However, we did not travel to central Texas to miss the town that Waylon Jennings made famous. We asked if we could come in to explore for a little while and leave, and we were allowed. The town is a perfect venue for up-and-coming musicians and a great place to …get back to the basics of love. We had a great time visiting this town full of music. Out in Luckenbach, Texas, ain’t nobody feeling no pain.

Six Flags San Antonio

On our last day in San Antonio, we did more sightseeing and visited Six Flags San Antonio. Since we hold Six Flags passes in Atlanta, we can visit the other Six Flags parks at no cost. The Six Flags in San Antonio may be my favorite of the nine parks we have seen. Six Flags New England does give this park a run for its money, and they are both fantastic. What I love about Six Flags San Antonio is how it represents the area’s culture. Many structures within the park are adobe-like, and the wave pool is shaped like the state of Texas. Jackson and Lucy loved the park, and we all left happy and satisfied.  

San Antonio is a growing and vivid city, and it is such a great place to visit. Just be mindful of the heat if you go in the summertime. Oh, and go eat a meal at Pollos Asados Los Nortenos; you just might leave with a new favorite place to eat on earth!

Are you interested in visiting San Antonio? Check out Trip Advisor for fantastic lodging deals in the area!

Have you ever visited San Antonio? If so, what was your favorite part of the city? Please drop us a line in the comment section below!

Interested in other great towns to visit? Check out San Diego, California, and White Sands, New Mexico!