San Antonio + Caverns + Anniversay

Schedules are usually pretty crazy around October when we celebrate our anniversary.  This year because we have been unusually busy every weekend and most week days, we opted to do a small weekend trip down to San Antonio, Texas for a few days. 

We stayed at the famous San Antonio River Walk's very first hotel, El Tropicano.  Now this hotel may not be everyone's favorite, but if you love 60's design this place is just your coconut. From the interior of the lobby to the cabana fashioned pool area, El Tropicano brings the 60's back to life with their fresh colors, tropical decor, and mod design. 

It's located on the far North end of the River Walk, so if you want to walk to the central area where most of the restaurants are, you might want to wear some sneakers. It's about a 25 minute walk. 

We visited the Japanese Tea Gardens, also known as the Jingu House and walked through the botanical and rock gardens.  The weather was perfection so we took our time wandering through the lush maze of tranquility.

We of course frequented the famous River Walk and the restaurants along the way.  The area is definitely a tourist trap, and if you want good Tex-Mex be careful of your choice.  Some of the restaurants serve canned salsa, stale chips, pre-mixed margaritas, and the food is mediocre at best.  

We did a little research and stopped in to check out the menu at a few places.  Our final dinner choice for our first night was the River Walk's oldest bar, The Esquire Tavern. Opened in 1933 the bar features signature craft cocktails and unique cuisine.  Beware, you definitely need a reservation, and even if you have one you still might be waiting.  It's also extremely dark in the interior of the restaurant so make sure your waiter/waitress brings some extra candles to your table so you can see your dinner date. 

The Alamo grounds are just as I remembered them from my visits to San Antonio as a little girl. Very crowded, but no one really cares, the history of Texas lives right in the middle of the downtown area! This is Mecca for Texans, and everyone LOVES being at the Alamo.  

If you have time, right across the street from the Alamo is a little place called The History Shop. YOU MUST MAKE TIME TO GO HERE! There is a full scale model of the Alamo with a 15 minute narrative, recorded by Phil Collins that plays while you explore the mini diorama.  You might be confused as to why the most famous of British singers would narrate a story about the Alamo in this little tiny shop. What most people don't know is that Phil Collins is the largest collector of Texas/Alamo memorabilia.  The man owns some of Davy Crockets guns for crying out loud. I mean as much as I like Phil Collins, I love that he is an honorary Texan! 

The Tuesday after we left we saw in the news that Phil Collins was donating his $100 million dollar collection back to the Alamo!  WOW! You can read the article here. 

Husband, being the history buff that he is wanted to make a stop by the Spanish Governor's Palace.  You can read more about the Palace's history here. 

Our second night, we decided to do an early dinner and ghost tour with Sisters Grimm Ghost Tours. This was a real highlight of our trip, not only because the tour groups are relatively intimate, but these people know San Antonio history.  Most tour guides are dressed in early century costumes and are very dynamic in their story telling. It's one of the top rated ghost tours in San Antonio and given the time, information, and interactiveness it's definitely worth your money. Safe for the whole family.

                                   

 Our final morning in San Antonio we decided to wake up early and visit the Tower of the Americas for a 360 view of the city. 

After our visit to the Towers we had brunch at a quaint little spot called Madhatters Tea House & Cafe.  With a great menu and fabulous mimosas, you couldn't ask for a more unique and quality place to brunch. The Sunday Brunch menu is quite wonderful.

We are all about making fun pit stops on our road trips and we had seen advertisements for the Natural Bridge Caverns all along the way. 

Great photo ops right before you walk into the park! 

 

Natural Bridge Caverns is a great destination for a Texas roadside stop.  You could spend hours here.  This place features not only a tour through the caverns but a rock climbing and zip line tour, private excavation tours, a huge maze, and gem and fossil mining expeditions. Since we were limited on time we just opted for the Natural Bridge Tour. 

180 feet below ground and a half of a mile of tour walking.

And there is the Natural Bridge! Overall well worth the time and money, I just wish we could have stayed longer.  There is also a Natural Bridge Wildlife Park next door that is an African Safari, Texas style! 

Our last pit stop before we headed home was at a huge outdoor flea market.  I'm a ninja when it comes to these, so I knew I could conquer it fast.  We ended up taking home this Texas cactus and paid all of $4 for it. Score!

Sweet husband carrying home the loot. Look at this guy, he's my heart.  My number one travel companion.  My adventure. My love. I'm so happy to celebrate 4 years with him and look forward to so many more years, and road trips, together.