<p>My son wants to visit the George Bush Presidential Library which I believe is near Dallas (correct me if I’m mistaken). So it would make sense to see Dallas. Would it make sense to fly in and out of Dallas, and then drive to San Antonio, Austin and Houston? Is that a long drive?</p>
<p>Nascar also in dallas! Texas speedway! Dallas is about 2.5 hours from Austin, depending on traffic. Easy drive. SA is about another hour south of Austin. Again, easy drive - but traffic in Austin can be horrible. I would suggest flying into Dallas, driving to Austin and San Antonio - and maybe going south to Padre for the beach scene. There is no beach scene in Galveston and Houston. (Ok there is a beach in Galveston, but again, not really worth the drive, etc.) You could really have a nice trip, Dallas, Austin, SA, to Padre and home. Lots to do. I believe Bush Sr is in College Station, and Jr is being built on the SMU campus in Dallas, I was there a year ago and it wasn’t even started, so you should check if it’s open. Senior is in College Station (where A & M is) would be on your way from Dallas to Austin. And again LBJ in Austin.</p>
<p>Guadalupe River Ranch is kind of like a bed and breakfast. Check the website. No tv’s in the room. Kind of rustic. Austin has beautiful B and B’s - really terrific. I’m sure some on-line research will help here - I can’t remember any of their names. But some very nice ones. Also some nice hotels on Town Lake downtown. Austin also has the largest bat colony in north America under the congress avenue bridge - another sight to see when the bats go out at night! There is a bat watching station and everything.</p>
<p>The George Bush (the elder) Presidential Museum is at Texas A&M in College Station - about two hours east of Austin. The George Bush (the younger) Presidential Museum will be at SMU in Dallas, but it only broke ground a few months ago. The LBJ Presidential Library and Museum is at UT in Austin, and is worth seeing.</p>
<p>Austin and San Antonio are not far apart, but the distances between San Antonio/Austin and Houston and Dallas are large. You’re talking something like three to four hours driving between any of those places, which would eat up time that could otherwise be spent sightseeing.</p>
<p>Texas feels so big when you are in it. There’s an old saying, “The sun has riz, the sun has set, and here we is, in Texas yet.”</p>
<p>The restaurant that MaterMia referred to in San Antonio is Mi Tierra. Used to have mariachis…probably still does!</p>
<p>NASCAR is actually just north of Ft. Worth. IMO, Ft. Worth is a lot more visitor-friendly than Dallas. Nice downtown, cool museums, more “western” than Dallas.</p>
<p>Dallas does have the Sixth Floor museum, which would probably mean more to the parents than the student.</p>
<p>Austin and SA are a must.</p>
<p>Once you settle on the destinations, come back for restaurant recommendations.</p>
<p>In summer, a baseball game would be nice. </p>
<p>I’d rather stick needles in my eyes than go to Schitterbahn…hell on earth. In summer it gets so crowded that you can wait 90 minutes to go down a water slide.</p>
<p>In San Antonio, I’d choose the Hyatt Hill Country over a River Walk hotel. Sea World is basically across the street from the HHC, if I remember correctly. A big portion of Sea World is a water park.</p>
<p>Are you coming in the summer? Can you handle heat over 100 degrees? We took a few San Marcos/San Antonio vacations when the kids were little and our rule was that you had to be in air conditioning, the water, or a cave. </p>
<p>Tubing in San Marcos is fun and sort of unique to Texas. If you go, go early in the morning. As the day wears on, you might think you are tubing with the cast of Deliverance.</p>
<p>Do you think your son wants the southern city vibe, or the Western vibe, or Austin laid back?</p>
<p>San Antonio.</p>
<p>Puffy taco.</p>
<p>Jacala, Henry’s, Los Barrios, ask a native from SA for their fave place</p>
<p>Do not miss the puffy tacos in SA.</p>
<p>You can thank me later.</p>
<p>The minor league baseball team has the puffy taco as its mascot. Nuff said.</p>
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<p>The above suggestions are very good. For San Antonio, staying at the Hyatt Hill Country is a much better idea than staying at the Riverwalk. While you will enjoy visiting the Alamo and strolling down the river, there is no real need to stay in the area. The Hyatt offers a much more interesting experience. </p>
<p>Despite the interest of seeing the Gulf, I would recommend skipping Houston and Galveston, unless the idea is to compare Texas to some of the ugliest parts of New Jersey. Spealing about comparisons, the DFW metroplex offers a unique juxtaposition of a very modern town immersed in capitalistic pleasures. It is a shopping mecca that showcases many of the first shopping centers in the country. Ray Nasher’s NorthPark was the first enclosed mall. Visiting Forth Worth brings out the Western flair with its superior Western Museum and Stockyards. Visiting the ballparks or enjoying the amusement parks in Arlington wraps it all up. </p>
<p>And again, I would most definitely avoid Houston.</p>
<p>I am from Dallas/Fort Worth, but I would say that San Antonio and Austin are a must! If you go to Austin, go to The Oasis…it is on a cliff overlooking Lake Austin and the views are awesome…the food is not great, but the atmosphere is worth a trip there. If you are going to spend more than one day in SanAntonio, I would book a hotel on the Riverwalk (A must see) and one night at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort…it is very “Texas” and your family will love it. Also, if you like the water and outdoors, go tubing in NewBraunfels. It is between Austin and SanAntonio which are about an hour apart. Schlitterbahn is there too and so much fun! San Antonio also had SeaWorld and Fiesta Texas. Hope you have a great trip!</p>
<p>NJTheatreMom is correct. Driving distances between those cities is more than matermia suggests. Austin to San Antonio is at least an hour and a half. Austin to Dallas is four hours. Dallas to Houston is at least four hours and Houston to Austin is close to three hours. </p>
<p>I’ve lived in Houston, Austin and Dallas and been to San Antonio and Corpus Christi many, many times. In fact, next week, I am flying into Austin, staying there for a few days to see friends, flying down to Corpus (only because I can use my aunt’s car and won’t need a rental there) and driving my aunt down to the Rio Grande Valley to visit another aunt for a couple of days, then driving her back to Corpus, then (renting a car in Corpus) heading up to Houston for the Final Four. </p>
<p>It’s really too bad with all the driving you’re talking about doing that you won’t be able to see it all during bluebonnet season, which will be completely over by late April/early May.</p>
<p>All that being said, since living in Dallas over 22 years ago, I’ve only gone back once. Believe me, the only city I’d ever move back to in Texas, if forced to (only because I have become heat intolerant) is Austin, then Houston. Would never live in Dallas again, and I still have relatives there, too.</p>
<p>missypie is correct about Schlitterbaun. It is a zoo in the summer, but I had an absolute blast when I went there a few years ago with D2 and a friend of hers. We also went tubing (can’t remember if it was the Guadalupe or Comal River), which is a lot of fun. Be prepared for a major shock, though, when on a hottest day in Texas, you jump in the river and scream because the water is so cold. But you get used to it. </p>
<p>If your son likes presidential libraries, remember the LBJ library is in Austin on the University of Texas campus.</p>
<p>Oh, and watching the bat flight from the Congress Avenue bridge in Austin each evening is incredible. It’s the largest urban bat colony in North America. Very cool to observe.</p>
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<p>LOL teriwtt, I had no idea you are a Dallas Hater. Of course, I’d pick Dallas over Houston in a heartbeat, but wouldn’t pick either for summer vacation. (With that said, has anyone mentioned the Space Center in Houston?)</p>
<p>If you find yourself in either Dallas or Houston, I’d look for experiences rather than sighseeting. An iconic restaurant, a ball game, etc. Of course, live music is a must in Austin.</p>
<p>If you want to give both Dallas and Houston a look, you might want to consider a night in Grapevine, which is between the two. It has a Great Wolf Lodge and a Gaylord. The Gaylord’s water park will be open by summer. They have cheerleading camps all summer at Great Wolf Lodge, which might be good sightseeing for your son. Historic Grapevine is good to walk around for a few hours and they have live Country and Western music at the Grapevine Opry. If anything, you’d be amused by what passes as historic in Texas.</p>
<p>Besides the Alamo, there are other historic missions outside of San Antionio. We had intentions of driving to all of them one year but quit after the first one, because the heat got to us.</p>
<p>If you need to drive between San Antonio and Dallas/Ft. Worth, lots of folks take the “scenic route” on US 281 (instead of I35) and time their trip to stop for pie. This is the right place, isn’t it? (Gotta love a place with Pie Happy Hour.)</p>
<p>[Blue</a> Bonnet Cafe Home](<a href=“http://www.bluebonnetcafe.net/]Blue”>http://www.bluebonnetcafe.net/)</p>
<p>The mention of the pie restaurant reminded me of the New Braunfels Smokehouse Restaurant between San Antonio and Austin.</p>
<p>It’s been there forever. My family used to love it, many years ago when I lived in Texas. I doubt it’s changed too much with regard to quality.</p>
<p>[Smokehouse</a> Restaurant | New Braunfels Smokehouse](<a href=“http://www.nbsmokehouse.com/about/restaurant.asp]Smokehouse”>Hickory-Smoked Meats Since 1945 | New Braunfels Smokehouse)</p>
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<p>Austin to San Antonio is at least an hour and a half … it is 80 miles and most people do that in about 75 minutes.</p>
<p>Austin to Dallas is four hours. Austin is 200 miles from Dallas and 217 from Corpus Christi. Both travels take 3.5 hours. </p>
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<p>We all look at things differently. While few cities in Texas are pleasant in the summer, I have felt that the heat in Austin is more suffocating, although others disagree. However, the major difference between the heat in Houston and Dallas is that Houston adds a porwerful and constant stench to the mix. </p>
<p>Perhaps the different opinions stem from the fact that things have changed considerably in the past 20 years, and that people who visit often or live there continue to witness the positive and negative changes. And, fwiw, one view of a city can be influenced by the exact location in such large cities. Comparing the Woodlands to downtown Dallas does not work any better than comparing the Park Cities or Allen, McKinney, Southlake to the area next to Hobby Airport.</p>
<p>I loved my 28 years in Dallas, but I will admit that it presented a little challenge when we had visitors. The main tourist attraction (besides the Kennedy site) is shopping.<br>
I agree with Xiggi (as does my husband who was in Austin all through grad school) that the Dallas climate is actually preferable to Austin. A little more change in seasons and not as muggy, although the humidity greatly increased over my 28 years there.</p>
<p>I am not as huge of a San Antonio fan as others seem to be. I guess I’ve had too many business trips that resulted in River Walk jaunts and it got old. </p>
<p>I actually think Ft. Worth is the neatest place to take visitors.</p>
<p>Thank you again – we are getting excited about the trip, which will be in June. We’ve been to Disney in the heat of August, so we’ll just have to deal with it as best as we can. Here are the definite places so far: Austin & San Antonio are the main cities, the Alamo, somewhere on the gulf (need tips for this), presidential libraries, NASA in Houston (mechanical/aerospace major, so this is on his radar), and I was told about a mariachi Mass at the San Jose Mission. Has anyone been to one of those masses?</p>
<p>Missypie, I think my son is more interested in the southern city theme, but in general wants to experience the culture of Texas. I do like that pie happy hour tip!</p>
<p>MMM</p>
<p>The only really nice part of the Gulf is South Padre, and I agree that you should NOT try to go there. I would just go to Galveston to experience the Gulf. NASA is part way there anyway.</p>
<p>Re: Mariachi Mass at St. Joseph Mission- Yes, I have been to this Mass. At the beginning, visitors are welcomed and anyone with a birthday that month gets serenaded with Las Mananitas- a Mexican birthday song. Fun. The Mass music is great- standard spanish songs. Bear in mind, however, that the missions don’t have air conditioning as I recall. Although the thick walls do a fair job of keeping things cool and they did have fans running for the Mass. That particular mission is still an active parish. </p>
<p>Without getting into the Houston vs. Dallas debate, I can say that only the east side of Houston, with the refineries, and a tiny stretch of I45 nearing Galveston, resemble and smell like the turnpike near Elizabeth, N.J.</p>