Our trip to Texas and the San Antonio River Walk

San Antonio and Austin have been two places we have been wanting to get to for some time.  We VERY BRIEFLY drove through Texarkana a few years ago, and that has been our only exposure to the Lone Star State, and that just didn't feel right!  We really wanted to experience Texas! 

Its funny how a trip can evolve too.  Dallas has been way at the top of my "places to get to" list for years.  I have read a lot on President Kennedy, and seeing the sites in Dallas relating to his assassination is an absolute must.  So, we originally planned this as a Dallas/Austin/San Antonio trip.

As you probably know, seeing all three of those cities in about a 7 day period would be pretty ambitious.  We wanted to be able to really see the places we visited without skimping.  Finally, we realized that Dallas would be best left for a visit in the future.

So, we decided to spend a good chunk of our time in San Antonio, as we are constantly hearing great reviews of that town.

San Antonio IS a great town.  We spent several days right in downtown at a great Hyatt (more on that later) and we didn't even need a car.  Most of the main attractions are right in downtown, or they are a short walk.  We did use a Hop On Hop Off trolley for a couple of days, and that was a great way to see the area.  We made it to a couple of the Missions and that was great!

Austin was OK, but I have to admit, its wasn't as great as San Antonio.  Sure, we had some fun there..  and I will talk more about all of the cool things we did there later, but we felt overwhelmed by the conmen, scavengers, and general riffraff that literally approached us on every block.  Even in one business (Voodoo Doughnut) we were approached twice by someone wanting money.

We still had a lot of fun, and met some great people.

AND, we had a very cool experience at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.

While waiting for our plane, a very nice lady came over and sat near us with her Chihuahua.  You know I am a Chihuahua person, so we started talking to the lady.  Well, after while, several people were sitting around talking about their dogs!

During the discussion, a small girl came over and started asking specifically about the dog that was present.  The small child was very sweet, but she had no boundaries.  She hugged strangers and talked non-stop to everyone.

Well, all of the people around her politely talked to the young lady, and treated her as she treated them, like a new friend.


It was very sweet watching people interact so kindly with this little girl for probably over an hour.

So....  I will be covering Texas a lot over the next few weeks as I sort my photos out.....  For now, here are some pictures I took around San Antonio on the River Walk!