Take me to the River...Walk

My mother-in-law-to-be, Lisa Peters, was celebrating her 35 year High School Reunion in San Antonio, Texas. At the last minute she invited RC, Piper and I to tag along. 

True to Lisa's nickname "Contessa", she booked a suite at The Hotel Contessa. We joked about that one...it couldn't have been more perfect.

The Hotel Contessa is a beautiful place to stay, situated right along the River Walk in Downtown San Antonio. And the River Walk is something that you should definitely experience. It's reminiscent of Venice, boats humming along a water way - docking at hotels, restaurants, shopping centers. It runs through out most of downtown and is a completely valid form of transportation, in fact taxi boats are available at a moments notice. The hotel itself is a luxury hotel. We stayed in the Parlor suite. Highly recommended, with it's fantastic decor, exposed brick walls and the view was perfect.

First thing we did was eat...of course! The restaurant that was chosen was about 15 minutes away, a great Mexican restaurant called La Fonda. The food was excellent and so was the service, and the queso...YUM!

Then my friend showed up, thank you Jenni!! And we had a grown ups night out at the hotel bar. It was SO needed...

The next day we spent walking around, in 100+ degree weather. 

First we went to La Villiata, a small Hispanic inspired artist village. I was sad to see how empty it was on a Saturday afternoon. But I did find a great gem, The Village Weavers which 

carried a collection of internationally woven clothes,purses, hats, art, blankets, toys, etc. I picked up a beautiful smock dress for Piper and a straw hat - both handmade in Guatemala. 

After stopping for ice cream at Bolivar Cafe, we continued on through Hemisfair Park, with it's surprisingly artistic waterfall displays and headed to the Tower of the Americas, which stands 750 feet above the city. After paying an entrance fee, going up a never ending elevator - we made it to the top. I'll be honest, it's not well maintained and it's even a bit confusing to navigate - but the view at the top - made it all worth it. 

After that experience, we headed towards The Alamo, got detoured by the local mall that was mid-way as we had to cool down, get something to drink. It was air conditioned and so we decided to stay for lunch. By the time we were done, all we wanted to was go back to the hotel. So, we never made it to the Alamo, but...all in all, it was a great experience. 

I loved the River Walk and the little shops and places to eat. I will say though that it's very congested traffic wise, over populated for sure with several naval bases nearby and the weekend/family traffic is worse than some LA cities and lastly, it is quite dirty. But there's things to love about it too. So, I am sure I'll be 

heading back to the River Walk...

Love, Kristina 

Photographs taken by the talented RC Peters, thank you love!

Main Street?

We headed to New Braunfels, approximately 30 minutes from the Ranch. It was, per the reviews, this great little town - with museums, historical sites, etc. Well, when we got there - we kept going in circles - not quite believing we'd actually arrived. That should have told us something right away. Once we realized that we were actually on the main street, we parked - right in front of the Red Rooster Antique Co., which also happened to have a restaurant.

 

Perfect, antiques and food. Two of my favorite things. 

As we were walking up, we could tell - this place was gonna be interesting and it didn't disappoint. Talk about bizarre. The restaurant, which was smack in the middle of the antique store/more like in-door flea market, was adorned with a collection of deer heads, old Big Boy statues, vintage gas pumps, old diner signs, neon 80's movie signs flashing, etc. My favorite was the disco ball hanging over the buffet. Talk about a rare and unusual collection of "stuff". It almost felt like a place where you'd pick up used props from old movie sets - but it felt off - as here it was in the middle of the outskirts of city life, tucked away in this small town.

After our cafeteria quality eggs and bacon and cup of plain coffee - we paid our tab and made for the antiques. Prices were surprisingly high, hmmm...maybe this place has a client base that's willing to pay? It was a very large space, the main collection - so, so. Lots of large rooms with old church windows, old gas station 20x20" signs, etc. Great place to pick up the odd and hard to find, I'll give it that. 

After that we ventured onto "Main Street", which was more like a stuck in time, desolate street - on a Saturday afternoon.

Then we saw this place, thought it might be a museum, nope - just someones house. With signs all around the gate saying: "PRIVATE PROPERTY".

I'll be honest I started getting the creeps. Nonetheless, we decided to stick it out and keep going down the main drag.

After crossing the train tracks, which are also in the middle of the main intersection, we saw a sign for the New Braunfels Historical Railroad and Modelers Society. Could be fun, right? We decided to check it out.

It was tiny, it was old, it was being run by three men whom I wasn't sure if I should run from or be nice to. BUT, it did have a pretty cool miniature train track room, set up with dozens of railroads, towns, etc. That I had to see. So, I did. If Piper was older, I think she would have appreciated it.

So after donating $10 to their donation box, we left, via the back as of course we had to see the "train that was just donated from Ohio" (as per the main curator it was a big deal). So we did,

um no comment - trying to be nice here.

Then we walked one more block - got to the end of main street and that's when we decided we were done. Time to leave.

Okay, wasn't sure how to write this, whether I wanted to write it at all. But hey, it was an experience, I certainly won't forget it! I came to the conclusion that it was one of those towns you can't really explain. It was just "off" and I still can't quite put my finger on it. 

But just to give it the benefit of the doubt, I have heard that the main two attractions for the town, which were both closed due to a recent storm are the Schlitterbahn Waterpark and the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch. So, I am sure that I will head in New Braunfels direction again, but I can almost 100% assure you, I won't be heading to Main Street.

Love, Kristina 

Going Gruene!

Let me start by saying that at some point we decided to draw up a list of creative ideas we wanted to execute over the summer as a family. We found a huge piece of butcher paper, wrote "The Summer of Fun" at the top and started listing out anything and everything our heart's desired. It included hikes, picnics, helicopter rides, seeing a play, a concert, etc. One of items was "Visit local towns" and under it we listed about 10 possible places as suggested by "Day Trips from Austin", published by Insiders' Guide. (Great book by the way!)

The first town we decided to visit was Gruene (pronounced Green). It's about 20 minutes from the ranch and so Lisa, Piper and I made a girls day out of it.

I immediately learned that Gruene is very special. Not only does it have the OLDEST dance hall in ALL of Texas to claim as it's own - it is just beautiful, quaint, colorful and has tons of great shopping, history, photographic opportunities and well, it's just an overall joy.

First thing we did was EAT! The recommendation for the Gristmill came highly from my mother-in-law (to be) and so we immediately headed there. First of all, it's like a 4 story tree house inside, was established in the 70's and has so much charm and character - I felt like I had stepped into a Peter Pan's playhouse. I highly recommend it for the ambiance...and the potato skins are pretty darn delicious to boot!

Then we stepped into the Gruene Antique Company. This place had anything and EVERYTHING. I was in heaven and immediately was glad that my boyfriend hadn't come along - as I took my sweet time and looked, looked, looked! Vintage toys, jewelry, quilts, cabinets, chandeliers, paintings, tea sets, etc, etc - you name it. I made it a point to take a card with me as I most definitely will be back to pick some pieces up for my boutique, such as the vintage men's shaving bar/mirror - what a great perfume/lotion display case!

And that was just the beginning, shop after shop - great photo op after another. Not to mention to the The Guadalupe River, just a few minutes walk - where Piper got to dip her toes and splash around for the first time. What a great place, a family hang out, an antique junkies haven. You name it - Gruene is definitely on the top of my list. And for those of you coming to visit...I can't wait to show it to you!

Love, Kristina 

So we meet again!

It's been so long, honestly - did you miss me!?

I had originally intended to do a make over on the blog, upgrade the photo input, etc. But I got so wrapped up in travel and seeing family - I never got around to it and considering I am not computer savvy - I guess you can say - I blew from it all together. Well, that's a bit harsh, more like took a break. BUT, here I am again!

So, let's see, since June...

I've managed to see a handful of small tourist towns in Central Texas. Some of them spectacular, some a little all together creepy. I've discovered some real gems, here and there.

I traveled through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida in order to completely surprise my mother and father for two weeks in Florida. On that road trip I discovered some great shopping gems, some must see and do activities and picked up some great vintage art and jewelry. I have plenty to blog about that's for sure! So, I better get started. 

Thank you so much for reading and following my friends.

Love, Kristina