Galveston was only about an hour and a half from our campground and we wanted to see the Gulf of Mexico.
It was a nice day out, sunny and about 70 degrees. Parking close to the main area was a little challenging. However, if you don’t mind walking a little bit and playing frogger to cross the street, there was some free “beach access” parking on the street (on the non-water side). All parking on the water side of the street was paid from what we saw.
Cool benches on the sidewalks, water side
There were several fishing piers jutting out into the gulf. They looked like rocky outcroppings. There was one huge pier with rides called Pleasure Pier. Crazy name. We walked to see it, however unlike other piers we have been to, there was a general admission. You could not just walk on it to check it out, even if you were not riding any of the rides.
Nick found a few shells and we watched the waves for a little bit. We saw several cargo ships in the distance.
The Gulf’s water was a little chilly, so we did not wade in it. Because it is fed from rivers, it often has a muddy look from sediment coming in from the rivers, so you don’t have the clear waters of the ocean.
After years of poking ourselves with sewing needles, bamboo skewers for kebobs, or even sharp corners of the cabinets, you would think that we would learn.
Nope.
In Arizona, Nick touched the red fruit of a cactus. The fruit were smaller than a dime and looked soft, but there were still sharp needles on there! You just couldn’t see them as easily. We had just been researching about the prickly pear cactus fruit and how you have to remove the fine needles from it before eating. However, because they were smaller, I guess he thought he could poke at them.
In Texas, near the Japanese Tea Garden, Ben had a run in with a yucca plant. There were not any sidewalks from the Garden to the neighboring parking lot, so we we trying to walk in the grass area to avoid the incoming car/truck traffic. Ben got too close to a yucca plant and got stabbed by its pointy tip. We did some quick research and found that yucca’s have a toxin in them that create swelling. We keep a stocked first aid kit in the truck, so we cleaned it, put antibiotic ointment and a bandage on and gave him a Benadryl. It bled quite a bit for such a small hole. We changed the bandage that night and used Benadryl cream. It still had quite a bump for a few days and was sore.
We have definitely learned new things on this trip. For example, I had no idea yucca had a toxin and that the ends got harder as the plant got older.
For our stay in San Antonio, we stayed at the KOA San Antonio/Alamo. It was in a more of an industrial/commercial area of town, but it was conveniently located to downtown San Antonio.
The campground had RV sites (pull through and back in), cabins to rent, and tent sites. The campground is located in a flood plain, although I think it would take a lot of rain to reach the RV sites. It also backed up to a bike/walking trail. There was also a park that was within walking distance.
KOA San Antonio/Alamo allowed mail delivery, which was really nice. The mail room was next to the laundry room and office. The office had a nice store, with snacks, drinks, postcards ($0.25 each, the cheapest we found), and miscellaneous stuff. The office also sold ice for $2.70/10 lb. bag, firewood $7/bundle, and propane for $3.25/gallon (I was unaware that the “regular” sized 20 lb propane tank holds 4.6 gallons). The bathrooms and showers were open and looked nice. Laundry was $2/wash load, $1.5/dryer load.
The KOA offered cornhole (bag toss), a pool (not heated and closed for repairs for half of our stay), a playground and gaga ball court, and a fishing pond. The pond was catch and release and did not require a license. The office sold bait. You could also rent bikes and peddle bikes. The boys reported that the peddle bikes were much harder to use, as it was a single gear and the bikes were heavy.
Unlike the other KOA campgrounds we have stayed in, there were no planned activities due to Covid. The other KOA’S had indoor (which we did not do) and outdoor activities, and take and go crafts.
There was breakfast for sale 7-11am. When we were first there, it was limited to pancakes (unlimited for $3.99, but you start with two and go back for more). Halfway during our stay, the menu changed to offer more items. We loved the breakfast tacos (sausage, potato, egg, and cheese in a soft taco/burrito). In the office, you could place an order for pizza for order (Brother’s Pizza). It is made in the office. At home, Brother’s Pizza is connected to a gas station, so we were a little hesitant to try it. However, we did give in one night and gave it a try. It was ok pizza, not the best but not bad either. The crust was a little softer than I would normally like, but it was nice to have the option when we didn’t want to cook or go out.
The campground also hosted a Christmas Eve tamale dinner for free for the campers. It was held in the large barn (which had been closed for social distancing). Tables were set social distance apart, staff wore masks and spaced people apart while entering the building. Each person got a container with 2 tamales, beans, rice, and the option of water or tea to drink. It was a really nice gesture and also nice to partake in a Texas Christmas tradition.
The front of the campground was gated and you needed a code to get in at night, but anyone could walk in the back from the bike trail. There was a bike stolen while we were there (not ours), so I would lock up your gear. There was some train/road/air noise, which I did notice at night.
It was in a convenient location to San Antonio and about a little over an hour from Austin. If we were in the area, I think we would stay here again.
On Christmas Eve day, we decided to explore the San Antonio Missions. We had already explored the Alamo. There are four in the area, at least two of which still had active parishes that we could see.
Although you could, in theory, walk between the missions, it would be a long boring walk. We drove between them as each one had a parking lot.
The buildings themselves were really neat to see. Each Mission was a little different and had their own interesting features. However, our favorite was the San Jose Mission with it’s large grounds.
We started at Mission Concepción. The grounds were open, but the buildings were closed.
Mission San Josè: There was a little library at the Visitor Center. This Mission seemed like it was the largest walled grounds of the ones we saw. Outside of the main walls was a mill. We were able to go inside the church and chapel area. We saw what looked like frescoes on one of the walls and an awesome spiral staircase that looked like it was made of wood!
Those two things don’t sound like they go together, do they? After looking online at RoadsideAmerica and Atlas Obscura, we decided to go back to the Brackenridge Park area.
There were buildings from what remains of a concrete plant. It ran from 1880-1908. The buildings were still there and you could see some equipment if you peer through the railings.
Behind the ruins lay what used to be the limestone quarry. The city turned the quarry into a Japanese Tea Garden. It was amazing. There were koi, bridges, and a waterfall. There was a cafe as well, although it was not open when we were there. I would love to have been able to sit there and read, it was beautiful and peaceful (minus the people).
After the garden was completed, there was a caretaker for many years. The city then asked Mr. Jingu and his family to live there and maintain it. They lived there even after Mr. Jingu’s death caring for the garden, until WWII when the family was kicked out of their home due to Japanese fear. The garden was renamed. It wasn’t until 1983, that the city restored the name. Can you imagine living there for generations and then being kicked out of your home?
It’s a gorgeous area with lots of history. I would definitely check it out if you are in San Antonio!
Although it is really nice for the weather to be between 60-70 degrees (F), it is a little weird that it is so warm the week of Christmas. Saturday we bought a ticket to go see illumiNight, a drive through Christmas light show. It was held at the AT&T Center. The tickets were for timed entry, although there was still quite a wait to get in. A ticket (per car) was $35 (plus online “processing” fees) and $63 for entry/Santa picture (physically distancing). It was cashless, so online ticket sales were recommended.
After entering the grounds, you kind of wrapped around the parking lot, weaving back and forth to make it seem like you were moving (but were still really just in line to get in to the main event). There was a light tunnel and a few other glowing decorations. There was a stop for bathrooms (portable kind) and drive through food. The food was similar to the Fair Foodie Fest we went to in California, although it wasn’t as well run. It was confusing as to whether you should get out of your car to order or not, as they didn’t come up to your window very quickly.
Passing the food and the bathrooms, you finally wrapped around again and came to the main entrance of the light show.
There were some awesome light displays. I loved the train, polar bear, and huge ornaments. There were some quirky things too, like statues of a coyote and antelopes. I’m not really sure on how those fit in.
There was a section for the 12 days of Christmas. It was a neat take on a Christmas light show, although we had a hard time remembering what all the items were. Number 3, we titled Paris Christmas Chickens.
As we were driving into San Antonio, we had passed a huge gas station called BUC-EE’S. We had never seen such an animal and made a note to come back to see it. We weren’t disappointed when we finally got there. Apparently it is a chain, mostly in Texas (eastern). We stopped at the Bastrop location.
Outside had a large store, with 3 fuel/Ethonel Free/DEF stations.
They are apparently known for their clean restrooms. These restrooms were huge, clean, and very nice. The boys reported even the men’s restroom was clean! I had a toilet cleaning dispenser and a hand sanitizer dispenser in my stall.
There were so many food and drink options you could find something for everyone. We ended up buying Beaver Friends (animal crackers), licorice, a slushy, and chopped and sliced brisket sandwiches with chips. The brisket sandwiches are made right there in the store.
This company did a great job with putting the Buc-ee mascot on pretty much everything (clothes, wine glasses, keychains, food items). We found a few Christmas gifts for people as well. The store also sold ice really cheap (10lb/$0.79, 20lb/$0.99), so we got a bag on our way out. We browsed around the shop for awhile and picked up a couple of items.
The parking lot was pretty large as well. If we see another one on our travels, I would definitely stop. It was quite the experience.
Austin was a little over an hour away from the campground and we were excited to see it. We had heard a lot of good things about the city, plus there were a few holiday events there that we wanted to check out.
We started off at the Blue Genie Art Bazaar. It was a really neat store with booths from different artists. Nick made out with a new baby Yoda face mask and a keychain guitar pick holder. I found a chocolate bar with locally sourced ingredients. It looks like it will be tasty. They did a great job with Covid precautions: everyone had to wear masks and they were limiting the amount of people allowed in the space.
We drove further into Austin and had a little bit of a hard time finding parking. There were several artist booths with items for sale ranging from food to jewelry and clothes. We found a couple of items for Christmas gifts. We wandered around and tried pizza from Home Slice and ice cream from Amy’s. We explored this amazing candy store called Big Top Candy Shop. The inside decor was awesome and they had all different types of candy (chocolates, gummies…).
We also saw the Austin Motel’s Winter Wanderland. This must be a fun place to stay. It was close enough to walk to shops and restaurants and had a really cool vibe. They decorated the courtyard (even the pool area!) for Christmas with a lot of trees and garland. Even the prickly pear cacti had ornaments on them! It was really neat to see, super festive.
I did notice as a whole, the part of Austin we were in did a much better job with wearing masks, even outside.
Although we certainly do not miss the Ohio winters, there is something about snow and lights that get you in the holiday spirit. There are not a lot of Christmas lights or decorations up at the campground yet, just our lights and two other RVs. It certainly doesn’t feel like Christmas time yet, even with our River Walk experience.
After searching online, we found a few Covid safe events. Our first event was a free one at a local church, a live drive through Nativity.
It was only held one weekend and had quite the line to get in. The church had its own app which had a music track. If you didn’t have the app, they also offered a CD for you to borrow for the car. They had their own radio station playing a live broadcast as well.
The story began with the three wise men and their three camels. These were the only animals we saw, the rest of the “live” was from the people. The town setting of Bethlehem was really neat (although I only saw 1 person wearing a mask in the scene). At the end there was even an actual baby for Jesus! The scenes, props, and costumes were quite elaborate.
We wanted to find a couple of Christmas things to do with the kids for their first Christmas away from home. While I hoped we didn’t see any snow, we did want to see some Christmas lights! After searching online, I found the 55 Nights of Fredericksburg Lights. The town did a nightly event to turn on the lights at the Marketplatz and featured the 26 ft tall German Christmas Pyramid.
The pyramid was made in Germany and was the tallest one in the US when it came over. It was neat to see; all but the top layer moved. The candles were electric (small Christmas pyramids for houses used to use real candles).
The town itself was very cute with lots of historic looking buildings. There were several hilarious shop signs as well.
It was about an hour drive from our campground. We went on a Tuesday, which may have been a mistake. Although the 55 Nights were advertised, there actually wasn’t a lot to do when we got there (about 4:45pm). It seemed like most of the shops were closed for the day (or there were several that were closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays). There were only two places open serving dinner type of food (a wine tasting place and a brewery) and an ice cream shop. (We ended up grabbing dinner on the way home.) There was also a chocolate shop, but once we got to the front doors and saw the employees were not wearing masks, we did not go in.
I did find some cute mini cookie cutters and a Christmas gift for Will. We did not stay long after the lighting, as most places were closed.
