Thinking about taking a drive through Texas in a month or so, any suggestions on what to do?

[FSUTribe76]

Our anniversary is coming up and normally I take a couple of weeks off to travel intenationally either cruises or flying but this year with my addiction centers in the process of starting I can't be out of easy cell range and have to be prepared to get back at a moments notice as I've still got some regulatory hoops to jump through and the timetable is sporadic. So the long and short of it is, no international travel even to someplace cheap and close like Cancun and the trip has to be such that I can jettison and fly back at most point along the trip.

Just about six months ago, I did a fun trip where we rented a car one way and drove from Tally to Memphis then across Arkansas, Oklahoma and the panhandle of Texas before looping down to New Mexico and then up into Utah to do most of the southern Utah parks and then flew back from Vegas.

I might want to do something similar and hit up some things we didn't have time for and to see an early Winter version of it. As opposed to cutting up to Memphis and into Arkansas to visit my in laws as my FIL had just become Dean of a new medical school there on the Ark/Ok border in Ft Smith, I'll be seeing them for Thanksgiving so no need to head up north until we get to New Mexico. So I think we'll spend a day in NOLA then a day or two in Cajun country and then spend maybe two or three days going through the meat of Texas heading over to New Mexico.

So far I have not been a big fan of Texas in general although I'm mainly there in the big cities for work and travel, so what's worth killing time in the main part of Texas?

 

[Fijimn]

I like Big Bend for hiking. Marfa, Texas is a cool city to check out. It's just a long boring trip to get there.

Hill Country touring and wineries outside Fredericksburg is a lot of fun as well.

 

[SoProudNole]

Big Bend is great. There is a chili championship in Terlingua every year. Just missed it, it was this past weekend.

 

[seminoledq]

You'll have to get up early to do all this in one day but if you stick to the plan it will be a great day. Start on a Saturday morning at the famous Doughnut shop in Austin. Exotic doughnuts are a great way to start a fun filled, adventurous day. Then head over to Six Flags in Arlington. If you get there early enough the lines for the good coasters should all be under 120 minutes. Next you stroll over to the Riverwalk in San Antonio. Stay away from the touristy places and you can have a culture filled 15 minutes. Be mindful of the time because you'll want to start driving to Waco ASAP in order to see some filming of HGTV's Fixer Upper. After rubbing elbows with Chip and Joanna Gaines, hightail it over to Lubbock to catch a Texas Tech football game. It's a very underrated atmosphere in TX, especially at night. If the game doesn't go in to overtime you'll be able to make the drive to a nice B&B in El Paso where you and the wife can debate on crossing the border for a nightcap. Can't wait to pretend to read your report on how it goes. Enjoy!

 

[Bartdog]

@seminoledq

 

[ericram]

Texas is one big ass state and it a boring drive. Drove from Dallas to Santa Fe NM one year and died from boredom. Also it literally stinks in the Panhandle. Cows smell bad.

 

[Bobcat07]

Texas is one big ass state and it a boring drive.

I've done Houston through El Paso and vice versa multiple times and agree on it being long and sometimes boring as hell. It is cool getting to see all the topography changes in different regions as you go through the state though.

 

[FSUTribe76]

I like Big Bend for hiking. Marfa, Texas is a cool city to check out. It's just a long boring trip to get there.

Hill Country touring and wineries outside Fredericksburg is a lot of fun as well.

It's not too often I come across a wine region I've never heard anyone discuss so I was a little shocked at how many wineries are there in Fredericksburg. If I end up cutting doing this trip versus Just chilling in Key West or watching my other team in the FCS playoffs I will DEFINITELY check it out. I was shocked at how good the Arizona wineries were especially in the Verde Valley area (the Oklahoma, New Mexican and Arkansas places we went to were just okay, on par with Georgia, Virginia and North Carolina, the Arizona wineries on the other hand were right there with the great places we went to in Napa, Sonoma, greater Seattle area, Toronto etc...), so I'm definitely intrigued at giving those places a chance.

This is definitely a nube question as my Texas experience is limited to Amarillo and the panhandle, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin and some quick forays out for the "best bbq", so I've got zero experience in the Big Bend area and west Texas in general....but how safe is it to hike the Big Bend area. I'm just picturing Mexican "coyotes" and drug runners shooting at gringos constantly.

 

[RunRonnieRun]

Any highway abutment will do. Try to hit it head on at 80+mph.

 

[timenole]

Damn, that first sentence is a dousey.

Gotta admit, Tribe...Seminoledq's post is some funny stuff. I remember your South Florida trip of spending 5 minutes per stop; left us readers feeling rushed just reading it.

 

[FSUTribe76]

Damn, that first sentence is a dousey.

Gotta admit, Tribe...Seminoledq's post is some funny stuff. I remember your South Florida trip of spending 5 minutes per stop; left us readers feeling rushed just reading it.

I'm never incredibly rushed, I build in extras that can be jettisoned if weather or time doesn't allow. I just try to plan ahead so I'm not twiddling my thumbs or lost as to what to do. Some times I get to do everything and sometimes my extra options are jettisoned, but it's important to know ahead of time what the don't miss portions are.

I've always been "hard on Texas" because I haven't really thought it was all that great when there for work but hopefully people will come up with reasons to change my mind. I've usually stayed in the bigger cities mainly Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin with two exceptions: 1) driving out for BBQ in the middle of nowhere relatively speaking and 2) cutting through the panhandle about six months ago where I stopped off to see "the Grand Canyon of Texas" and ate at the Big Texan just to say I did (truthfully for a tourist trap it wasn't bad, just nowhere near as good as the Cattlemans (original, unaffiliated with the chain) in Oklahoma City. I'm hoping to get some feedback on places I haven't been (Fredericksburg is a GREAT suggestion, if we do it I'm definitely going there) so outside of the major cities and not the panhandle. I've never been to West Texas or even east Texas along the coast as with the exception of the panhandle I've always flown to the major cities.

 

[FSUTribe76]

Texas is one big ass state and it a boring drive. Drove from Dallas to Santa Fe NM one year and died from boredom. Also it literally stinks in the Panhandle. Cows smell bad.

I was pretty unimpressed with the panhandle. The "Grand Canyon of Texas" was a boring brown and nowhere near as impressive formations as we came across in New Mexico, Southern Utah, Arizona, and even Nevada. I even liked Petit Jean and Hot Springs in Arkansas better.

But the Big Texan....not bad. Actually surprisingly decent considering its tourist trap nature.

 

[F4Gary]

You'll have to get up early to do all this in one day but if you stick to the plan it will be a great day. Start on a Saturday morning at the famous Doughnut shop in Austin. Exotic doughnuts are a great way to start a fun filled, adventurous day. Then head over to Six Flags in Arlington. If you get there early enough the lines for the good coasters should all be under 120 minutes. Next you stroll over to the Riverwalk in San Antonio. Stay away from the touristy places and you can have a culture filled 15 minutes. Be mindful of the time because you'll want to start driving to Waco ASAP in order to see some filming of HGTV's Fixer Upper. After rubbing elbows with Chip and Joanna Gaines, hightail it over to Lubbock to catch a Texas Tech football game. It's a very underrated atmosphere in TX, especially at night. If the game doesn't go in to overtime you'll be able to make the drive to a nice B&B in El Paso where you and the wife can debate on crossing the border for a nightcap. Can't wait to pretend to read your report on how it goes. Enjoy!

Still needs 6 sets of parenthesis.

 

[Fijimn]

Fredericksburg is about 4.5 hours from Houston. If you are just cruising and want to check things out, I'd stop at the various Czech/German towns along the I-10 corridor. In Gruene (pronounced Green), Gruene Hall still has great country concerts. It is the oldest dance hall in Texas. Schulenburg is quaint. Of course, Shiner, Texas is just off I-10 and then there is excellent bbq in Luling (Luling City Market).

Fredericksburg is pretty much the main street with shops, etc. You can sip on a beer or wine along the way. If you are in the area during the holidays, a lot of the towns will have wassail strolls (if you liked spiced warm wine). FYI, Fredericksburg closes on Sunday--nothing is open. So buy you wares on Saturday. If you want to hick, Enchanted Rock is a simple hick....it's a small granite outcropping. Then you can drive to all the small towns. Marble Falls is very pretty.

 

[FSUTribe76]

Still needs 6 sets of parenthesis.[/QUOTE

Fredericksburg is about 4.5 hours from Houston. If you are just cruising and want to check things out, I'd stop at the various Czech/German towns along the I-10 corridor. In Gruene (pronounced Green), Gruene Hall still has great country concerts. It is the oldest dance hall in Texas. Schulenburg is quaint. Of course, Shiner, Texas is just off I-10 and then there is excellent bbq in Luling (Luling City Market).

Fredericksburg is pretty much the main street with shops, etc. You can sip on a beer or wine along the way. If you are in the area during the holidays, a lot of the towns will have wassail strolls (if you liked spiced warm wine). FYI, Fredericksburg closes on Sunday--nothing is open. So buy you wares on Saturday. If you want to hick, Enchanted Rock is a simple hick....it's a small granite outcropping. Then you can drive to all the small towns. Marble Falls is very pretty.

Thanks for the info, especially the heads up about Sunday. That's not something I'm used to and would probably not take into account.

Is there anything regionally special about Fredericksburg ie good bbq, TexMex, or something even more micro regional like Greek food in Tarpon Springs? Or should I plan on eating elsewhere.

And yes, I'll be cruising albeit with a purpose...to cross Texas probably mainly on I-10 although if there's something worth it like Shiner and Fredericksburg I'll take a detour.

 

[Fijimn]

Thanks for the info, especially the heads up about Sunday. That's not something I'm used to and would probably not take into account.

Is there anything regionally special about Fredericksburg ie good bbq, TexMex, or something even more micro regional like Greek food in Tarpon Springs? Or should I plan on eating elsewhere.

And yes, I'll be cruising albeit with a purpose...to cross Texas probably mainly on I-10 although if there's something worth it like Shiner and Fredericksburg I'll take a detour.

Fredericksburg restaurants are mostly german/Czech or continental fare. I don't recall there being a bbq place up there. There is a haufbrau on main street that isn't bad and the Fredericksburg brewer is pretty good with beer flights and a decent CFS.

 

[FSUTribe76]

Fredericksburg restaurants are mostly german/Czech or continental fare. I don't recall there being a bbq place up there. There is a haufbrau on main street that isn't bad and the Fredericksburg brewer is pretty good with beer flights and a decent CFS.

I'm fine with German, I go to Mr Dunderbak's in Tampa fairly frequently and I grew up eating Czech food as I lived relatively close to Masryktown in Brooksville. So wine plus German/Czech fiid sounds perfect.

 

[FSUTribe76]

Fredericksburg restaurants are mostly german/Czech or continental fare. I don't recall there being a bbq place up there. There is a haufbrau on main street that isn't bad and the Fredericksburg brewer is pretty good with beer flights and a decent CFS.

Any suggested restaurants or things to do on the way out of Texas on I-10 near the border?

 

[Fijimn]

Sorry, don't know El Paso-area very well.

 

[TexSkills]

Many good options already mentioned. Another Hill Country stop would be Horseshoe Bay. I went there several times during and after college. It's absolutely beautiful.

 

[Bobcat07]

Pedernales Falls and Lost Maples are good Central TX stops.

 

[Fijimn]

Here is a good write up about Houston if you stop over. The embedded video is of Killen's

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/style/2015/11/10/the-search-for-americas-best-food-cities-houston/

 

[FSUTribe76]

Here is a good write up about Houston if you stop over. The embedded video is of Killen's

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/style/2015/11/10/the-search-for-americas-best-food-cities-houston/

Thanks Fiji. I think I've found enough to do that I'll definitely be making this trip whether or not it ends up being our Dec trip. It's going to depend on the weather, if it's still nice out west when we can do it in the second week of December we'll do it then. If it's bad, we'll do it in April or May.

 

[FSUTribe76]

I'm thinking about maybe a half day in NOLA (we go there frequently so it's not really what I call a Vacay just a nice two or three day weekend), then a day maybe two in Cajun country maybe gambling in Red Stick, maybe a day in Houston and surrounds (maybe dipping down to Galveston or more secluded beaches), a day in San Antonio, and a day or two in Western Texas, spend a couple of days in New Mexico, then spend a couple of days in the parts of Southern Utah I missed and then fly back from Vegas.

 

[Fijimn]

The new Golden Nugget in Lake Charles is very nice. There is not much in Lake Charles, Steambot Bills on I-10 before the bridge is very good. The Nugget just has Landry' restaurants, but the Vic & Anthony's is good. If you go along the river from NOLA, the plantations and old towns like Convent are very cool. Hemel's is very good fry restaurant. The Houma House is also very good.

There isn't a bunch in Galveston. It's still recovering from Ike. The Strand (more or less the downtown) is ok to walk around. The weekend of December 5th is Dicken's on the Strand. I think that it's the largest Charles Dicken's festival in the nation. Pretty cool. For local eats, Macio's Deli & Imports is a great place for a mufaletta. Get the old man to tell you stories about his uncle and the Balanese room (Macio was the mafia family that ran Galveston). He's got great stories. I also like Shrimp N Stuff...a local fish fry shack. Otherwise, most of the restaurants pretty much for the tourists.

 

[jeffy]

Round Rock Donuts in Round Rock, Texas.

 

[PoopandBoogers]

Go see the basement at the Alamo.

 

[FSUTribe76]

Go see the basement at the Alamo.

That's a very obscure reference I did not know off the top of my head.

 

[timenole]

That's a very obscure reference I did not know off the top of my head.

The problem with the Alamo basement tour is the thousands and thousands of uses of corn that they cover in detail.