Welcome to San Antonio's El Mercado
Welcome to the third and final day of your 1400-mile journey between the Grand Canyon and Galveston Island. I was saving the best for last, as this day (or days) is/are the most fun-filled! There’s San Antonio’s must-see’s and eats, a free brewery tour, the best restroom stop in the world, and the beach. What more could you ask for?
Day 1: Flagstaff, AZ to Roswell, NM (Click HERE)
Day 2: Roswell, NM to San Antonio, TX (Click HERE)
Day 3: San Antonio, TX to Galveston Island, TX
Drivetime: Morning in San Antonio and lunch… plus 5 hours on the road (more if you want to go on the brewery tour in Shiner)
San Antonio has so much to see and do I would recommend staying here a whole day or two, depending on your schedule. There’s a Sea World and Fiesta Texas amusement park. For a full guide to San Antonio, click HERE. If you want to maximize your limited time, you can spend the morning in San Antonio and still make it to Galveston by the early evening, if traffic is on your side.
I lived in San Antonio for two years. I can vouch for this being a great town. The food here is spectacular, especially if you like TexMex and BBQ, which I do! I’ll be making some suggestions and a detailed itinerary to get the most out of your SA time in a second. But first…
There are three things everyone MUST see in San Antonio… and the good news is they are all FREE! How cool is that. Hard to find that these days. Another bonus: you can walk between all three or take a cheap trolley. TIP: If you take the trolley, save the transfer coupons as you can get back on again for free! Our nice trolley driver gave us this little tip!
The Alamo
1. The Alamo. It’s the #1 tourist attraction in Texas! If you’re a history buff this could take a long time, otherwise a picture out front, stroll around the grounds, and a stop in their gift store (to support them of course) are all you really need to do. That will take about half an hour.
2. The Riverwalk. You can wonder around the Riverwalk and admire its architecture for free. But I would strongly recommend relaxing your feet and take a guided boat ride around instead. It costs under $10 per person and it takes you around the whole thing in about 30 minutes. Perfect if you’re just going to spend the morning in San Antonio. Click HERE for details. You get a bit of a history lesson of the city and everything. I would catch the boat at the Rivercenter mall, which is basically down the street from the Alamo. If you want to eat on the river, avoid the chains, though there are TONS of them if you just have to go to one. Instead opt for Casa Rio, the first business to open on the Riverwalk! Really good Tex-Mex too! Yum!
MiTierra's Bakery
3. The Mercado/Market Square. This is a little bit of Mexico in downtown San Antonio all niced-up for the touristos! My favorite part: THE best Mexican food in town at MiTierra. This is a GREAT spot to take young kids, as it is decorated to the nines with sparkly things and lights on the ceiling. The food is fantastic and authentic. An added bonus, they have a Mexican bakery, also called a panadaria. This alone will delight the little ones with their colorful cookies and other treats. Make sure to grab a number, as there’s no real line.
Now my suggestion (for your meal plan) to maximize the number of great things you can do and eat in less than 24 hours without going into full overload is this…
Stay at the LaQuinta at Market Square. When you arrive in the evening drop off your bags and head straight over to MiTierra for dinner (and desert). Then take a nice walk down West Commerce Street to the Riverwalk (if it’s not too late of course) and take the boat ride I mentioned above. Next head for Casa Rio for a night cap margarita. You could walk back to the hotel (we did and it was safe but something about it seemed kind of scary) so I would just hop on the bus (or trolley if it’s still working) back up West Commerce and back to your hotel. Then crash back in your room or take a swim in the pool after you long day’s drive.
El Mercado Shopping
In the morning, get up and take the trolley (you catch it just outside the hotel) down to the Alamo. Stroll around and then take the trolley to El Mercado/Market Square. Browse the Mexican-made trinkets, then walk three blocks down Santa Rosa to the world headquarters and dining room of Bill Miller Bar-B-Q! Make sure to order the sweet tea with your combo. I personally recommend the carved turkey and potato salad dinner. So good! Not the best BBQ in Texas but definitely up there!
Then walk back to the hotel, grab your stuff, checkout and head down I-10 to Galveston. It should be a four to five hour drive if you hit no traffic. But you’re going thru two major metro areas, so it’s unlikely to be traffic free, so plan accordingly.
Buc-ee's Bathrooms
Along I-10, you’re going to see about a hundred signs for getting gas and clean restrooms at Buc-ee’s (Near Luling). Listen to them! This could be one of the best gas stations in the world with its own country cooking, jerky, and homemade fudge, and yes, super clean potties! You do pay a cent or two more per gallon for gas than at the Love’s on the other side of the highway though. But if anything is worth a few pennies it is a clean restroom. If you are really impressed, they sell t-shirts too. They even have a fan blog. No kidding check it out HERE!
I grew up in these parts. So trust me when I say there’s a lot of nothing out here. It’s prettier nothing than yesterday’s drive in West Texas and a lot more cows, grass, and gas stations. But if you’re not visiting relatives, there’s not much in the way of tourist things.
That said, I will add that if you stayed in San Antonio an extra day and are on the road early AND love beer, then a little detour down to Shiner, Texas may be in order. (Take the Flatonia exit and get onto Texas Highway 95). Shiner is home to the world famous Shiner Bock beers. Mmm Mmm Good. You can take a free tour of the Spoetzl Brewery where they brew the stuff. Click HERE for more info on that.
Now back on the road… there’s a lot to do in Houston (my whole family lives there and it’s my birthplace too)… but I didn’t spend any time in Houston on this road trip so I’m going to skip it for now and will come back and write another article about it later. When I do, I’ll link to it here. Until then, you can check out the city’s tourist guide HERE.
Once you get through the Houston traffic and onto I-45 South, it’s about 50 miles to the heart of Galveston. The only must-see tourist thing along the way on I-45 is Johnson Space Center, home of the famous NASA control center. (Think: “Houston, we have a problem!”) It’s super cool for kids of all ages, especially if you’re into space stuff. And what kid isn’t? NASA is a whole day so I would recommend staying in Galveston and driving back the 20 minutes or so to NASA on one of your days that you’re staying down there. If you’re going this summer, they have discounts if you buy your tickets ahead online. PLUS, for Star Wars fans, they have a new exhibit thru September 1, 2008 to coincide with the new Clone Wars movie. Definitely worth giving up a day at the beach for!
Galveston Beach
Once in Galveston, there are tons of places to stay with ocean views, which is what you’re going for right? I remember going to Galveston as a kid and loving a visit to a shell shop and riding the quad bicycles along the sea shore. Galveston has a cute downtown too. It can be a romantic spot if it’s just the two of you on this road trip.
My Family at the Beach
Remember this is the Gulf Coast, so don’t be disappointed when you don’t see the clear blue waters like along the Florida coastline. It’s brown and murky but very clean and fun for kids. In fact, our visit to Galveston was the first trip to the beach ever for both of my daughters and my little niece. A good time was had by all.
That about sums up the road trip. Of course, you could make it extra fun and turn these three days of driving into five, with a stop in Carlsbad, an extra day in San Antonio, a stop in Shiner, and an extra day in Galveston budgeted for the Space Center! Here’s wishing you a safe drive with no speeding tickets and lots of fun!
Out West Road Trip 