SOUTH TEXAS PLAINS REGION: SAN ANTONIO TEXAS

SAN ANTONIO TEXAS

SAN ANTONIO RESTAURANTS

San Antonio is the most visited town in Texas, with around 26 million tourists a year. Which is easy to believe due to there being many attractions in San Antonio. Including Spanish missions, the famed River Walk, Seaworld, Six Flags Fiesta Texas and, of course, the Alamo.

San Antonio is the 2nd biggest city in Texas and the 7th biggest in the United States, with a population, at last count, of 1,336,040.

In 1718 there was an Indian village at the southern edge of Texas Hill Country. At that location Spaniards decided to build Mission San Antonio de Valero, later to be named the Alamo. To protect the mission the Spaniards built a presidio (that's Spanish for fort) called San Antonio de Bexar. So, now you know how San Antonio and the county is sits in, Bexar County, got their names.

Most Texans would likely agree that the Alamo is the most famous location in Texas. The chapel and the Long Barrack are all that remain of the original fort. Even so, that chapel is one of the most photographed images in the world. The Alamo is now a museum, open daily except for Christmas Eve and Day.

The River Walk has become San Antonio's other iconic image. The Spanish name for the River Walk is Paseo del Rio. The river is below the street level, lined with hotels, galleries, restaurants, gift shops, cafes, boutiques and a lot of music. You can pay a fee and take a riverboat cruise.

There are more than 3,500 animals in the San Antonio Zoo. An 18 minute miniature train ride winds through Brackenbridge Park. The zoo is open all year long, no closures. There is an admission fee.

Seaworld San Antonio is the world's largest marine life park. Which seems so odd to me, with San Antonio being so far from saltwater. World famous Shamu, a killer whale Orca, taken from the waters of my home state of Washington, in a practice no longer allowed, stars in a production called "Believe." Seaworld is open weekends and some weekdays in spring, daily during summer, weekends in fall through Thanksgiving weekend. Go to the Seaworld website for precise times and admission fees.

Directly across from the Alamo you'll find Guinness World Records Museum & Ripley's Haunted Adventure. The Guinness Museum is a high tech interactive experience. Ripley's Haunted Adventure scares you with live actors, animatronics and creepy special effects. Both attractions are open daily except for Christmas.

In addition to the Alamo, San Antonio has 4 other missions, including one named San Juan Capistrano, same name as the mission in California that swallows used to return to every year. The other missions are Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepcion, San Francisco de la Espada and San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo.

San Antonio has many museums. There is Buckhorn Saloon & Museum, the Alamo Museum, McNay Art Museum, Pioneer, Trail Drivers and Texas Rangers Memorial Museum, San Antonio Museum of Art, the Children's Museum, Texas Transportation Museum and Witte Museum with its four-level H-E-B Science Treehouse.

San Antonio makes for a great weekend getaway. You can easily get to the highlights on the 5 routes of the VIA San Antonio Streetcars, which are rubber-tired replicas of long ago streetcars.

You can get a great overview of San Antonio from high above on the observation deck of the 750 foot tall Tower of the Americas. Glass walled elevators zip you to the observation level and restaurant. For information about hours and fees go to the Tower of the Americas' website.

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