days two and three were spent in the southern part of the state. the first day was in New Braunfels at Schlitterban and in the evening San Antonio Riverwalk. day two was back to San Antonio at the Alamo and then lunch in downtown Austin on our way back to the Ft. Worth area.
Schlitterban is an amazing experience for anyone who likes extreme rides and water. it is actually three different parks held together by a tram system (for one price). the original park uses water from the Comal River and is pretty freezing. it consists of mostly lazy river tube rides. it's fun but the real bread and butter of the experience comes from the two newer parks: Surfenburg and Blastenhoff.
Surfenburg has a large lazy river and swim up biergarten. one of the big attractions here is an artificial wave machine for boogie boarding. i've boogie boarded in the ocean before, but this is a completely different experience. the ride is shaped like a halfpipe with a large amount of water shooting up it. i tried it and failed, but i've always wanted to try it and i had fun. the boy ahead of me was able to get up to a kneel and do all sorts of spins. but he brought his own board so i think he's done this a bit. the other big ride was Dragon's Revenge. it's a new master blaster type ride with a twist; they added fiber-optics and a storyline. the ride has really great props and makes it a really great experience. at one point, you are going down a slide into water that's been lit up to look like a dragon's mouth. Steph and I actually screamed a little.
the third and final park, Blastenhoff, consists mostly of the big slide rides. we rode two of the three. one was a solid black tube slide which was pretty fun but nothing to write home about. the next was the master blaster itself. it's not the travel channel's best water ride for no reason. that thing is awesome! it was really an extreme ride for a waterslide. the downside is that it had a 90 minute wait.
San Antonio
our San Antonio night was spent on the riverwalk. i can't even explain how pretty it was. you can't see it as you drive through downtown but when you walk down one of the sets of stairs, you see a paradise in the middle of a concrete jungle of hotels. there is a lovely man-made river, trees, and storefronts. almost all of the restaurants and bars have waterfront seating. it was really lovely and i would love to spend more time there. we only stayed there long enough to walk around and to eat and have a nightcap at Ritas on the River. my recommendation on that restaurant would be to definitely order food. both of our our dinners were fantastic (i had carnita tacos and Steph had cream cheese chicken enchiladas). you will not be able to fill up on the salsa because the chips tasted store-bought. i recommend ordering beer there. the drinks were very weak for the price. we paid $22 for a pitcher of well margaritas and neither of us were even buzzed. drink beer, they can't screw you with sweet and sour.
the next day in San Antonio was spent at the Alamo. the Alamo was free, so that's good. we paid $10 for parking but the museum was free, so it was ok. the Alamo was what you would expect. it's a great piece of Texas pride and anyone interested in the Lone Star state should go ahead on stop by. i did learn something interesting about the Alamo today that i can share though: Phil Collins owns the most Alamo memorabilia of any private owner in the world. i wonder why Mr. Sussudio is an Alamo fan.
Austin
we ate lunch in the 6th St. District of downtown Austin. for those unaware, this is the spot where a lot of live music is and a big nightlife scene. we ate at Stubb's bbq, as famous for it's barbecue as it's large outdoor stage and great concert lineups. Steph and i both had beef dishes. she had the brisket sandwich and i had the chopped beef. both were very good and i can see why the place is well known. the highlight for me was the beer though. we tried two different local beers (one of them, i tried twice!). the first, called Fireman's Four was a Golden Ale. it was quite good, light bodied, not too hoppy or fruity, actually carried more of a lager vibe. the second was called Austin Amber Beer. this was an amber ale. it didn't carry the fruitiness of Fat Tire, so it made it a great summer session (hence, why i had two).
i would really like to spend more time around this area very soon. i loved it, but it was just too damned hot to walk around and visit more places.
the rest of the drive was uneventful until we got within 5 minutes of home. we crossed some slightly elevated train tracks at a traffic light. the light was green so i didn't slow down. i realized a little too late that those tracks basically made a launch ramp. my Jetta went airborne. i'm not even exaggerating, i ramped my car today. i've never felt that sense of weightlessness before in a car. the car was fine though. it was actually really fun, but i will not be trying that again in my own vehicle.
thanks to everyone reading. i'd love it if those of you who are reading to follow the blog. it helps me gauge what kind of audience i have and gives me a little digital pat on the tummy. oh, and comment! i might even comment back.
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