TX ladies?

Nova726

Anybody here in TX?  We're going to a wedding in College Station in March and plan on spending the week before or after there so he have time to explore. 

We'll probably fly into Houston and will rent a car so that we have transportation. 

Anything we should see or do while we'll there? Right now the only things we have on our list are The Alamo and a bbq place that I keep seeing on tv and can't remember the name of now.

aggiebug

Well how much driving do you plan on doing? Texas is huge so flying into Houston college station is about 2hrs from the airport. The Alamo is 4.5hrs from Houston and from College Station. The Salt Lick which is a BBQ place I think you may be thinking about is in Austin with is 3.5 hrs from Houston and 3 from CS. I am just telling you this because most people don't realize how big Texas really is.

I honestly don't think the Alamo is all that fantastic. There are a lot of neat missions in the surrounding area that I think are much neater and give you a better appreciation of what life at the Alamo would be like.

I would suggest one city or maybe San Antonio and Austin instead of driving all over the state. If you decide on a city I can give you better suggestions.

Where is the wedding in CS? When is it? I can also suggest some great eats there as well.

LadyMacaron

I college station, besides the A&M campus and a few famous bars, there is not much to do. The Alamo in San Antonio is about 3.5-4.5 hours from you, but you should stop in Austin on the way and go to the state capital. Also, in Austin, we have a lot of really good restaurants! 

If you can, here's what I would do. I would drive to San Antonio,  stopping in Austin at the Capitol and have breakfast/lunch in Austin. Maybe do some sightseeing by the lake, Congress Avenue, or hiking MT Bonnel. I would spend the night there and go see the bats at the congress bridge, and then check out the downtown are at night (6th street is pretty wild/young, 5th/4th and West 6th street is more grown up and less crazy), it's basically endless bars and restaurants. Very bourbon street feel, without the nudity It's a good time. Or go check out live music at one the hundreds of venues downtown!

Then, the next day, I'd go to San Antonio. See the Alamo, go eat and checkout the SA riverwalk. If you can stay overnight there, they have a few beautiful hotels. If you feel up to it, on the way back from San Antonio there is the biggest outlet mall you have ever seen (in San Marcos). Not everyone is a shopper, but I love to stop there.

I don't know a lot of what there is to do in Houston, besides eat, but I'm sure another Texas gal can recommend some stuff.

Have fun! 

LadyMacaron

Also, If you are thinking of going to The Salt Lick, I say "YES!". It's awesome. I also recommend Franklin's BBQ in Austin, but you have to stand in line for a while.

aggiebug

Oh and when are you going? That changes some suggestions I have for you.

Nova726

The Salt Lick, that's it!  Thanks so much ladies, should I look into flying in somewhere else? I don't know the major airports and they recommend flying into Houston on their wedding website but that's probably just the closest to CS (other than the airport in CS.) 

The wedding is March 15th if it makes a difference, I believe that's during spring break there so I just want to try to make hotel reservations and book flights as far in advance as I can.

sassypants527

You could visit my great grandparents' graves.  That's all I know about the area.

Probably NOT what you were looking for. 

Nova726

sassypants527 said:

You could visit my great grandparents' graves.  That's all I know about the area.

Probably NOT what you were looking for. 

not quite, but thanks for trying.  :-q

aggiebug

Yes Houston is definitely the closest major airport to fly into and probably why that is their recommendation. It still may be the best place for you to fly into I just wanted to make sure you were aware how far apart everything is in Texas because most people don't realize how huge the state is. (i mean the half way point from Houston to LA is still in TX!)

March is a great time to go the bluebonnets should be fantastic. And hotels shouldnt be a major issue unless you are heading to the coast but planning in advance always helps.

The Blue Bell creamery does tours with free ice cream during the week which is always fun and not too far from CS (and omg amazing ice cream if you haven't had it)

Pp mentioned a ton of great things in Austin and San Antonio. The hill county between Austin and SA is also very popular with a bunch of quaint towns to shop and explore and a ton of cute B&Bs if that interests you. Fredericksburg, Wimberley, Gruene, and Leukenbach to name a few. With the flowers this area will be beautiful.

If you like outdoors there is also enchanted rock to hike. Or the Blue hole in Wimberley (although that is usually better enjoyed in the summer for swimming) along with placed closer to Austin mentioned by pp.

So it really just depends on what kind of trip you want to take.

if you have time in CS you may enjoy a walking tour of A&M campus they have guided tours available as well as a trip to the Bonfire Memorial on campus.

Ask me closer to your trip and once you have itenerary sketched out and I would be happy to suggest food too. I am already jealous of your trip just for that!

(i am in Northern VA now and miss my Texas food)

Nova726

thanks so much!  yeah, I realize that everything is pretty spaced out and that we'll have to do a lot of driving but The Alamo is the only thing that DH really wants to see so I can't tell him no. 

Hopefully I'll get to start planning this weekend. 

Now I just have to figure out if I want the wedding to be the start of my week or the end of it...