Category Archives: San Antonio area

LBJ Ranch and the Texas White House

  By Anne Patrone | July 13, 2011 - 10:25 am | , , , , , ,
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The Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park is divided into two sections. The first part, located in Johnson City, has a museum and several restored buildings that belonged to his family (like the Johnson Homestead). The second half, a few miles down the road (closer to Stonewall, TX), is co-managed with the State of Texas and where we headed next.

The LBJ Ranch, also known as the Texas White House, is where you really get a sense of the man who shaped our country during a turbulent period. After a quick stop at the LBJ State Park and Historic Visitor Center to get a driving permit, map, and an auto tour on CD, we were off.

The first stop was the reconstructed birthplace of LBJ. It’s a simple shot-gun style house with a separate kitchen. On the day we visited, the docents were making jam and cooking lunch over a wood burning stove.

LBJ’s Boyhood Home at the LBJ Ranch

As we sweated in the over-heated kitchen, I tried to explain to my guys that this rather primitive set-up was pretty common up until the 1940s in Texas and that their grandmother had lived in a house similar to the one they were walking through.

Then it was back to the car for a drive over to the one-room schoolhouse where LBJ went to school.

One-room Schoolhouse on LBJ Ranch

It was in front of this schoolhouse that LBJ signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1965  providing funds for “educationally deprived” children, money for textbooks and libraries, and money for research centers. We stared at the tiny school that was the starting spot for a future President.

The next stop on the audio tour was the gravesite of LBJ and his wife, Ladybird, located in a grove of live oak trees. 
Johnson Family Cemetary

The self-drive tour took into the main section of the ranch and past the landing strip . . . 

LBJ Ranch 

before a quick stop at the livestock barns.

Cattle belonging to the LBJ Ranch
We zipped past the Texas White House, but since we were running late, weren’t able to tour the home . . . 
Texas White House on LBJ Ranch

And as we exited the LBJ Ranch, I again heard LBJ’s favorite song, “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” from our car’s speakers, reminding me of my trip here so very long ago.

Fifty-seven places visited, 443 to go. 
LBJ Boyhood home photograph courtesy of jimbowen0306 via Flickr

LBJ Ranch: Home of a Texas President

  By Anne Patrone | July 12, 2011 - 9:30 am | , , , , , ,
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LBJ National Historical Park

One of my earliest childhood travel memory is bumping along a trolley-like tour bus through the LBJ Ranch while listening to B. J. Thomas’ “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head.” The tour guide would play LBJ’s favorite song as he led groups through the grounds of the LBJ Ranch explaining the history, background, and personal tidbits of our nation’s 36th President. Being as it was the . . . ahem, early 1970s, LBJ was still considered to be an unpopular President, but I always remembered the LBJ Ranch and that song.

Fast forward a couple of decades and I knew that visiting the LBJ Ranch and National Historical Park would be one of our stops on our between-the-grandparents-trip to Texas. And what luck – it was also in Frommer’s 500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up.

The LBJ National Historical Park is an easy trip from either San Antonio or Austin, so it made sense to visit it as we transitioned from our San Antonio family vacation to the Austin grandparent visit.

Touring the LBJ National Historical Park is actually a two-step process. We began at the National Park Visitor Center in Johnson City.

Inside the visitor center is an excellent museum detailing LBJ’s early life and his political career. We saw memorabilia from the White House and learned about the many social reforms LBJ was responsible for signing into legislation like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Head Start, and a ton of other bills that made up his “Great Society.” We also learned he was a big supporter of wildlife and nature, signing a Clean Air Act and designating loads of land for the National Park System.

Then it was time to walk around the grounds of the Johnson City section of the LBJ National Historical Park. Through dry Texas grass we ambled over to the Johnson Homestead . . .

Johnson Homestead at the LBJ National Historical Park

. . . then said hello to the Longhorns kept in a nearby field.

A “small” Longhorn

The kids were a little wary of the Longhorns and even more impressed when I told them that these were “babies” compared to the really big ones.

Then it was back in the car for a drive over to the second half of the LBJ National Historical Park – the LBJ State Park and Ranch . . . 

Tubing Texas Style

  By Anne Patrone | July 11, 2011 - 10:07 am | , , , , , , , ,
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Tubing the Comal River 

As a former Texan, I’ve certainly done my share of “tubing” (pronounced “too-bing” with a heavy drawl) along the Guadalupe and Comal Rivers. When I discovered that tubing these Texas Hill Country rivers was also included in Frommer’s 500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up, I was thrilled to relive my youth.

My hubby, however, was leery. He’d only tubed with a full cooler of beer floating along for the ride. How on earth would this activity be fun for the kids if they . . . ah, couldn’t partake of the beverages?

OMG!!!!! Tubing the Comal River (the Guadalupe River was too low due to drought) was probably the best day of our vacation!

Texas Tubes in New Braunfels, TX

We headed up to New Braunfels from San Antonio late in the morning and headed to Texas Tubes because they seemed the easiest to get to, they had a nice website, and were very helpful on the phone.

We got our tubes (which are basically large inflated inner tubes) and headed to the river. The kids stared at the river a wee bit hesitant and asked . . . uh, what do we do?

I told them to jump in and arrange themselves comfortably in the tube.

And then what? they asked.

Then, I told them, you just float.

Really?

Really. Sigh. Sometimes I wonder about our over-scheduled lives . . .

Relaxing on a beautiful summer day

With tubing, you can be as energetic or as relaxing as you want to be – that’s the beauty of the activity. Since the water was low, the rapids were pretty tame, but still fun . . .

Coming out of a chute on the Comal River

. . . and the kids got out and repeated them a couple of times until they wanted to move on.

Heading back up to ride more rapids

We continued to float past Schlitterbahn, a great outdoor water park that unfortunately was closed (one downside from the lack of crowds I recently mentioned) until we got to the pull-out point after spending about 2 1/2 hours on the river. A few minutes after we arrived at the Texas Tubes bus station, our ride appeared and we headed back to our car.

Relaxed, happy, and satisfied that we had “tubed” Texas style!
Fifty-six down, 444 to go!

Relaxing on the San Antonio Riverwalk

  By Anne Patrone | July 6, 2011 - 9:00 am | , , , , , , , , ,
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San Antonio River Walk

The heart of San Antonio is the Paseo del Rio – its River Walk - and we would have enjoyed it during our time in San Antonio even if it wasn’t also one of the “500″ on Frommer’s 500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up (although it didn’t make it onto the second edition).

Developed a way to control flooding in the 1920s, the San Antonio River Walk has become a major tourist attraction. Hotels, restaurants, and shops line the shady, meandering sidewalks. You could easily spend a day along the River Walk without ever missing the busy, noisy (and much hotter) city streets above.

On our San Antonio vacation, we stayed at the Hotel Contessa, a family-friendly, all-suites hotel located on a quieter section of the river, but there are several other options from expensive to budget located along the river.

Food-wise, the options are extremely broad. Tex-Mex, Cal-Mex, American, Barbeque, Italian, and Pizza are just some of the options available. We enjoyed Rio Rio Cantina (huge portions) and Acenar (a more upscale, modern Tex-Mex restaurant). Both were extremely kid-friendly and within walking distance to our hotel.

Dining on the San Antonio River Walk

The number of activities available on San Antonio’s River Walk are endless, but the one “must-do” is a narrated tour on one of the river boats silently cruising the river.

Narrated tour cruise of the San Antonio River Walk

My young guys thought this was going to be “so lame,” but in the end, they loved the fun, 40 minute tour of the river. We got some history of the River Walk (and lots of corny jokes) from our guide while we cruised around the two-mile main section of the River Walk.

San Antonio Riverwalk Cruise

San Antonio Riverwalk Cruise

Sadly, we didn’t have time to fully explore all the shops at La Villita and we missed the fabulous Fiesta Noche del Rio, a musical and dance extravaganza covering the dance of Mexico, Spain, and Texas, (both located on the River Walk) but if we make it back to San Antonio, we’ll be sure to make time to do those activities.

Until then, fifty-five places visited, 445 to go!

Photo of San Antonio River Walk and Narrated tour cruise courtesy of Jody McNary Photography via Flickr.

Photo of Dining on the San Antonio River Walk courtesy of H. Sanchez via Flickr.

Institute of Texan Cultures – Not as Stuffy as it Sounds

  By Anne Patrone | July 5, 2011 - 10:00 am | , , , , ,
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Institute for Texas Cultures Cattle Drive Exhibit

Cattle Drive Exhibit

The Institute of Texas Cultures, run by the University of Texas at San Antonio and affiliated with the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC may sound like a real yawner for kids . . . but it’s not.

When I was a child, I remember visiting the museum (although that’s not quite the right word for what it is . . . ) several times with my parents.  So when we decided to go on a San Antonio mini-vacation, I knew this was one of the spots we would visit.

Located in Hemisphere Park, the Institute of Texan Cultures is a museum/historical recreation/learning center devoted to the different cultures of the people of Texas.  No matter what your nationality or background, there’s a section of the museum devoted to that immigrant group.

From Native American to Mexican to Swedish, Czech, German, Japanese and African – there’s a display which showcases these ethnicities and their contributions to Texas.

Institute Texas Cultures Czech kitchen

Czech kitchen

Since our family’s background tends to be a mishmash of European (Czech, German, Polish, English, Irish, Norwegian, Danish, and a smattering of either Native American or Mexican), we gravitated towards those areas, while still learning about other cultures.

At the Institute of Texan Culturesthere were also volunteers scattered throughout the museum demonstrating skills from the past or from their heritage.  The boys enjoyed watching (and helping) a volunteer weave a rug in one section of the building,

Institute Texas Cultures Weaving demonstration

Weaving demonstration

then learning about grinding corn for tortillas in another.

Being boys, my guys particularly enjoyed the display devoted to Texas cattle drives with a diorama containing a chuck wagon, life-size longhorn, and a real-life cowboy explaining how the steers were driven from South Texas to the stockyards of Ft. Worth.

And although it may sound hokey, I really enjoyed (and okay, got a little choked up) during a video presentation that underscored the main theme of the Institute of Texan Cultures – that no matter what your nationality or where you were born, if you live in Texas (and I’m still claiming my citizenship, no matter what my address), then you’re a Texan.