If you're lucky enough to have a friend call San Antonio home, it's a sure-fire way to guarantee a jam-packed adventure. Rule #1 - San Antonio weekends kick off on Thursday, so be prompt and come prepared for any and everything.
Day #1 - Baggage Claim and Rudy's BAR-B-Q
Day #2 - The Shops at La Cantera, Eisenhower Park, Rosario's, Southtown Village, King William Historic District, Blue Star Contemporary Art Center and River Walk after dark
Day #3 - Hill Country - Fredericksburg, Enchanted Rock, Boerne, New Braunfels' Gruene Historic District
Day #4 - The Menger Hotel, The Alamo, River Walk, El Mercado and the Mission Trail
Founded in the 1700s, the city was established along the banks of the San Antonio River. Because downtown streets follow a basic grid pattern - many that are now one-way - it's best to set your compass for a specific parking garage before jumping in the car. The
Downtown Alliance has some great maps.
The first stop this glorious rise-and-shine Sunday morning is the historic
Menger Hotel, across the street from The Alamo and next to River Walk Mall (access by car or tour boat). Brunch is served in the famous hotel's Colonial Room Restaurant, just off the original hotel's three-story atrium lobby. Look up to see fabulous Victorian-era decor; beautiful murals cover the first floor walls.
Inside the formal dining room, discover classic features - two rows of columns line the center walkway and large arched windows cover two outside walls, one overlooking the garden. Buffet tables are filled with breakfast, lunch and dessert selections and at the omelet station a chef prepares eggs to exacting specifications. Attentive wait staff lend an appropriate level of service to those lingering at linen-draped tables. This is the perfect setting for a leisurely meal and the company of good friends.
The Menger was built in 1859, less than 25 years after The Alamo fell. One of its foyers displays historic photos and highlights stories of its famed guests, like Teddy Roosevelt. The lobby of the newer portion of the hotel has a low ceiling that opens to another view of the garden.
There's a full schedule of activities today. Due to the popularity of
The Alamo, it is the next stop in order to get in and out before the crowds. Visitors often mistake the much-photographed chapel at the Mission San Antonio de Valero as The Alamo. It is actually one of two structures remaining within the original fort; the other is the barracks. Enter the four-acre complex with richly landscaped grounds and take the self-guided tour through the Long Barracks Museum and Library. Learn about the events leading up to March 6, 1836, event and the men who lost their lives. Just outside in the courtyard, talks are given about the historic site. The Alamo honors those who lost their lives defending independence including Davie Crockett and Jim Bowie. Visit the chapel, a religious shrine.
Directly across from Alamo Plaza is the San Antonio Visitor Information Center. This neatly designed storefront is filled with brochures and souvenirs. While inside ask what's the quickest way to get to River Walk and they'll point right around the corner.
A 40-minute, two and a half-mile
River Walk cruise is next on the agenda; it departs below Market St. As explained by the San Antonian in the group, each trip is as good as the guide and this one didn't measure up to others who (we were told) have offered more facts and frivolity. (A performance at The Ameson Theater on the river next to La Villita, a shopping district, did not go on that evening as promoted.)
The San Antonio River flows into downtown and runs fairly parallel with St. Mary's Street. At Crockett St. the "Great Bend" occurs. River Walk moves to the east and around Prensa Street turns south until below Market St., where it loops to the west, eventually heading south again. With the creation of River Walk, this backwards C can be cut off from the rest of the river by activating two floodgates - one near Crockett St. and the other south of Market St. Between the two floodgates, a water connector was constructed allowing the river to flow south without following the Great Bend. When rerouted during high waters, the hotels, shops and restaurants along River Walk are not damaged.
An extension to the original River Walk was added east of the main loop, creating a Y. The left branch goes to Rivercenter Mall, while the other travels to the convention center. A 1.3-mile section north of downtown has much appeal with the San Antonio Museum of Art, historic Pearl Brewery, part of an urban village, a man-made grotto, public art, and a lock and dam system that raises and lowers tour barges to accommodate changes in river levels. Plans are to incorporate the missions to the south by 2014.
