Texas Spring Break Vacation

It was spring break and time to get out of town. So, we loaded the camper, made sure the bikes were still attached to the Jeep bike rack, and headed south towards San Antonio for a spring break vacation.

Funny, but the bikes had been on that rack all winter and were screaming to be set free.

Spring Break at Olympia Hills Golf Course

First stop was to meet my brother at Olympia Hills Golf Course, just north of San Antonio. What a fantastic 18 holes of golf with a little bit of everything. Dramatic elevation changes (7 holes with a drop of 50 feet or more), blind shots, big bunkers (most of which I found), risk-reward opportunities, tight contoured and rolling fairways, challenging greens, and more. With all that, it’s not surprising that I lost a couple of golf balls, took some sand from the bunkers home in my hair and shoes, and needed 2 Advil.

The good news is that little bro had to buy a couple of margaritas to pay off his golfing bets. And it was a nice warm day.

Here is a link to our review of Olympia Hills Golf Course.

Blazing Star RV Resort and Z’Tejas Restaurant

After a couple of wrong turns and a tour of the employee parking lot at Sea World, we finally found our campground: Blazing Star RV Resort in San Antonio. We made a few wrong turns in the campground looking for our site when a golf cart finally stopped us. The driver said, “You look lost. Can I lead you to your site before you run out of gas?” He led us right to the site and even helped us park the motorhome!

We quickly unhooked the Jeep, hooked up the water (which proceeded to come unhooked and soak my left side), connected the electric, and headed out to Z’Tejas to meet my brother and his wife for dinner. We allowed mmy daughter and her family of 5 to tag along.

Z’Tejas is hidden in the huge gigantic sprawling Shops at La Cantera. Of course, there are no signs or security guards to give us directions and the GPS took us to a stone wall. After circling for what seemed like an hour, we finally found it. We had a great dinner and too many excellent margaritas. But, for the first time all day, we were able to find our way home with no wrong turns.

Roughing It On Spring Break

We woke up Saturday to a cold and drizzling day, which precluded the bike ride we had scheduled. The bikes groaned and I overheard one say, “We’re never going to get off this rack!”

While we roughed it in our motorhome at Blazing Star Luxury RV Resort, the rest of the family enjoyed the warmth and amenities of La Cantera Resort. It’s one of our favorite resorts in Texas.

We watched the rain dribble down the RV windows and decided to head to La Cantera. We met the kids in the Kid’s Zone where we spent time making bead necklaces and playing X-box and other kids games. It was not a real exciting afternoon.

John T. Floore’s Country Store

We went back to the camper to put on our cowboy boots, gloves, sweat shirts, rain jackets, and hats for the outdoor music festival at John T Floore Country Store. It’s known by many as the birthplace of Willie Nelson.

The Country Store is over 60 years old and has hosted such legendary performers as Willie Nelson, Bob Wills, Ernest Tubb, Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Jerry Lee Lewis, Merle Haggard, Ray Price, George Jones, Waylon Jennings, Dwight Yoakam, Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen, B.B. King, Little Richard, and many more.

Before the music started, we needed a fix of margaritas, chips, and some good Mexican food at El Chaparral. It’s just up the road from John T. Floore!

Cory Morrow and Pat Green, a couple of our favorites, were playing at John T. Floore. As usual, they were outstanding. It would have been a much better evening if it wasn’t 45 degrees and drizzling on and off, but we put on our rain slickers and stuck them out against the security gate at the stage. Pat Green asked our grandson, “How old are you (the answer was 8)?” Then he said, “You won’t believe it, but when I was 8 years old, I saw Willie Nelson and it changed my life!”

Pat Green then gave his new best fan his pick! It was a great concert.

From Sunday to Sea World

The bikes were getting upset as Sunday turned out to be another drizzly cold day. After spending hours looking for some fun indoor activities, it was time for lunch at Two Step. The restaurant was awarded San Antonio’s “Best New Restaurant” and “Best Margaritas!” It seems that, on rainy days, we have a habit of finding and consuming margaritas!

By the time we finished lunch and several excellent margaritas, it was 3 p.m. and too late to go to Ripleys Believe It or Not or any of the other indoor San Antonio attractions! We went back to the camper for a nap and some games, then dinner.

It was still overcast on Tuesday. This had to be a record time without seeing the sun and on and off again rain! But we dressed with multiple layers of clothes and rain jackets and headed to SeaWorld.

What a fun day! The shows (particularly the Shamu show) were excellent (entertaining, funny, and amazing), the rides were exciting (the Electric Eel roller coaster was a blast), and the food and drinks were okay. When I saw the Great White Roller Coaster, I immediately volunteered to watch the grandkids and the brave-at-heart ride it.

I have no desire to ride through a corkscrew (inverted no less) at 50 miles an hour. Read more about our fun day at SeaWorld San Antonio.

Spring Break at Bandera and Mo Ranch

The sun finally came out on Wednesday and we saw a high in the 70’s. The bikes had high hopes that they might finally get off the bike rack. But we headed north to Mo Ranch.

We enjoyed a scenic drive through some beautiful Hill Country up highway 16 from San Antonio and stopped for lunch on the sunny patio in one of our favorite cites, Bandera. They call it the Cowboy Capital of Texas.

From there, we continued north to Kerrville to Hunt and Mo Ranch.

The drive from Ingram to Mo Ranch on 1340 is stunning as it twists and turns through the Hill Country, along and across the clear Guadalupe River, and past some nice homes, summer camps, and ranches. It’s well worth the drive.

Mo Ranch is impressive. It has beautiful stone buildings, lots of fun things to do, very friendly staff, and a half mile of footage along the Guadalupe River. The grandkids (as well as we adults) had a blast: archery target practice, running a compass challenge, getting to the top of the climbing wall, zooming down the zip line, trying an element on the ropes course, shooting down the water slide, paddling canoes, making and flying some kites, winning at bingo, petting some critters, climbing up a 50′ telephone pole and jumping off to try and grab a trapeze, and the very thrilling “Big Gulp” swing!

Click on the link to learn more about our fun time at Mo Ranch.

On to Fredericksburg

We hated to leave Mo Ranch, but it was time for some wine tasting, good food, and lots of music in another one of our favorite towns – Fredericksburg.

Fore more than two and a half days, we sampled wine from 4 different wineries; dined in some good restaurants; listened to some great music at the wineries, in a couple of bars, and at the dance hall in Luckenbach. We also stayed in three different RV parks.

Here is a link to our Music & Wine in Fredericksburg article.

All too soon, it was time to head home and put the disappointed bikes back in the garage. I know that, on their first trip off the bike rack, they are going to give me a flat tire when I’m 5 miles from any place to get it fixed!