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San Antonio welcomes millions of visitors each year that come to enjoy the hot Texas sun, Tex Mex, the River Walk, and a few theme parks that make this city a must visit for anyone traveling through the lone star state. San Antonio has been a city that I’ve visited at least once a year since I was 5. I love visiting the River Walk, it’s one of my favorite places…but even out of all that time I hadn’t been during the holidays until last year. We absolutely LOVED it so much that we decided it would be an annual trip….Holidays In San Antonio.
Instead of just a one night trip, this year we decided to make it a weekend. We packed our R2D2 suitcase from American Tourister and headed out of town Saturday morning on our two-hour trek to a weekend of fun and adventure!
We stayed at the Red Roof Inn Plus Downtown…it was fairly easy to find and had plenty of parking with the included garage. The lobby was beautifully decorated for the holidays and the staff was super courteous and got everyone their rooms quickly. We took our things up to our two rooms which were across the hall from one another. Our room overlooked downtown where we could see the last of the runners from the Rock N Roll Marathon finishing their last mile. Both room were furnished with two full sized beds, a chair, a built-in desk & dresser and a flat screen tv. I loved the farmhouse sink that was in the bathroom, I would love one of these in my bathroom at home!
After we got everything settled in the room we headed off to Sea World for their Christmas Celebration. The boys were so excited to see the place decked in lights and do the many things we had on our itinerary. First off we took our picture in front of the tree up front. Every time we visit Sea World we have to get our picture taken here (normally it’s a fountain). We had a full day of adventure and fun, after which we had to swing by Target because someone forgot their toothbrush…yep, that would be me…I can grab everyone else’s, but can’t remember my own!
The next morning we woke rested and headed down to the free breakfast that is served from 6-9 every day. We grabbed some bagels, danishes, fresh fruit and waters then headed back up to the room to get ready for our day. Today we were exploring the downtown riverwalk area & Alamo. Since it was early the river walk was quite dead so we started off by walking the river center mall, enjoying a massage “kiosk” and taking photos in a photo booth.
After checking out a few stores (like the Disney Store..a must do for us since we don’t have one in Corpus) we headed over to the Alamo…another one of my favorite places in SA…perhaps because I used to come here all the time as a kid. Out in front in the plaza they had a large Christmas tree decorated with SA Spurs decor. The Alamo was buzzing with tourists like always. We headed on inside to remind the boys about the battle and all that the missionaries and soldiers sacrificed.
NOTE: Please DO NOT TOUCH the walls of the Alamo! It is quite old and just your touch could affect the mortar and stones. Please be respectful of this historic site.
Yes, I say this because I saw a man talking on the phone just walking along and touching the walls as he talked…I’m assuming it was just fidgeting like we all do on the phone, but finally a volunteer went over and asked him not too…he looked confused and said “all I’m doing is touching the walls.” I used that as a lesson for the boys of course and went on our way through each room viewing the beautiful found wall murals in some of the rooms then on to the “museum” part to view all the weapons and memorabilia from the period. My husbands family bible is located there. His Great Aunt Nancy Gage was a nurse at the Alamo and this is the page that is viewable in the case.
About the end of our walk through the Alamo, we were all getting hungry so we headed over to Rita’s On The River, who would be hosting us for lunch. This spot on the river walk is just gorgeous! So many large trees, greenery, small waterfall and of course the river.
“Rita’s on the River is a Tex-Mex restaurant on the Riverwalk known for the Texas-sized Margaritas, ice cold beer and delicious, sizzling fajitas with Texas-sized portions and beautiful Riverwalk views!”
As soon as you walk up to Rita’s you really get that TexMex feel with the music, bright decor and heavenly smell. We decided to sit outside and enjoy the view and people watching. Our waiter was friendly and knowledgeable about the food. We all quickly found what we wanted to eat even though there was so much goodness to choose from.
While we waited a lady came around letting us sample some homemade tortillas! OMG! It’s been so long since I’ve had homemade tortillas…the hubby and I were in food heaven!
After that a mariachi band started making their rounds from table to table working for tips…after hearing La Cucaracha, Labumba and a few others it was our turn…since after all it was the holidays I requested Feliz Navidad.
I just love the sound of a Mariachi and we couldn’t help but sing along. It wasn’t long after that that our food arrived. The aroma was overwhelming and had our mouths watering. The portions were quite large, I knew most of us wouldn’t finish, but we tried, just because it was so good! The tacos were cooked with peppers and onions which I usually don’t care for (weird I know, I hear it all the time), but the way this was cooked, it just added to the deliciousness and I didn’t mind at all! As we sat there eating and discussing how good it was we all started to realize we were getting full and would have to leave a lot of the food behind. Normally I would take it home, but we didn’t have a fridge or microwave in the room so there was no point…trust me, it killed me!
After that deliciousness, we were quite full so we headed back to the hotel for the boys (ok all of us) to take a nap before finishing the afternoon fun. After the nap, we decided to hang around the room a little since the boys were a little worn out from walking everywhere.
After a while, we headed back out as it was just about dinner time, but we wanted to see some of the lights along the way. We went by the Alamo to see the tree lit up then walked along the river walk a bit before arriving at our host for the evening, The Hard Rock Cafe.
The Hard Rock Cafe has always been one of my favorite spots to eat. In the past we’ve sat outside with the boys, but this time I really wanted them to experience what makes the Hard Rock…the Hard Rock! The were so excited to see all the musical instruments on the walls…although my youngest two didn’t understand that they were from someone famous they still enjoyed looking at them.
I was quite surprised that they were pretty slow, normally it takes so long to get a table and they have all floors and outside full. They only had the downstairs and outside open, so I was free to walk around upstairs and take pictures without bugging people. There were some pretty awesome things to see from artists like ZZTop, Elvis & Eddy Van Halen to name a few. The restaurant was decorated for the holidays as well with garland lights and a tree next to the stairs…we were definitely in a happy place.
Our waitress was like one in a million…(I believe here name was Hollie)…I can literally count on one hand how many time I’ve had a waitress as knowledgeable and fun as her. She talked us into adding the Nachos as an appetizer along with our potato skins and we were so glad she did..they were delicious! The entrees were to die for too…I had the Little Rock Burger…and even through it was a smaller portion, it was still almost too much for me! My little guys LOVED their guitar shaped plates. The ketchup was in spots in the neck and their fries and pizza were in the body. My oldest who usually devours anything in site didn’t even finish his meal…he actually got full!
After dinner we walked along the river walk to enjoy all the beautiful lights and luminaries, as we headed back to the hotel for our last night in SA. If you have the chance, be sure to take a night “cruise” on the river walk boats. You’ll learn a little history about San Antonio and get to see the beautifully lit River Walk.
The next morning we packed up our things enjoyed some breakfast and checked out of the hotel. We really enjoyed our stay and was a little sad to go. Before we headed back home we decided to take the boys to the Missions in San Antonio. Even though they were missing school for it, I felt it was a great excuse as they were learning about Texas History, hands on. My 10 yr old and 6 yr old even earned their Jr. Ranger badges at the second Mission. The boys were very well behaved in each mission we went into, very respectful and in awe of the history and stunning beauty inside the churches.
I want to give special thanks to Red Roof Inn Plus, Sea World, Rita’s on the River & Hard Rock Cafe for helping make this weekend a one of a kind.
