Help me plan a Texas Tour for my parents

My parents are coming out to visit in a few weeks and they are planning on getting a rental car and exploring Texas. The plan call for them to leave the metropex on a Monday morning and make it back here Friday evening.

The rough plan:

Day one:

• Dallas->Austin
• Explore Austin
• Spend night in Austin

Day Two:

• Austin-> San Antonio
• Explore San Antonio
• San Antonio-> Corpus Cristi
• Spend night in Corpus Cristi

Day Three:

• Explore Corpus Cristi
• Corpus Cristi -> Galveston
• Spend Night in Galveston

Day Four:

• Explore Galveston
• Galveston -> Jefferson
• Spend Night in Jefferson

Day Five:

• Explore Jefferson
• Jefferson -> Dallas

Any idea for tweaking the schedule, must see stops along the way, and B&B recommendations for Austin, Corpus Cristi, Galveston, and Jefferson would be much appreciated.

Man. That's a lot of driving.

Not sure if you heard, but Texas is big.

DFW->Austin 4 hours
Austin->SA 1 hour
SA->Corpus 2.5 hours
Corpus->Galveston 4+hours
Galveston->Jefferson 1.5-2 hours
Jefferson->Dallas 5 hours

Unless they just want to be completely wiped out... I'd say, cut out the trips to Corpus and Jefferson and spend a couple days around SA/Austin (state capital, Alamo, Riverwalk, Hill Country) and a couple around Houston/Galveston (Moody, Seawall, NASA, LBJ library). That way they can hit Brennan for Blue Bell and Shiner for beer. Also get a good taste of hill country BBQ.

Do you ever leave Nevada?

Why isn't Luckenbach or Fredericksburg or San Marcos on the route??

Any why Galveson and Corpus?

Send them on the back roads rather than try and get them killed on 35 or 45, well unless that is your evil plan.......

What do your folks like doing? By your plan I'm thinking they like sitting is a shit box rent a car for hours and hours....... ;)

Wow Google maps shows your trip at 1,101 miles. Were your folks mean to you as a kid??

We've been looking into the Austin area for weddings if we're staying in the country, so I can see what bed and breakfast research we already did. I can't say I know where it is, but should be able to find it in a few days.

Agreed... that is a TON of driving. That leg from Corpus to Galveston will be a beat-down - nothing but sawgrass and flatness down there. Yuck.

I'd have 'em pick either Corpus or Galveston - can't see any reason to hit both spots. The Texas coast is kind of dirty and ugly, IMO. Frankly, I think they can find enough stuff to keep them occupied in the Hill Country area.

BUT, I'd say you need to send them down to Austin/San Antone via the scenic route. They should go down through Granbury and Glen Rose, then stop in Hico at the Koffee Kup for a slice o' pie. From there, US-281 makes a beeline to San Antonio - it's a whole lot nicer than 35. Fredericksburg isn't too far out of the way on that route, and neither is Llano (I'd recommend a stop at Cooper's BBQ). If they really want to see the coast, Corpus isn't too far south of SA.

Also, from what I understand, Jefferson is kinda like Fredericksburg without all the good German food.

What are they looking for? Historical stuff? Food? Beer? Shopping?

So some more background... Mom has on her bucket list to visit as many states/big cities as possible. Last year they drove out here from California and made there way through Amarillo. They were not impressed and don't seem interested in much else in West Texas. They have flown in to Houston before and are not interested in revisiting it. Austin, S.A., Galveston, and west Texas are places they have mentioned they would like to see. I chose Jefferson as an east Texas destination because I have driven through there and it seemed like the type of place they would enjoy. I placed the stop in Corpus Christi because I thought the drive along the cost might be nice, but if you guys say it is not, I may suggest they go straight from San Antonio to Galveston.

They will be in a rental car so wont care about twisty roads, and they are not much into shopping or beer. They want to see what these different places are like and will probably visit historic spots. Mom said "find us some good B&Bs", Dad said "See if there are La Quinta Inns in each town". :rolleyes:

Out in California, they live in the middle of no-where, so are always doing a lot of driving. I would bet that a week doesn't go by that they don't have a 4 hour round trip in a day for one reason or another.

Lots of B&Bs in Granbury and Fredericksburg. Lots of La Quintas and lot lizards along the interstate. ;)

But seriously, if they're going down to Austin/SA, the route I posted is scenic but not twisty - and a hell of a lot prettier than the I-35 corridor.

Well, as far as Austin, it's not a bed and breakfast, but the Austin Motel is on South Congress just south of Downtown. It is in a pretty fun/interesting area, as well as being central. If you want to see the fun side of Austin, that's as good a homebase as any. Walking distance to several restaurants, the newish trailer food scene is dense around there, and the Continental Club can be a fun night.

I'd look into it first, though, because the area is also at the edge of South Austin, the epicenter of the Keep Austin Weird movement, and the Austin Motel is along those lines. I love it, personally, but it isn't for everyone.

I would honestly skip Galveston and keep to the Austin/San Antonio/Corpus Christi areas. Houston is an arm pit and I'm not a fan of Galveston.

Hmm now that I think about it I think I would fly into Austin and save myself that beating of a drive and start my trip there since they are renting a car. Then they could still hit Galveston if they want and fly home from Houston. We did a trip like that in Florida and it was the way to go since it gave us more time to enjoy the differnt cities as we didn't have spend the time to drive back.

I say a day in Dallas, tops. Then head down to Austin via the back way and spend a couple of days in Austin and environs. LOTS to see and do there. The do a Hill Country drive though Fredericksburg, and area. Then head back north and finish in Ft. Worth for a day of museums.

Skip the southern half for the next trip.

Skip Galveston and Corpus..............if they are going to spend some time in San Antonio head on out into the Hill County. I spent a day in Jefferson some years ago and it is a very interesting town.

Canyon of the Eagles - outside of Burnnet (Northwest of Austin off hwy 281)
YO Ranch in Kerrville(60 miles West of San Antonio).

If you head out to the Fredericksburg area, you can tour the LBJ Ranch and State Park, the LBJ Museum, and his boyhood homes. Now that Ladybird has passed away you can tour their personal residence on the Pedernales river too. TONS of wildflowers if they're into that sort of thing (Ladybird was, so they planted billions of them). There's also the Pacific War Museum, and as Rick said, mountains of great German food, and if they're in season, fresh peaches are everywhere. Longhorn Cavern State Park is in the area as well (Burnet, northwest of Austin) and is a neat place to visit.

I'd avoid Corpus and Galveston, especially if it's going to be during/near Spring Break, unless they're just dying to visit the coast. I wasn't too impressed with either. Austin is mostly a college town, other than visiting the capitol building and 6th street, there's not really much there that would entertain older folks. SA is better with the Alamo and the Riverwalk. I agree with POS about Luckenbach and San Marcos, they should both be on the list. Rick has it right about the scenic route. 35 will get you there, but you won't like it. 281 is a far nicer drive.

Edit: Depending on when they're going to be there, they can catch the SXSW festival(s) in Austin March 11th - 20th.

Trip will be March 21-25. I am going to try and talk to them later today and share some of ya'll feedback.

Skip the shitters that are on the coast.

Keep them to SA, Austin, and Jefferson... don't kill them just yet with all the driving.

Titus
what did you rparents finally wind up doing and how did they enjoy it would be interesting to know wher ethey went and comments

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Originally Posted by doc

Titus
what did you rparents finally wind up doing and how did they enjoy it would be interesting to know wher ethey went and comments

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I had them follow a lot of the advice on this board.

First of all, rather than having them try to work East Texas in to the M-F trip, I drove them out there the Saturday before and we spent the day exploring Jefferson. Everyone had a great time and felt it would worth a trip back with an over-night stay.

On Monday, they headed to Austin, had lunch with an old friend of my Dad's, and did a little exploring. The stayed the night in Austin, and then drove out to see Ladybird gardens Tuesday Morning. From there, they headed to San Antonio, spending 2 nights. Despite telling them that the coast was probably not worth their time, they planned to take a day trip there from San Antonio. They scrapped the idea at the last minute because they were really enjoying San Antonio. Thursday morning they drove to Fredericksburg for the day, and then headed back to Austin for the night. Friday morning they hit the outlets and then drove back to our place.

Their overall impression- Jefferson was much better than Fredericksburg. They loved San Antonio and want to go back someday. Austin was a disappointment and they have no interest in returning.

Todd, a cool place to visit if the come back for another round, is the Benini Sculpture Ranch in Johnson City. The couple live in the house on the hill, which was built by LBJ. The sculpture ranch is unique, and the view from the house is breath taking - especially at sunset.

http://www.sculptureranch.com/

Michael and I "stumbled" upon this place by accident on our way to SA. There is a chrome bull in a field on the highway and a tiny little sign that says "sculpture ranch 5 mi" so we thought what the heck and we went looking for it. As far as I am concerned it is a hidden treasure that we both enjoyed.