4th Stop: San Antonio

If you’re still in a margarita mood when you wake up, get back on I-10W and drive 200 miles until you arrive in San Antonio. Gas for this trip should cost around only $35. Before you start to party, drop your stuff off at the Red Roof Inn at 1011 E. Houston Street so you won’t have to deal with it later. They will let you crash there for $75 a night.

While you are in San Antonio, make sure to check out the famous River Walk (thesanantonioriverwalk.com). The walk is set down below the streets of San Antonio. It is a cultural experience as mariachi music blares from every direction. Boats give tours up and down the river. If you’re not feeling like riding in a boat, no problem. There are sidewalks that line the river and direct you past tons of restaurants and bars.

You can’t go wrong with any restaurant here as each one offers its own unique experience. If you are going to go to a bar, though, it is a must to check out the famous Pat O’Brien’s. Here you will be able to guzzle down hurricanes while enjoying the music of the connecting piano bar.

Don’t forget about Davey Crockett, though. If you have time, stop by the famous Alamo and pick up a raccoon-tail hat.

5th stop: New Braunfels

After hitting the restaurants and bars in San Antonio, you will be ready to relax and kick your feet up. New Braunfels is a perfect place to do that and is only 34 miles from San Antonio. Hop on Interstate 35N and you will be there in 40 minutes. New Braunfels will give you a chance to relax and get back in touch with nature. The Guadalupe River runs right through this city and is used in all the right ways.

If you are looking for a relaxing day of fishing, contact Bill Higdon from In The Hills Fishing Excursions (inthehillsfishing.com). Higdon is an expert on the river and custom designs fly fishing trips for fishermen of all skill levels. An experienced fisherman, Higdon has been written about in magazines such as Trout Unlimited and National Geographic Adventure Magazine. He also fishes on a decent river. The Guadalupe is one of the top 100 trout streams in America.

The trips start at $275 for two people for a half day and run up to $350 for two people for a full day. Hidgon supplies all the equipment including boats, rods and flies. He is quick to mention, though, that he doesn’t provide waiters. He said there are just too many different sizes of people.

Higdon is confident that no matter what you’re looking for, In The Hills Fishing Excursions has it.

“Some people just like being out on the water, others like to see the wild life and some are just focused on fish,” Higdon said. He went on to say that it is also a learning experience for many people.

No matter what, you are guaranteed to have a fun time.

“It’s just a good old hill country activity,” Higdon said.

Fishing is not the only way to enjoy the river. If you like the water but not the fish, Rockin’ R River Rides (rockinr.com) is definitely something to look into.

Rockin’ R River Rides is a family-owned business that has offered tubing trips down the Guadalupe River for 29 years.

“The owners Zero and Rick Rivers started the business with 50 tubes, some chicken wire and a truck,” Director of Operations Shane Wolf said.

Today the company has about 5,000 rafts and plays host to a few hundred thousand college kids a year, Wolf said.

Tubes with bottoms are $17 dollars while tubes without bottoms are $15. For the price of your tube, you are entitled to use the company’s shuttles to get to and from the starting and stopping points. Trips can take anywhere from one hour to the whole day, depending on the river conditions and the person. Friends can relax, sit together and enjoy the scenery.

Also, feel free to bring your own cooler. It can float down the river with you. Inside the city limits only a 16-quart cooler is permitted, but once you’re outside the city limits you can have the biggest cooler that will float. These coolers can be filled with your choice of anything. Bring beer, soda or wine. Anything is permitted as long as it is not made of glass or Styrofoam.

“We’re open for anything that’s legal,” Wolf said.

6th Stop: Lockhart

Speaking of legal, one thing that will never be outlawed in Texas is barbecue. That’s why the next stop is Lockhart, the barbecue capital of Texas. Lockhart is only 35 miles north of New Braunfels. There is not much else to do there, so this might just be a lunch stop as you continue on up to Austin.

Don’t downplay this town just because it’s a lunch stop. There are plenty of good places to eat. One of them is Black’s Barbeque (blacksbbq.com), located at 215 Main Street. The restaurant was started in 1932 by Norma and Edgar Black and is still in their family today. When the restaurant first opened, women were not allowed inside and had to go to a side window to order. Women are allowed inside today, where they will be surrounded by walls loaded with photos of high school football teams and hunting trophies.

There are two things you have to try at Black’s. One of them is the brisket and the other is the homemade sausage. Lunch will cost about $6 and dinner will cost about $9.

Manager Steve Cloud was very clear on how they cook their food.

“We use all pits,” Cloud said, describing the process of how their meat is cooked in a hole in the ground.

While Black’s said it is the best in town, other restaurants claim the same honor.

Kreuz Market (kreuzmarket.com) is also at the top of the list of Lockhart barbecue. The restaurant started as a grocery store in 1900 by Charles Kreuz. To keep the meat from spoiling, employees would take it out back and cook it where people would line up to buy the finished product. The meat was passed out on butcher paper and didn’t have any sauce on it.

To this day, that tradition remains. Kreuz has no barbeque sauce, no plates and no forks.

“Sauce is used to cover up the flavor of meat. We buy a higher grade of meat and keep it simple, just salt and pepper,” owner Keith Schmidt said.

While they have added new sides over the years, in the past the only sides offered were those that were sold in the original store, such as tomatoes, pickles and cheese. And, just like Black’s, Kreuz is proud of its homemade sausage.

A meal will cost about $7.