This is pronounced "Green", btw.
Gruene used to be its own little town, then it threw its lot in with New Braunfels, and is now a walky/shoppy/eaty historic district within that small city.
Greetings from San Antonio!
- Thread starter vraiblonde
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This is pronounced "Green", btw.
Gruene used to be its own little town, then it threw its lot in with New Braunfels, and is now a walky/shoppy/eaty historic district within that small city.
idiganthro
Member
I just found your travelogue, which I've quite enjoyed. My husband and I grew up in New Braunfels, and San Antonio was our teenage stomping grounds. If you get a chance to be there for Fiesta, it's worth a visit- as long as you don't mind crowds. Also maybe visit some of the old Spanish missions, the Institute of Texan Cultures, Witte Museum etc. If you like beef jerky, the New Braunfels Smokehouse has some of the best. Also, the Grist Mill in Gruene is a nice place to eat.
We might get back there this summer, and you've motivated me to get out and hometown tourist more. I'm suddenly feeling a bit homesick!
Have fun!
Lucky you! If I wanted to live in the SA area, I'd choose New Braunfels. It has everything you need without the big city crazy. The dance hall in Greune is right out of a movie.
idiganthro
Member
It actually was featured in at least one movie, Michael with John Travolta. 
idiganthro
Member
Oh, and for heaven's sake, trek up to Austin! Great BBQ and music scene.
From SA, Lockhart would be my choice for the best BBQ in Texas. Plus it's a closer drive.
Black's
Black's also
one more for good measure
Yesterday I went fishing. All day I fished. I fished for 8 hours. 8 hours is a long time. I fished all day long.
So here's the deal. I like to fish. I haven't done much of it this winter. Here in San Antonio they stocked trout a few weeks ago. It was a pleasant surprise. So I found the nearest lake and tried my luck. Nothing. I saw 5 fish caught and they were all small. In Maryland's defense, they stock some nice sized trout for anglers to catch. I've had a blast catching stockers in the free state. Here in Tejas, I'm not feeling the love.
Saturday at the farmer's market I saw a guy with a fishing hat. We chatted a bit and he recommended a guide to hire if I wanted to catch trout. I thought about if for a few days then said what the heck. Using a guide is a big help because they know the area. He supplies all the gear. But you pay for that convenience. It wasn't an obscene amount of money but I had to think hard about it. In the end I figured I'd either get my money's worth or enjoyment or I wouldn't. But if I DIDN'T do it, then I'd have zero enjoyment.
Off I go. It's a 60 mile trip 1 way to the river. It was 37 degrees when I left. On the water before 7:30am. First cast and I get a rainbow trout hooked up. The guide, who has been doing this for 3 years, has never had a client catch a fish on the first cast. I'm using the tiniest flies that I have ever used before. The size is a 22.
The actual fly we used.
In fish hooks, the larger the number, the smaller the hook. It's like keeping score in golf. So after about a 3-4 minute fight of the fish I'm trying to get it to the raft. The fish is having none of that. The guide is half out of the boat with the landing net. I get the fish close but it moves before he can net it. Then it takes off. We do this 3 times before the hook finally pulls out of the fish's mouth. I still count it becaue it was oh so close. It was a nice fish of about 15 - 16 inches. My best trout caught on a fly is only 17 inches, so this was up there with my largest ever.
Down stream we go. We are on the Guadalupe river. In the summer it's a tuber's nirvana. But since it's still cold we have the river pretty much to ourselves. Most of the banks of the river is private property. You have to access the river from public property, then stay in the water until you come out at another public spot further down stream. The homes on the river are nice. They aren't mansions like you find on the water in Sarasota or Naples Florida. Many are vacation homes. It's hilly in this area. Lots of limestone cliffs. It's very scenic. I can see why people want to vacaction in this area.
A little further I finally land a fish. The sun is starting to get a little higher. The morning chill is bitterly hanging around, refusing to yield to the heat of the sun. The mist that covered the water is long gone. I don't know what my expectations were before heading out. I always dream of the fish a cast trip but in reality that never materializes.
Here's the first landed fish:
My terrible hand placement covers most of the fish. You can see some of the cliffs over my right shoulder. Once we get past the cliffs we are greeted with a warming sun and I have to put my sunglasses to good use.
Long story short. I hooked 8 fish. 3 made it to the net. Just one fish got off right away. The other one's that came unhooked did so after several attempts to net them. The river fish are very muscular compared to fish from a lake. River fish fight a current their entire lives, giving them well developed swimming muscles. Once hooked they put those muscles to good use.
In 1 fishing spot very close to a public access area, I caught 4 fish in quick succession. It was exciting. 1 was even a brown trout. I've caught brown trout before but the ones from this river had unique spots on them. The guide was more excited than I was when I landed the brown. About 25% of the trout in the river are browns with the rest of them being rainbow trout.
Guadalupe river
In the end I'm glad I went. Today I'm a bit sore in the shoulders and 1 hand. Spin fishing isn't as physical as fly fishing which is the way I normally fish. Now I can add Texas to the list of places I have caught trout.
So here's the deal. I like to fish. I haven't done much of it this winter. Here in San Antonio they stocked trout a few weeks ago. It was a pleasant surprise. So I found the nearest lake and tried my luck. Nothing. I saw 5 fish caught and they were all small. In Maryland's defense, they stock some nice sized trout for anglers to catch. I've had a blast catching stockers in the free state. Here in Tejas, I'm not feeling the love.
Saturday at the farmer's market I saw a guy with a fishing hat. We chatted a bit and he recommended a guide to hire if I wanted to catch trout. I thought about if for a few days then said what the heck. Using a guide is a big help because they know the area. He supplies all the gear. But you pay for that convenience. It wasn't an obscene amount of money but I had to think hard about it. In the end I figured I'd either get my money's worth or enjoyment or I wouldn't. But if I DIDN'T do it, then I'd have zero enjoyment.
Off I go. It's a 60 mile trip 1 way to the river. It was 37 degrees when I left. On the water before 7:30am. First cast and I get a rainbow trout hooked up. The guide, who has been doing this for 3 years, has never had a client catch a fish on the first cast. I'm using the tiniest flies that I have ever used before. The size is a 22.
The actual fly we used.
In fish hooks, the larger the number, the smaller the hook. It's like keeping score in golf. So after about a 3-4 minute fight of the fish I'm trying to get it to the raft. The fish is having none of that. The guide is half out of the boat with the landing net. I get the fish close but it moves before he can net it. Then it takes off. We do this 3 times before the hook finally pulls out of the fish's mouth. I still count it becaue it was oh so close. It was a nice fish of about 15 - 16 inches. My best trout caught on a fly is only 17 inches, so this was up there with my largest ever.
Down stream we go. We are on the Guadalupe river. In the summer it's a tuber's nirvana. But since it's still cold we have the river pretty much to ourselves. Most of the banks of the river is private property. You have to access the river from public property, then stay in the water until you come out at another public spot further down stream. The homes on the river are nice. They aren't mansions like you find on the water in Sarasota or Naples Florida. Many are vacation homes. It's hilly in this area. Lots of limestone cliffs. It's very scenic. I can see why people want to vacaction in this area.
A little further I finally land a fish. The sun is starting to get a little higher. The morning chill is bitterly hanging around, refusing to yield to the heat of the sun. The mist that covered the water is long gone. I don't know what my expectations were before heading out. I always dream of the fish a cast trip but in reality that never materializes.
Here's the first landed fish:
My terrible hand placement covers most of the fish. You can see some of the cliffs over my right shoulder. Once we get past the cliffs we are greeted with a warming sun and I have to put my sunglasses to good use.
Long story short. I hooked 8 fish. 3 made it to the net. Just one fish got off right away. The other one's that came unhooked did so after several attempts to net them. The river fish are very muscular compared to fish from a lake. River fish fight a current their entire lives, giving them well developed swimming muscles. Once hooked they put those muscles to good use.
In 1 fishing spot very close to a public access area, I caught 4 fish in quick succession. It was exciting. 1 was even a brown trout. I've caught brown trout before but the ones from this river had unique spots on them. The guide was more excited than I was when I landed the brown. About 25% of the trout in the river are browns with the rest of them being rainbow trout.
Guadalupe river
In the end I'm glad I went. Today I'm a bit sore in the shoulders and 1 hand. Spin fishing isn't as physical as fly fishing which is the way I normally fish. Now I can add Texas to the list of places I have caught trout.
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Today we went to the town of Boerne (pronounced "Bernie"). Historic, westerny, lots of cute shops and fun things to see. Living in a motorhome has broken me of impulse buying. I managed to walk away today with only a silicone grippy thing for the airfryer. It was a gorgeous day and lots of people were out and about.
On the way we saw a Tesla dealership, which neither of us even thought existed. I figured cars like that didn't have a lot; that they got custom ordered and delivered. We also passed a Ferrari dealership; see the previous sentence.
On the way we saw a Tesla dealership, which neither of us even thought existed. I figured cars like that didn't have a lot; that they got custom ordered and delivered. We also passed a Ferrari dealership; see the previous sentence.
Some thoughts on yesterday's jaunt.
I10 is just as jacked up as I35 here in Texas. I guess the same committee does the planning. Miles of chopped up road with no work being done or work is on just a small fraction of the road. Here they have what is known as a frontage road. It parallels the highway. It helps the traffic move faster. But you have to know where your destination is so you can exit the highway and get on the frontage road. Often I can see where I want to get to but can't because there isn't a convenient exit. So you end up doing the up over and back down drill. When there is construction, all the traffic is forced onto the frontage road. They don't have to pave a separate lane to accomodate the construction.
Boerne is a large city, size wise. I'm sure a lot of you have never heard of this place. We got out of the downtown area, drove a bit, and we were still in the city limits. It's not quite Jacksonville, FL large but it's getting there.
There is a ton of undevelped Texas. We drove by the athletic complex that supports Boerne high school. Drive a mile and you are in the hill country. Few houses, horses, cattle. Right down the street from a semi busy commercial area.
Things you always seem to see in the quaint town gift shops. Jellies, hot sauce, fudge, jewelry, refrigerator magnets, T shirts, chow chow and other pickled and canned vegetables, handbags, BBQ sauce, coffee, candy and a lot more stuff you probably can live without. If you are near the beach then it will have all beach related items like boogie boards and sandals.
A real visitor center will have knowledgeable staff, maps & brochures. They can point you in the right direction. A shady visitor center will have few brochures and a pushy guy trying to sign you up for a time share presentation. I don't have proof of this but I think the volunteer visitor center staff are much more enthusiastic about their little town when compared to paid visitor center staff.
If you go by the GPS, you will get a few interesting shortcuts and a few more gray hairs.
History, Geography, Science and Geology are fascinating subjects. Yesterday after our tour of Boerne we pointed the Jeep towards something called the Cave without a Name. Some times there will be a little tourist village near the attraction. About a mile from the cave, it was obvious that there wasn't much there. I was going to head back when Vrai encouraged me to go and check out the cave. It was past 4pm, so I was sure they would be closing soon. Anyway they had a gift shop with all sorts of cave related items for sale. They had some neat stone bookends for $5,000, if you need that sort of thing. Lots of neat, polished rocks for sale. In additon to books and other cave centric stuff. The most popular item there is the refrigerator magnet.
Texas hill country makes good use of the local sandstone in their buildings. It has a very southwestern look to it. Plus it looks incredibly sturdy.
A couple of pics from Boerne
I10 is just as jacked up as I35 here in Texas. I guess the same committee does the planning. Miles of chopped up road with no work being done or work is on just a small fraction of the road. Here they have what is known as a frontage road. It parallels the highway. It helps the traffic move faster. But you have to know where your destination is so you can exit the highway and get on the frontage road. Often I can see where I want to get to but can't because there isn't a convenient exit. So you end up doing the up over and back down drill. When there is construction, all the traffic is forced onto the frontage road. They don't have to pave a separate lane to accomodate the construction.
Boerne is a large city, size wise. I'm sure a lot of you have never heard of this place. We got out of the downtown area, drove a bit, and we were still in the city limits. It's not quite Jacksonville, FL large but it's getting there.
There is a ton of undevelped Texas. We drove by the athletic complex that supports Boerne high school. Drive a mile and you are in the hill country. Few houses, horses, cattle. Right down the street from a semi busy commercial area.
Things you always seem to see in the quaint town gift shops. Jellies, hot sauce, fudge, jewelry, refrigerator magnets, T shirts, chow chow and other pickled and canned vegetables, handbags, BBQ sauce, coffee, candy and a lot more stuff you probably can live without. If you are near the beach then it will have all beach related items like boogie boards and sandals.
A real visitor center will have knowledgeable staff, maps & brochures. They can point you in the right direction. A shady visitor center will have few brochures and a pushy guy trying to sign you up for a time share presentation. I don't have proof of this but I think the volunteer visitor center staff are much more enthusiastic about their little town when compared to paid visitor center staff.
If you go by the GPS, you will get a few interesting shortcuts and a few more gray hairs.
History, Geography, Science and Geology are fascinating subjects. Yesterday after our tour of Boerne we pointed the Jeep towards something called the Cave without a Name. Some times there will be a little tourist village near the attraction. About a mile from the cave, it was obvious that there wasn't much there. I was going to head back when Vrai encouraged me to go and check out the cave. It was past 4pm, so I was sure they would be closing soon. Anyway they had a gift shop with all sorts of cave related items for sale. They had some neat stone bookends for $5,000, if you need that sort of thing. Lots of neat, polished rocks for sale. In additon to books and other cave centric stuff. The most popular item there is the refrigerator magnet.
Texas hill country makes good use of the local sandstone in their buildings. It has a very southwestern look to it. Plus it looks incredibly sturdy.
A couple of pics from Boerne
These historic downtowns are all the same, yet very different. Boerne is almost identical to Bastrop, which is very similar to Bandera, which reminds one of Gruene. You'd think I'd be tired of them by now, but I'm not. Each one is still unique in its own way with an interesting history of its own. The local powers that be do a great job of preserving the historic feel, yet providing modern amenities and shopping enticement. People come from literally all over the country (if not the world) to these atmospheric meccas.
Visit San Antonio, sure - it's a terrific city - but you would be remiss to not take the short roadtrip to Greune, Boerne, and the other interesting towns/areas around it. Kerrville is a couple of hours away, as is Bandera, and the drive is stunning (once you get off the interstate).
Visit San Antonio, sure - it's a terrific city - but you would be remiss to not take the short roadtrip to Greune, Boerne, and the other interesting towns/areas around it. Kerrville is a couple of hours away, as is Bandera, and the drive is stunning (once you get off the interstate).
Yesterday we went to Topgolf, which is a golfing facility where you can play games or just hit balls and it will track your distance, speed, curve, hangtime, etc. You rent a bay for $35/hr and can have up to 6 people in there. They serve beverages and food as well. I think I wrote about the one in Austin already.
Then we went next door to Andretti's, which is a go-kart, arcade, bowling, laser tag, general fun place. You can have nice things (with alcohol) in cities that aren't afraid to lock their criminals up or strap them to the chair. When there are consequences for bad behavior, most people are much more polite.
Dinner was at Grimaldi's because we needed pizza. I'm eating my leftovers right now.
We roll in 3 days and I'm looking forward to our travels but will miss San Antonio. It's not a contender for permanent residency, but I'm sure we'll be back for a visit.
Then we went next door to Andretti's, which is a go-kart, arcade, bowling, laser tag, general fun place. You can have nice things (with alcohol) in cities that aren't afraid to lock their criminals up or strap them to the chair. When there are consequences for bad behavior, most people are much more polite.
Dinner was at Grimaldi's because we needed pizza. I'm eating my leftovers right now.
We roll in 3 days and I'm looking forward to our travels but will miss San Antonio. It's not a contender for permanent residency, but I'm sure we'll be back for a visit.
glhs837
Power with Control
turns out you hit the sweet spot, in addition to announcing the sale of the new $35,000 model, they announced that they will be closing virtually all brick and mortar locations, only leaving a few in high traffic/demand areas as true showrooms, all purchases will be online only. they have spent a metric crap-ton of money fighting legal battles against the entrenched state and regional level dealership lobbying groups with mixed success at best. Not enough value in that, I guess.
Dang, I think we just had a shooting at our campground. That's a new adventure...
We heard what sounded like a string of firecrackers going off, didn't think anything of it. Then we saw the cops roll through.... I figured they were just coming for illegal fireworks (in Texas??) plus The Five just started and I'm more interested in watching that.
Then we heard the helicopters....
Monello looked outside and they're taping off the area up past us.....more cops coming in....
So he went out to find out what's up and rubberneck a bit. Will report back with further information....
We heard what sounded like a string of firecrackers going off, didn't think anything of it. Then we saw the cops roll through.... I figured they were just coming for illegal fireworks (in Texas??) plus The Five just started and I'm more interested in watching that.
Then we heard the helicopters....
Monello looked outside and they're taping off the area up past us.....more cops coming in....
So he went out to find out what's up and rubberneck a bit. Will report back with further information....
Did you go on Lock down?
What happened:
Guy got stopped at the light up here at the corner for a traffic violation. As the cop was walking up to the car the guy bolted and ran through the woods and into the RV park. Bad guy produced a gun and shot at the cop, who returned fire and got him. Several times. Apparently this person has a lengthy record and was out on bond, which explains why he ran. He ain't gonna be running no more.... He's not dead, just shot up. The cop wasn't hit at all.
This happened right behind us and our end of the 'hood is crawling with cops and news people. A motorhome was hit twice and bad guy shot someone's truck and it went all the way through and out the other side.
www.kens5.com
Guy got stopped at the light up here at the corner for a traffic violation. As the cop was walking up to the car the guy bolted and ran through the woods and into the RV park. Bad guy produced a gun and shot at the cop, who returned fire and got him. Several times. Apparently this person has a lengthy record and was out on bond, which explains why he ran. He ain't gonna be running no more.... He's not dead, just shot up. The cop wasn't hit at all.
This happened right behind us and our end of the 'hood is crawling with cops and news people. A motorhome was hit twice and bad guy shot someone's truck and it went all the way through and out the other side.
Suspect critically injured in deputy-involved shooting
According to Sheriff Salazar, the suspect brandished a shotgun and fired several slugs at the deputy, who returned fire.
tuffenuff2
Active Member
Head down to Corpus Christi. It's really nice.
My favorite line on your FB post was Vince's "shootout at the OK Corral"
I'm sort of embarrassed at how ignorant I was that there was a shootout about 150 yards from us. We were like, what the hell. No, it was a life and death situation. The guy across the street from us was closer to the action. He heard the shots and hit the deck in his travel trailer. We chalked it up to fireworks.
I'm somewhat thinking our campground vigilance. It's not that we stay in scary places, but the scary can come to you. And I want to have a decent chance of surviving the madness. I know that sounds a little bit fatalistic but at the end of the day a lot of good people find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I can taste the Grand Canyon. I don't want anything standing in the way of us arriving there.
I don't want to sound overdramatic, but this afternoon has been a day to remember. Lots of emotions going on. At first everything was rumor. All the campers milling about, putting their 2 cents in. Across the woods we could see a half dozen police cars, with lights ablaze, in the convenience store parking lot. It made sense to surmise that the perp knocked off the C store then ran over to the campground. But when we went to the C store they didn't have any idea why all the police were running around.
The bad guy was hit several times. I hate to admit this, but I hope he dies. He's a career shitbag. And has a long record. I'm not proud but our innocence has been severely dented. I want our biggest problem on the road to be what restaurant we want to eat at. I don't want it to be, should I carry my gun or not.
I'm sure this emotion will pass but it's pretty conflicting right now. The entire time we are here we hear sirens all the time. We are close to a major road, which I claim is the reason for all the sirens. About 10 miles south of us, a lot of homes have bars on the windows. People don't put the bars on their homes because the look nice. It's because thieves prey on them and they are trying to make it a bit harder for the shitbags to steal their stuff.
TLDR: Don't break the law. TIA