Texas Road Trip (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio: house, buy, living in)

[jenelled]

I am moving to Austin this spring and while i have been to Austin 6 times i have not seen ANY of the rest of Texas. When i settle i plan to take a road trip to see my new state. I need recommendations of places i have to see! I am looking for places that have a real Texas vibe. Thanks in advance

[Soccersupporter]

Originally Posted by jenelled

I am moving to Austin this spring and while i have been to Austin 6 times i have not seen ANY of the rest of Texas. When i settle i plan to take a road trip to see my new state. I need recommendations of places i have to see! I am looking for places that have a real Texas vibe. Thanks in advance

Try this site, it has a lot of good material. We moved to Keller, TX last Oct./Nov. and are just scratching the surface of Texas. I have friends that moved to Austin 14 years ago and they are still exploring Texas. Take your time and don't rush it, that would not be the Texas way of doing things. There is so much beauty to see, have a great time!


TravelTex - Travel Guide Order

[Trainwreck20]

Wow, make sure you have a car that can make a few miles . Dallas, Ft. Worth, Houston, Galveston, Port Aransas, South Padre, San Antonio, El Paso (better fly), Ft. Stockton, San Angelo, Amarillo, Tyler.....all are different enough to see, plus about a dozen other major and a zillion other smaller towns (Marfa, Wimberley, Willow City....)

[love roses]

I've lived in Texas just about my entire life and still haven't seen all of it. "Texas Vibe?" Everyplace in Texas has a Texas Vibe

Dallas
Ft. Worth
Brenham
Tyler
Brazoria
West Columbia
Austin
Corpus Christi
Laredo
Brownsville

The list goes on and on....You could do what some friends and I used to love to do. Close your eyes and stick a pin in a map of Texas and go to where the pin landed

[NOTAM]

just take 281 north from Austin to Stephenville.........that would be a very cool road trip, and listen to "Road Trip" by Gary P Nunn (he sings about this route), while driving. see Marble Falls and Horseshoe Bay, Burnet, Lampasas, Hamilton on the way!!!!!!!!!! woohoo!!! my neck of the woods...luv it here!!!!!!!!

stop in for pie and coffee at Blue Bonnet Cafe in Marble Falls

grab a bite at a Storm's Drive In, in Burnet or Lampasas

if you have about an hour or two, stop in Topsey (small town, if you can even call it that, between Copperas Cove and Gatesville...and just east of Lampasas)...and go to the Topsey Exotic Drive-Thru Safari. it''s only minutes from my house and i have been there several times already, since i moved here in October-I LOVE IT. it's very peaceful, NEVER crowded, and just a nice leisurely time to enjoy the great outdoors, driving as slow as you want (there will almost never be a car behind you), and feed the animals (you can buy sacks of feed for 50 cents or a dollar at the entrance). beautiful landscape, gorgeous animals, great photo opportunity. THIS IS TRULY A TREASURE!!!
Topsey Exotic Ranch & Drive Thru Safari

stop in Hamilton and check out Circle T Arena..have a drink at the largest granite bar in Texas, shop at their western store
Circle T Arena - Hamilton, TX

oh and when ya get to Stephenville, eat at Hard Eights BBQ
Hard Eight BBQ

hows that for starters? gotta LOVE Texas road trips!!

[case44]

Originally Posted by jenelled

I am moving to Austin this spring and while i have been to Austin 6 times i have not seen ANY of the rest of Texas. When i settle i plan to take a road trip to see my new state. I need recommendations of places i have to see! I am looking for places that have a real Texas vibe. Thanks in advance

Recommendations??? Oh, I'd say........

Everything!

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by jenelled

I am moving to Austin this spring and while i have been to Austin 6 times i have not seen ANY of the rest of Texas. When i settle i plan to take a road trip to see my new state. I need recommendations of places i have to see! I am looking for places that have a real Texas vibe. Thanks in advance

Texas is SO huge and so diverse that you can spend years traveling to see all of it.

Living in Austin, you'll have numerous places nearby (rivers, parks, scenic drives, restaurants, cultural events, etc.) to see. When you have settled in...and have some time on your hands, be sure to visit Big Bend National Park. It's one of my favorite places in the state, as are the Davis Mountains/Ft. Davis/Alpine/Marfa, et al. But that is for an extended trip, since it is around 480 miles to your west. For closer trips....

You aren't far from the coast and all that it has to offer....around 180 miles.

Someone posted the link for TravelTexas.....it has a wealth of information, as do Texas Highways magazine and website, address obvious.

I used to recommend Texas Monthly to newcomers....but not any longer. I don't know why, but I just flat don't like the magazine now.

But...you might find it useful. You can find Texas Highways and Texas Monthly at Hastings, Barnes and Noble and other bookstores!

Have fun exploring your new state!

[gy2020]

jenelled: Since you are moving to Austin, look at the Austin and San Antonio Forums. I have posted Small towns around Austin and Small towns around San Antonio. There are about 1,000 photos up there of towns in the area. Good luck and enjoy your new state!!

[imanativetx]

I'm a staunch supporter of Texas Highways. Great way to see the country is to hit the festivals. Personally, I avoid the big cities. There's nothing better than small town Texas, USA. Used to live in Austin area and we took tons of day trips. Some of our faves (obviously not all day trips):
Austin/San Antonio area: Wimberly, Gruene, Blanco, New Braunfels, take the drive to Fischer, Tx on the Devil's Back, Bulverde, River Road in Sattler
Fredricksburg area: LBJ Ranch, Enchanted Mountain (hike this), Kerrville, Comfort, Lost Maples St. Park
Far West Texas: Prude Ranch in Ft. Davis, Ft. Davis observatory and Balmorrhea State Park, Big Bend
Austin towards Houston vicinity: Chappell Hill, Brenham, Independence (S. Houston born here),
Round Top, Bastrop State Park to Bergstrom Park
Austin towards Temple: Georgetown, Salado
Austin towards Sweetwater: Lampasas, Goldwaite, Coleman
Panhandle: Canyon and Palo Duro Canyon (production of Texas),
Coastal: Great fishing and beaches in Pt. Aransas (family friendly), Matagorda, S. Padre if you like the touristy stuff
Houston to East Texas: Huntsville, Sam Houston National Forest, Double Lake, Lake Conroe, Montgomery and Magnolia, Athens and Palestine, Canton, Mineola, Tyler, Edom,
Lake Fork.

Have fun y'all! Don't eat too much Chicken Fried Steak, Mexican Food, Barbecue, or Catfish!