Day 5: Downtown

We woke up and took the dogs for a walk along the Riverwalk again, but this time we decided to go the opposite direction. It was much less crowded this direction and had beautiful flowers and gardens lining the river. Unfortunately we weren’t able to make it too far going this direction because the water level was much higher from the rain we received the day before. It was flooding onto the sidewalks making certain areas unwalkable. We returned to the Airbnb and got ready for the day. We then drove downtown to visit the Tower of the Americas, the tallest building in San Antonio at 750 feet high.

We took the elevator to the top of the tower, which reminded me a lot of the Space Needle in Seattle. At the top we had some really cool views of San Antonio. We could walk around the top for a full 360-degree view of the city, and we had a great view of certain landmarks like the Alamodome. We could see some storm clouds in the distance as there was a storm approaching. These were the outer bands of a storm in the Gulf, and we were hoping that it wouldn’t turn toward us. We escaped hurricane season in Florida only to run into possible tropical weather in Texas. That could potentially ruin a trip if it got bad enough.

From there we headed to a different area of the city we hadn’t visited yet. Our reason for coming here was to replace something that Charlie broke that could only be found in a store here. (Things you deal with when traveling with an energetic puppy). But while here we came across Scooped Cookie Dough Bar. It’s similar to an ice cream shop where you choose your flavors and then pick toppings to go with it, except it’s all cookie dough. It was very good, except we all got too much because we found a Groupon for it and had to get a large. But if you love cookie dough like I do, I’d definitely recommend this place!

After finding what we needed, we headed back downtown to the popular section of the Riverwalk to do some souvenir shopping and relax. And this is where I’d recommend coming if you’re wanting to find souvenirs in San Antonio. It’s a very touristy area with plenty of souvenir shops and fun things to do. But all the dining options here seem expensive, so I’d recommend going somewhere else for food. Plus, the food found in other parts of the city is more authentic and less geared toward tourists, so the quality is probably better as well.

For dinner, we wanted authentic Mexican food, so we headed to Los Cocos Fruteria y Taqueria, and the food was very good!

Day 6: A Lot of Water

We woke up to find out the tropical depression we had been hearing about was going to reach us. There were severe weather warnings everywhere, but we didn’t want to let it ruin our day. And if we’re going to get wet anyway, let’s go to a waterpark! So we headed to Splashtown San Antonio. There were rumors that they might close due to the severe weather, but they were open when we got there. It was a nice park with some great slides, but throughout the day as the weather was approaching, they started closing down certain slides in case of lightning.

We did everything we wanted to do but eventually had to leave as the tropical depression was becoming more evident. We stopped by In-N-Out for lunch and then headed back to the Airbnb. We wanted to get a walk in before the storm hit, so we got the dogs and headed down to the Riverwalk. The storm clouds were getting darker and the wind started picking up. We were about a mile into our walk when the thunder and lightning started and then it was too late…

It started pouring on us as we started sprinting back to the Airbnb as fast as we could. There were random wind bursts and lightning strikes all around us. We were literally in the middle of this storm that quickly moved in. We finally made it back to the Airbnb all soaked with wet, smelly dogs. After getting all dried off and changing, we decided to watch a movie as we waited the storm out.

Day 7: The Hike

One thing I love is hiking, so I always try to find a good hiking spot when traveling. Most places that interested me were too far to drive from San Antonio, considering we were about to drive back to Florida the next day. So I heard about Government Canyon, a trail through the wilderness of Texas Hill Country, not too far from the city, which has preserved dinosaur footprints. I recommended we check it out, but due to the storm that came through the night before, many of the trails had been closed, including the one to the footprints. But they told us it might open back up if all the water dries up. So we go on our walk along the Riverwalk with the dogs while we wait to find out if the trails will open up. And there were downed trees everywhere from the tropical depression, making us thankful we were able to run out of it when we did. After the walk, we called Government Canyon back and were informed that they were opening the trails, but they warned us that the extreme heat was dangerous to walk in out there due to the remoteness and inhospitable nature of the trail. I thought that sounded fun, so I wanted to go still. The family decided to go along with me. We drove out there and as we were entering the park, a ranger came up to us and told us they are not allowing anyone to walk more than three miles. “It’s too dangerous in these conditions” she told us. Unfortunately, those dinosaur footprints I wanted to see would require us to hike for five miles. The temperatures were well past 100°F and there was very little shade on the rocky trail through this remote wilderness. On top of that, there’s a threat of rattlesnakes and mountain lions. I still wanted to see those dinosaur footprints, but I told my family that if they ever want to turn around, I’ll go along with them.

We stocked up on water bottles and spread them among those of us with backpacks and were warned again not to go more than three miles. We started the trail, and the topography of the region was interesting. It was very rocky with low shrubs on the side, not really any trees, and there were a lot of wildflowers. We could see the canyon walls in the distance and hawks flying overhead. The heat was extreme, and there really wasn’t any escape from it because of the low shrubs. And the trail kept going, without much variation. I liked it, but as I soon found out, I was the only one. After thinking we had reached the three mile limit, we passed the first mile marker and knew this was going to be fun… About a mile and a half in, we were having to ration out our water because we didn’t pack enough. This is the point where we were supposed to turn around according to the rangers we had spoken to. They said we can’t go more than three miles total, so this was the farthest we were technically allowed to go. I felt fine, but I knew that it would be too much to push everyone else for another mile before turning around. It really doesn’t sound like much when writing this because we take hikes longer than this at home all the time. But you have to understand that the conditions we were hiking in were extreme and potentially dangerous where even the rangers told us not to go any farther. After reminding everyone we could turn around, they told me I could keep going. So I went. Morgan and Audrey started moving forward with me and as we were getting really close to the 2.5 mile mark where the footprints were, we heard something off to the side, and they were convinced it was a mountain lion. They wanted to turn around thinking we were about to get eaten, but we were so close! Finally Mom and Dad caught up and said that since we were so close we might as well finish it. So we kept going and finally reached those dinosaur footprints.

I thought it was really cool, but Audrey was convinced we hiked all this way for puddles. It’s true: the footprints did look like puddles due to the tropical depression that had come through, but they were still cool to see in my opinion. But then, we had to walk back…And it was brutal.We were struggling to make the walk back, rationing out our water the best we could. The extreme heat was making it honestly really dangerous, and if something were to happen, the rangers would have a difficult time reaching us this far in. When park rangers tell you not to do something, it’s usually in your best interest to listen, but we were stubborn, and because I was the one that wanted to come here, (even though I kept reminding everyone we could turn around at any time), I was the one everyone was mad at.

We slowly made our way back to the beginning and realized that when you slow down the flies get to you, making those who were miserable hate me even more. (I’m joking here…. kinda). But we finally made it, completely exhausted. We drank all the water we could get our hands on and passed out once we finally found some shade. While I did enjoy the trail, I don’t recommend doing what we did. Go at a cooler time of year and take plenty of water if you do decide to go. We rested for the rest of the day, only going back out for dinner.

Day 8: Going Home

We took one last walk along the Riverwalk on our final morning in the city. That’s what we would miss the most about San Antonio. Sure, the city itself is nice, but that Riverwalk is what makes it so special. It was sad having to leave it. We drove the long 10 hours back home, getting caught in Houston traffic along the way, and I started my new job just a couple days later. It was a great trip, even though I kept making everyone walk farther than they wanted to. I’m looking forward to the next time we can take a family vacation, whenever that may be.