After spending 6 years of traveling for work, I have a strong preference to stay along the east coast. But if I have to go anywhere further, I like to take advantage of it and sneak in a mini vacation to interesting cities nearby. This January, I had to go San Antonio for work and coincidentally it was a long weekend so Mr. flew in and met me there.

Day 1 – Sneak Peak of San Antonio

We started out the long weekend checking out San Antonio since I was staying at The St. Anthony right in downtown. We took a morning stroll along the Riverwalk and had brunch at the Las Canarias. Riverwalk on a Friday morning is nice and quiet but I can imagine it being really fun with a crowd at night as well.

After picking up the rental car, we headed out to Austin which is 1.5 hours away. We opted to stay right outside of downtown at the Courtyard by Marriott Austin South so we didn’t have to deal with parking and garage fees. The hotel is only a cheap 10-minute Uber ride away from downtown.

Day 2 – Nature, Murals and Everything in Between

I have always wanted to go to the Hamilton Pool especially after visiting all the cenotes in Mexico last year. After less than an hour drive and a short, brisk hike, we got to the emerald-colored pool. While we didn’t get to go into the water, it was still nice to see the rock formation and dripping spring.

Post our morning “work out”, we drove back to explore Austin. First stop – FOOD. There are a couple of really good BBQ places (e.g. Franklin Barbecue) that came highly recommended, we ended up going to la Barbecue and waited in line for about an hour. If you are going with a companion or a group, one of you can go inside to bring out some “to-go” beers and ciders (its a different order counter/line) which make the 1-hour wait more bearable.

I have been to a lot of Texan BBQ places during my time working in Dallas / Fort Worth, I had imagined la Barbecue to be a big sit-down spot filled with smokey flavored air but I was surprised. This is a relatively small place, half of it is a grocery shop lined with aisles of beverages, snacks, and etc. The other half is lined with a few tiny counters selling BBQ, coffee, and drinks alongside a dozen of tables for food court style dine-in. An hour and two ciders later, we finally got our hands on the heavenly briskets, sausage, mac&cheese, potato salad and a side of pickle. The only thing I wish was different is the size of my stomach!

After lunch, we drove around town for mural hunting. Austin is known for all the street arts sprinkled throughout town and here are my two personal favorites:

Love From Austin – 1912 SOUTH CONGRESS AVE

You Are My Butter Half – 2000 E MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BLVD

We ended our hunt at the Hope Outdoor Gallery, a unique outdoor multi-level structure “park” covered in graffiti. It is located in the middle of a residential area. Parking is a little tricky especially during the weekend so be on a lookout for off-street parking a block or two leading up to the gallery.

There are vendors selling spray paints at the park but a lot of people bring their own to leave a mark. The structure is covered by cool mural arts from professional artists and vandalism style “arts” from your average visitors. The key here is if you like something, snap a photo quick because the moment you blink, it may be painted over. This happened to me – there was a really pretty gold “L-O-V-E” sign sticking out from the wall and a lot of people were taking pictures with it. I was too shy and thought I can just come back later. Lo and behold, the shiny gold sign turned into an ugly-shade-of-blue sign. Whoever made that bad decision may want to reconsider their artistic endeavor.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by Gourdough’s Donuts. I don’t usually like sweets but boy, their donuts are amazing – fresh and fluffy.

For a night out, we took an uber and headed to Rainey Street. The night was off to an interesting start when our driver got completely lost and flustered by all the intersections and merging of brilliant Texas highways. Right as we were turning into Rainey Street, BAM – SHE HIT A PEDESTRIAN! My jaw dropped for a good 3 seconds but the guy just got up and walked off without a fuss. I am not quite sure whether I was more shock with the carelessness of the Uber driver or the lack of reaction from the guy.

Rainey Street is like a college frat house strip but with grown-ups and minus spilled-beer and red solo cups. The small street is lined with bars after bars, that are converted from cute houses, on both sides and people bar hopping in between.

After a few bars, I stumbled upon a giant giraffe at Unbarlievable. The drinks and music were meh but who can resist a slide at a bar! For drinks and music, I really liked The Black Heart. To wrap up the night, we stopped by Tommy Want Wingy at the end of the street for some delicious wings and future me (aka now) still want those wingies.

Day 3 – More Austin and Goodbye Austin

After brunch at an authentic Mexican restaurant with good Micheladas (Mexican Bloody Mary with beer), we visited the Capitol. We checked out the displays at the visitor center while we waited for the free tour to start at the main building. The tour was interesting as it talks about the history and evolution of the grand building as well as the political environment at the time it was built. I would highly recommend this if you are interested in history, architect or needed a mid-day indoor break.

I found this cowboy outfit at one of the interactive displays. After squeezing into the vest, I realized it was meant for children. OOPS but hey if the shoe fits, why not.

Before heading back to San Antonio, we wandered around the 6th Street Historical District and tried out Voodoo Donut. I like that some of their donuts are a little bit smaller in size making it more manageable to sneak in as a light snack.

Day 4 – Beer Brunch at the Pearl (SA)

On our way to the airport, we stopped by the rustic Southerleigh Fine Food and Brewery at Pearl for brunch and local beers. Pearl is a former brewery transformed into an area filled with chic restaurants, bars, and shops. Aligned with Pearl’s origins, Southerleigh has a brewery vibe to it with large barrels on the second floor.

After the yummy brunch, we took a walk through the picturesque Hotel Emma which is attached to the restaurant and was charmed by the historical-feel lobby/library. This quick trip gave us a sneak peek into what Austin/San Antonio has to offer and we can’t wait to return to explore more.