Spring Adventure in San Antonio [$100 Visa Gift Card Giveaway]

When we moved to Texas two years ago, I really had no idea what awaited us. My husband travels around most of the state for work, so we have spent our time exploring the three major metros and the hundreds of small cities and towns that make up the great state of Texas.

We live in Austin, so we are lucky enough to be in the middle of a lot that Texas has to offer. We are just three hours from Houston and Dallas, four hours from the coast and just an hour and a half away from San Antonio. Because of its proximity, we have spent many weekends exploring all of the music, culture, and fun that San Antonio has to offer.

Most recently we spent the week in San Antonio for Spring Break. On the way down we stopped to enjoy the wild flowers and take some pictures of the bluebonnets that grow along the side of the road here in the Spring. I grew up in Arizona and had never seen anything like it in my life. Empty fields become a canvas of gorgeous flowers every year around this time.

Our first destination was one of the kids' favorites, Sea World San Antonio. There are fun rides and great shows (you MUST check out Azul!), but we could spend all day hanging out with the dolphins. An interaction like this makes great lifetime memories.

If your kids like a little more thrill, 15 minutes away is Six Flags Fiesta Texas. We didn't stop there this trip because we usually start off our Summer vacation with a ride on Goliath. Nothing like being suspended from a rollercoaster at 50 MPH to start your summer.

We stayed in our favorite hotel that sits right on The River Walk. The River Walk is a great spot to stay because you are in walking distance of a lot of great food and museums -- not to mention the fact that the River Walk is a wonderful destination unto itself.

We love riding the boat up the river and walking to one of the many restaurants for lunch. We usually pick Tex Mex and sit outside watching people and listening to the live music.

After lunch it is a short walk to one of the local museums. This trip it was the San Antonio Children's museum. The next day we ventured out to see the heart of Texas history, The Alamo. It is less than a half mile away from The River Walk. Although we visit every time we travel to San Antonio, we never tire of the gorgeous building and the history that it holds inside.

You can walk through the chapel and barrack, what is left of the original building, and enjoy relics from the The Republic of Texas in the museum. Both are free of charge. After you fall in love with Texas history you can pick up a memento of your own in the gift shop. When we first moved here we purchased our first Texas flag there. The Alamo flies a new state flag every day and then sells them in the gift shop so that you can own a Texas state flag that has flown over the Alamo.

This trip also included a stop at The Witte Museum. My kids love it for the Science Tree House. It isn't everyday you can ride a bike over the river, but The Witte also houses the history, culture and natural science of South Texas.

From the Witte you are a short walk from the San Antonio Zoo, an attraction that we have yet to visit in our two dozen trips to San Antonio. Instead of marking things off of our to do list, it seems to get longer each time we travel there

There is so much to see and do -- and just a short conversation with someone on the street will open a door to a new section of the city to discover. We ran out of time to visit the Tower of the Americas, the Institute of Texan Cultures, and the HemisFair Park, site of the 1968 World's Fair.

Of course, we did stop at our favorite shopping destination on the way back home. About 45 minutes outside of San Antonio is some fabulous outlet shopping. The San Marcos Premium Outlets houses 140 stores, like Neiman Marcus and Coach. It is a good place to sneak off to while your hubby is playing golf. Unless your husband likes to shop too, that is.

San Antonio really is filled to the brim with great food (make sure to try our favorite, La Margarita), great history, and a whole lot of Texas charm. I can guarantee that no matter what you love, you will find it somewhere in Texas. You can check out more of what Texas has to offer at TravelTex.com

$100 Visa Gift Card Giveaway

Travel Texas and BlogHer are sponsoring a great giveaway to one lucky reader. Please leave a comment telling me where you'd like to visit in Texas. You can request a free Texas Travel Guide from the TravelTex.com website where you can get lots of great ideas!

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 5/1/2012-6/1/2012.

Be sure to visit the Discover Texas page on BlogHer.com where you can read about other bloggers' adventures and find more chances to win!