One advantage of living in Houston is that winter does not fully kick in until January. This gives you the opportunity of doing things you wouldn’t normally do during the winter break, such as getting out of your blankets and exploring the outdoors. While Houston has no shortage of parks and nature preserves where you can decompress, enjoy the weather and reconcile with nature, I sometimes feel the need to leave my everyday life behind for a couple of days. When that happens, I usually opt for a short, 1–2-day trip to the Texas Hill Country, specifically the region between Austin and San Antonio. There, I can find the perfect balance between breathtaking nature, local history and great food.
My ideal trip starts with a stroll along the San Antonio River Walk, where picturesque restaurants, handmade jewelry shops and live music meet along the banks and bridges that make up this beautiful pedestrian city park. A must stop while in San Antonio is the Alamo, an early 18th century Spanish mission turned military outpost during the Texas Revolution and currently celebrated as a symbol of the state’s independence. A short but compelling documentary projected on the walls of the mission’s sacristy will guide you through the history of the building, from its origins as a sacred place to its role in sheltering the families of the Texian soldiers. Less famous but arguably more impressive is San Jose, a mission complex nested in the outskirts of San Antonio and part of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, the only UNESCO site in Texas. There, you can immerse yourself in the lives of 18th century missionaries by walking through the mission’s church, mill and workshops: a true trip back in time only 3 hours away from Houston!
From there, I usually drive north to Pedernales Falls State Park, a relaxing natural area that follows the Pedernales river as it cuts and flows through the limestone slabs that underlie the Texas Hill Country and make up its distinctive topography. Alternatively, Inks Lake State Park offers great camping options and is a great spot to swim and dive in the natural pools formed as the Colorado River cut through billion-year-old granites. The same rocks are exposed 30 miles West at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, a 450 feet-tall dome of bare rock that represents an old, solidified magma chamber. The 30-minute hike to the summit is steep but rewarding, and the view of the Hill Country from the top of the dome is unmatched. This is one of my favorite places in Texas, and a must stop for all my Hill Country getaway trips.
As any traveler knows, there is hardly any good trip without good food. Luckily, San Antonio and Austin both offer a wide variety of options, from Michelin starred BBQs to local Tex-Mex restaurants. My absolute favorite spot, however, is a donut shop. Some 15 minutes North of Austin, Round Rock Donuts is a staple of the area, which it has served since 1926. Their distinctive orange-colored donuts literally melt in your mouth, and are unlike anything I have ever tried before. In order to balance the sweetness of the donuts and maintain a balanced diet, a stop at a BBQ joint is required. I usually plan my drive back to Houston around stopping at Southside Market in Elgin, which claims to be the oldest BBQ joint in Texas: quite the record! One thing I can assure is that brisket, ribs, coleslaw and potato salad are the best recipe for making the return to everyday life a little more pleasant.
If all of this doesn’t make you want to hop in your car and start a new adventure, I don’t know what will. But if it does, have fun on your next weekend getaway trip to the Texas Hill Country!
About the Author:
Gaetano Ferrante is a Ph.D. candidate in the Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences Department at Rice, where he works on numerical models and experiments to better understand volcanic eruptions. He comes from a very small village near Napoli, Italy, which you may know for the best pizza in the world or for their football club, depending on your priorities.
Further Reading:
A traveler’s guide to your great American road trip
Free & Low-Cost Activities in Houston
Spring Break as a Graduate Student