6th Street: Likely Texas'
best known street, the seven block's of 6th Street
between Congress and IH 35 are certainly Austin's
entertainment center. With a little help from
it's many like-minded sister streets, 6th Street
is the heart of Austin's live entertainment scene
and the capital of third coast music. Sixth Street
(formerly known as Pecan Street) is lined with
many historical houses and commercial buildings
dating from the late 1800's and early 1900's.
The storied old buildings now house numerous bars,
a host of live entertainment venues, tattoo parlors,
art galleries, casual cafes, upscale restaurants,
and the elegant Driskill Hotel. Live music of
every genre abounds. From jazz, blues, and country
to rock, hip-hop, beat, progressive, metal, punk
and derivations of these, there's something to
whet everyone's musical pallete. Great food is
a staple on Sixth Street, featuring such regional
staples as chili, ribs, and Tex-Mex plus steak,
seafood, cajun-cooking, and deli.
Texas
State Capital: The Texas Capitol
is an extraordinary example of late 19th century
public architecture and is widely recognized as
one of the nation's most distinguished state capitols.
It was placed on the National Register of Historic
Places in 1970, and d esignated a National Historic
Landmark in 1986 for its "significant contribution
to American history."
Sited on one of
Austin 's highest points, the Capitol anchors
the northern periphery of the downtown commercial
district, and commands a sweeping view towards
the Colorado River from its southern façade.
The University of Texas ' main campus is situated
just four blocks to the north. Wonderful views
of the Capitol's dome from many vantage points
throughout the Austin area are protected from
obscuration by state law.
San Antonio
The Alamo:Mission San Antonio de Valero,
later became famous as the Alamo, was established
in 1718, the first of five Spanish missions founded
in San Antonio to Christianize and educate resident
Indians. The church structure that stands today
in midtown was begun about 1755. Its mission role
completed, the old buildings were abandoned by
1836 when the site, by then known as the Alamo,
became the "cradle of Texas Liberty."
Rebelling against repressions of Mexico's self-proclaimed
dictator, Santa Anna, a band of 189 Texas volunteers
defied a Mexican army of thousands for 13 days
of siege (from Feb. 23 to Mar. 6). The Alamo defenders
died to the last man, among them such storied
names as William Travis, Davy Crockett, and Jim
Bowie. Cost to Mexican forces was dreadful. While
Santa Anna dictated an announcement of glorious
victory, his aide, Col. Juan Almonte, privately
noted: "One more such glorious victory and
we are finished". The finish came April 21
when Sam Houston's Texans routed the Mexican army
at the Battle of San Jacinto near Houston, and
captured "the Napoleon of the West,"
as Santa Anna billed himself.
River
Walk: In Texas,
water has been a lifeline for many generations
for centuries past. The San Antonio River is a
source of a South Texas Treasure, The San Antonio
RiverWalk. Development of San Antonio and its
most popular tourism attraction have come along
way together.
Buda
Cabela's Buda:Texas retail store is located
just off I-35 between Austin and San Antonio.
In addition to offering quality outdoor merchandise,
the 185,000 sq. ft. showroom is an educational
and entertainment attraction, featuring a décor
of museum-quality animal displays, huge aquariums
and trophy animals interacting in realistic re-creations
of their natural habitats.
Historic
Main Street:Historic
Downtown Buda is home to Antique Row, a collection
of stores and businesses catering to those hunters
of the fine antiques to the "what is that"
and items ranging from the eclectic to the elegant
can be found insuring that visitors to the area
will not be disappointed in their treasure hunting
San Marcos
Aquarena
Springs: 28
Miles south of Austin, located on the Balcones
Fault, a fracture in the earth's crust, that formed
the San Marcos springs and river millions of years
ago the amazing San Marcos Springs discharge 150-300
million gallons of water daily. Texas State University
- San Marcos purchased the aging Aquarena Springs
Resort in 1994 and began transforming the old
theme park into a non-profit nature center. Today
Aquarena Center is an environmental learning center
dedicated to protecting, conserving and educating
the public on the important role that water plays
in everyone's daily life. Spring Lake is home
to 4 endanged species who live here and no where
else in the world. This unique habitat of limestone
cleansed spring water has a constant temperature
of 72 degrees year round. The species living here
are endangered because of the growing population
of central Texas and the increased demands made
on the Edwards Aquifer. Scientists believe this
lake and river could dry up in the next 50 years
if the expected growth is followed by several
years of drought which could prevent water from
ever reaching the springs. If this happens the
endangered animals that live here would die.
San
Marcos Outlet Malls:
San Marcos is host to two full size outlet malls.
Prime
Outlets of San Marcos is the northern most
of the two malls. This summer it has embarked
on a large expansion that will add over 30 new
name brand stores. Tanger
Outlets of San Marcos on the southern side.
Tanger currently has over 100 stores.
New Braunfels
Schlitterbahn: Likely Tucked
away on the 70 mile stretch of Texas' Interstate
35 between Austin and San Antonio is one of the
- if not the - best water parks in the country,
or so it bills itself: Schlitterbahn. The unusual
name is in keeping with the theme which pervades
the rest of New Braunfels, Texas - that of a small
German hamlet. Whether any German town ever had
this much fun to offer the water enthusiast, however,
is unlikely.With 65 major water attractions ranging
from a lazy float on the Comal River to a daredevilish
slide through pitch-dark chutes, Schlitterbahn
delivers on its promise to provide at least a
full day, if not more, of top-rated water park
fun. Water rides are divided into four safety
ratings: low speed/shallow water, moderate thrill
level, aggressive ride action, and high thrill/deep
water. Key to enjoying the park is a complete
understanding of its layout, which is dived into
six areas on two disjointed properties.
Gruene:
Gruene has been designated a Historic Town by
the State of Texas. The name of the town is pronounced
like the color "Green". Henry D. Gruene, the town's
founder, originally bought land for a cotton farm
in 1872 with his father and brothers. He built
his first home in 1872 and modified it over the
years. It still stands proudly with its Victoria
galleries today as the Gruene Mansion Inn. It
is listed on the National Register of Historic
Places and is a designated Texas Historic Landmark.
