Originally Posted by ken4304
Have you visited San Antonio before? My roots are there as a full-time and part-time resident for over 50 years. I will email info about the Spanish colonial missions there. I would probably be available to be guide you (free, of course) if you would like.
Great call on the missions...certainly unlike anything you'd see in NZ. The Alamo is a given although it doesn't give you the flavor of some of the other missions, since it's in the middle of the city. Which mission would you recommend? Espada, with the 250-year old working aqueducts? Rancho de las Cabras?
Just down the street from the Alamo, have a drink in the bar at the Menger Hotel! It's one of the older surviving hotels in SAT. The claim to fame is, it's where (future President) Teddy Roosevelt recruited the Rough Riders during the Spanish American War of 1898.
Fredericksburg is great also. It's suprising how much German influence there was in Texas. Until the 50s, you'd be as likely to hear German spoken in church as English. There are a couple of good microbreweries for good German beer and, of course, wonderful sausages. I've never been to the wineries, but I hear they're a pleasant afternoon.
Next time you come, if you have a week, the Big Bend area (500 miles from SAT) is also beautiful for camping, rock climbing, horseback riding, and whitewater rafting, and you can also head over to Juarez (across from ELP) for a bullfight or a trip to Copper Canyon. Copper Canyon (in Mexico) is said to be more impressive than the Grand Canyon in AZ. Southwest flys between SAT and ELP; tickets should be about US$150 rountrip.
I hope you enjoy Texas, and thank you for visiting us. The part you're headed to, Austin, SAT, and the Hill Counrty, is really the part I'd recommend as leaving the most favorable impression to visitors.