Renting a house in San Antonio 4/15-20, hoping for a side day trip to
Austin within those dates. Have never been and taking daughter and
2 granddaughters (9 & 13). House has a pool. We'll have a rental car,
but public transportation is just a block away, downtown SA about 6 miles.

I am open to any and all suggestions - hate hearing "we're bored", which
you know will be heard anyway.

Good you will have car, as public transport in SA is quite lousy. Six miles from downtown likely puts you in the midst of suburban sprawl. Pool may or may not be a viable option those dates depending on weather (unless it is heated, of course.) What are your/daughter's/ kids' interests?

You are here during Fiesta, which beginning this year has been expanded from 10 days to 17 (April 10-27.) If you have not previously experienced Fiesta, it's sort of like a more family style Mardi Gras - all the beer but less T&A. You can see what events are on during your dates at this site

As for driving to Austin - why? Anything in particular you want to see/do? The drive itself is not pleasant given the snarly traffic up IH35, even without the inevitable construction delay, and legendarily bad in Austin itself. Allow at least 90 minutes, quite possibly longer, each way. Unless there is something specific you have in mind, you might have more fun someplace like Gruene - info here

You can find out the exact route of the public transportation that is a block away here http://www.viainfo.net/BusService/Schedules.aspx - unless there is a direct route to where you want to go downtown, it will waste a ton of time. Outside of downtown or direct buses to downtown you should just drive. If you want to go to Austin, I would leave San Antonio by 5 AM or after 9 AM and don't try to return before about 7 PM.

Good information for me. Pool is heated. Austin sounds like a bust then,
I thought maybe an interesting museum maybe?

I've read about Gruene and Schlitterbahn sounds fun too - though Schlitt
will only be partially open at that time. The girls love animals and we once
took them to a goat farm where they milked goats and made cheese - they were thrilled. Of course the Alamo and though I have heard "Missions" were a good - I have no idea what they are and what to do at a Mission.

Girls are that inbetween age where nothing much grabs their attention for more than 5 minutes...too young for some things, too old for others. Are there any caverns - they have never been in one.

We adults like an interesting museum, and not overly priced antiques. Bite my tongue - not into western themed things, and not crazy about Tex-Mex food. A good antiques or thrift fair or store. Deco to Mid-Century furniture. Of course the Riverwalk would be a must.

I'll read up on the Fiesta.

Looks like dates will be there are not conducive with Fiesta activities
except for the Sculpture Art Fair.

http://www.naturalbridgecaverns.com/...%29/Index.aspx is very well developed and on the way to Gruene, New Braunfels, or even Austin.
http://www.cavewithoutaname.com/ is also an excellent cavern and has a very nice 'off-the-beaten-path' feel. It could also work its way into a day trip to Fredericksburg http://www.fredericksburgtexas-online.com/

Why don't you try Austin on Saturday the 19th? I used to live in Austin and made the drive to SA a few times. As said above, I wouldn't try it during the week unless you love sitting in traffic. Just try to take off early Saturday morning around 8 or so and head back in the evening.

I would head over to the UT campus if you want to go to a museum. The Blanton is on the south end of campus and the Bullock State History Museum might be interesting. There are a couple of cool restaurants on Lady Bird Lake that would be cool. Mozart's is a cool coffee/specialty desert place off of Lake Austin Blvd, it's west of downtown. Their deserts are awesome and it's right on the water which might be fun. I'd check out some stores/restaurants on South Congress as well, Hopdoddy, Homeslice, etc.

There's really not many "western" themed things around downtown SA and absolutely none in Austin. Tex-mex, well that's SA's bread and butter so that may be a little difficult to avoid. No offense to the SA members here, but I would do SA in a day and Austin for the week.

Super, thanks for all the help everyone.

Definitely avoid Austin during Rush hour on weekdays. Traffic on 35 can be miserable. If you can visit on a weekend, downtown Austin is worth the day trip.

Now I'm in charge of finding a nice steakhouse - good steaks but not the prices
of Ruth Chris. Someplace in San Antonio. Thanks.

Consider Texas Roadhouse. There are several locations in SA and it is my go to place for reliably great food at a good price. $12-$25 for a good steak, depending on the cut. Plus free rolls with delicious honey cinnamon butter and free peanuts!

Try Barn Door or Josephine Street for more affordable options.

If going pricey, Bohanan's, Perry's and Fleming's are all excellent.

Great! Read about Cappy's - what about it?

Cappy's is good but on the pricier side. Wouldn't recommend if you're willing to pay a lot for a steak. Some of their seafood is very good though.

Cappycino's, it's more-casual sister restaurant, does a pretty good burger. Good whiskey selection too.