Places to travel in Texas within 250 miles of Corpus Christi

1. Delta Kappa Gamma has a passion for travel! MAKING MEMORIES CLOSER TO HOME- Summer Travel Tips for Destinations Near Corpus Christi Presented by Angela Steagall April 5, 2011

2. PORT ARANSAS Rent a room or condo Try deep sea fishing or horseback riding. St. Joe Island for shelling Little Chapel on the Hill, hosted by the Port A Museum

3. Pearl Brewery Complex Farmer’s Market Culinary Institute Of AmericaThe La Gloria Ice House-Mexican street foodsTienda de CocinaMuseum ReachHavana Riverwalk Inn Club Cohiba

4. Travel the Mission Trail Alamo Concepcion Espada- most primitive San Juan San Jose- most elegant- has a Mariachi Mass at noon on Sundays

5. Alamo Heights/281 up Broadway- San Antonio Museum of Art-Rockefeller Center for Latin American Art Breckenridge Park and Zoo Japanese Tea Garden McNay Art Museum Botanical Gardens Quarry and North Star Mall Alamo Café for great fajitas and warm, fluffy tortillas.

6. River Walk Food Walk- People watch! Ask for an outdoor table if you can. You don’t have to have an entire meal on the Riverwalk to enjoy it.

7. El Mercado- Museo Alameda- www.thealameda.org- is the first Smithsonian-affiliated museum outside of Washington DC. Pick up a fruit cup from a vendor. El Mercado Mi Tierra-mariachis and pan dulce!

8. Bulverde- Guadalupe River State Park Good facilities Nature photography Outdoor cooking Swim, tube, skip rocks, tan, float….

9. Hill Country Wonders- Try Natural Bridge Caverns north of San Antonio @IH 35. Next, try Wonder World Park and Cave in San Marcos- www.wonderworldpark.com- home of the Texas Blind Salamander.

10. Hill Country Splashdown Schlitterbahn Go tubing at LandaPark in New Braunfels Kayak the river in San Marcos. San Marcos Aquarena Springs- Glass Bottom Boat Tour

11. Old Baldy/Prayer Mountain- San Marcos 218 steps to see the valley-from RR 2325, turn North onto Woodcreek Road, right on El Camino Real-wind through the neighborhood, right at LaToya Trail. Go till you are at the foot of Old Baldy.

12. Wimberley- Over 100 little shops and eateries in the square. Hit Blue Hole- a pristine oasis for swimming beneath towering cypress trees. Drive Devil’s Backbone-RM 12 south of town.

13. Burnet- Longhorn Caverns State Park Be warned-the drive to get here is not for the faint of heart.

14. Hamilton Pool and Grotto-

15. Spicewood (off Hwy 71 West) is Krause Springs

16. Odd and Offbeat Austin- Congress Street Bats at Dusk- 1.5 million bats Visit South Congress Avenue. People watch. Shop. Zen Japanese Food Fast for good teriyaki bowls. Trythe food trucks at 1603 S. Congress. Try on costumes at Lucy in Disguise.

17. Bob Bullock Museum of Texas History

18. State Capitol Building Take a free tour of the capitol. Make sure you stand in the center of the Rotunda and clap to hear the echo, sing “Deep in the Heart of Texas” and take a picture of the whole inner rotunda. Finish up with barbecue at Iron Works BBQ at 100 Red River or Stubbs BBQ Downtown.

19. Mount Bonnell- This is not the place to go if you do not enjoy driving in steep hilly conditions, but the view is a great payoff! You will see all of Lake Austin from up high!

20. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center MoPacat LaCrosse- has a 42-ft tower to make beautiful photos. Idea gardens for homeowners and walking trails make this place relaxing.

21. At Sixth Street and Lamar- Book People Waterloo Records Amy’s Ice Cream Whole Foods Lulu B’s is a Vietnamese fast food trailer under a giant oak- 2113 South Lamar- YUM. Gordough’s- Fat doughnuts $4 each- 1219 S. Lamar- Try the Black Out!

22. Around the World Food Tour of Austin- Try out the food trucks- you will not be sorry!

23. Have your own barbecue tasting contest. Luling at the City Market BBQ- 633 Davis- Tiny Vintage Houses on I 10 near Luling at exit 628 (www.tinytexashouses.com ) Lockhart -Kreuz Meat Market US183 just north of town And Smitty’s at 208 S. Commerce

24. Camp out in really cool cabins and make your own barbecue. Bastrop State Park (www.tpwd.state.tx.us/bastrop has beautiful old stone and wood cabins.Linens are provided and there is a pool, golf course, canoe rentals and trails for walking and cycling.

25. It Seems Like India- The 5000-5900 blocks of Hillcroft are known as Little India, which is close to Harwin.

26. Faux China- Bellaire Boulevard, which runs east off of Hwy 59 South, is Houston’s Chinatown.

27. Vintage Houston- The Heights Nineteenth Street for shopping- Stop by Bayou Bend, the Museum of Fine Arts on the estate of the late Ima Hogg on 14 acres of gardens. It is located in River Oaks off Memorial Drive at 1 Wescott Street. March is azalea time. www.mfah.org/bayoubend

28. Rice Village Food Tour- Choose your favorite kinds of food and let the party begin. A word to the wise: just get one appetizer and split it amongst the people in your party. You are going for tastes and not to fill up. Drink water to avoid extra costs.

29. Book Crawl You’ve heard of a pub crawl… why not a book crawl? Try to hit all of the bookstores in Houston! My favorites are Half Price Books (there are NINE), but Houston has a few that are special to the city.

30. General Websites to Help You Find Places of Interest: http://family.go.com/travel/vacations/texas/for-children http://www.trekaroo.com/places/texas/snapshot http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest

31. Inexpensive Hotel Rooms: www.priceline.com Name Your Own Price-Choose an area you want and the highest star level possible. Figure out what the going rate is in that area then lowball your bid. Try about 50%-60% off when you are booking earlier, but you can go as low as $50 a night when it is the night before. This is for $200 and $300 a night rooms…. If your bid is not accepted, you have to change the area or the star level. It is fine to go down one star level, but if it still doesn’t take your bid, close out and wait 24 hours to start over.