Hi! My husband and I are taking a mini-vacation to San Antonio this weekend. We will be staying at the Hyatt Wild Oak Ranch. I have reserved a rental car during our stay. I%26#39;ve never been to San Antonio so I would like to get tips from the locals to make our visit enjoyable. What should we do other than visiting the Alamo and Riverwalk? Is it a good idea to rent a car? We are low-key but fun loving couple. Any advice would be highly appreciated! Thanks!
Staying @ Hyatt Wild Oak Ranch this weekend...
What types of activities are you looking for?
Live music would be on the top of my list for evening activities. Live music in San Antonio benefits greatly by being close to Austin the self proclaimed ';live music capital of the world.'; We%26#39;re definitely spoiled here getting regional and national acts wanting to fill out their tour with a date in San Antonio before or after playing Austin. There are many great, intimate venues booking great music.
Casbeers http://www.casbeers.com/ is a soulful, kitschy little (about 100 seats) spot with great food (enchiladas and burgers.) They have live music every night they%26#39;re open. On Tuesday and Wednesday nights there%26#39;s no cover. They book so many great acts. I%26#39;ve been less than 20 feet away from legends like Pinetop Perkins, Gatemouth Brown, Dave Alvin, the Subdudes and so many more. It%26#39;s one of our very favorite spots.
Luna http://www.lunalive.com/ is a little more upscale, listening room with a romantic ambiance. Music tends to be on the jazz side of things, but they book all kinds so check the schedule.
Sam%26#39;s Burger Joint http://www.samsburgerjoint.com/ books all sorts of music from Punk to Blues to Singer/Songwriters to Swing to Poetry Slam. They%26#39;re currently hosting the San Antonio Blues Society%26#39;s Blues Jam on Thursday nights. It%26#39;s hard to beat the full bar, burgers, and eclectic mix of clientele.
There are also several great institutions, aka dance halls. A quick drive to Helotes about 20 miles north towards Bandera gets you to John T Floores Country Store http://www.liveatfloores.com/ an authentic Texas dance hall. The sign outside says, ';Willie Nelson Live Every Saturday Nite.'; While those days are from a bygone era, you can still see him a few times a year along with the likes of Charlie Robison, Lyle Lovett, Jack Ingram. About a 30 minute drive up I-35 just past New Braunfels is Gruene Hall http:// www.gruenehall.com/ It%26#39;s Texas%26#39; oldest dance hall and a destination unto itself. Along with legendary music there%26#39;s great shopping, restaurants, the Guadalupe River , and a cool music store, Lone Star Music http://www.lonestarmusic.com/index.asp
We also have some cool Radio stations. In New Braunfels there%26#39;s KNBT 92.1 http://www.knbtfm.com/ an Americana station. Here in town we%26#39;re blessed with KSYM 90.1, San Antonio College%26#39;s radio station. I love their Third Coast Music Network program http://www.accd.edu/tcmn/ (They have a great links page too.)
A great source for up-to-date music information is the Express News%26#39; Weekender, it%26#39;s published every Friday and many of the articles are available at their website http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/
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