SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS | Camping KOA Alamo & a romantic riverboat ride downtown.

We left New Orleans early in the morning and once again traveled along the I-10 Interstate. We were on our way to TEXAS and excitable. It was one of the longest rides in-between set destinations along our trip out West. Almost eleven and a half hours on the road. The van was getting almost 17 miles to the gallon. Not bad compared to when we pulled a camper behind us in our Jeep. The further out west we got, the price of gasoline went up. This was strange to us since Texas leads the nation with its oil and gas production. I read a statistic somewhere that their oil industry provides millions of jobs for folks in Texas. So, why so expensive there?

Once we hit Texas we discovered that the sun doesn’t go down until late into the evening in the May and June months. If i’m not mistaken we had sun up to nine o’ clock and later on some nights. This allowed us to do more things before the dark came. Even after a 11.5 hour drive we were more than willing to get back on the road and head into downtown San Antonio. We chose San Antonio as a stopping point on our way to the Big Bend National Park. We specifically chose San Antonio because we had heard so much about it’s beautiful downtown area. We were told The Alamo and the downtown riverwalk was a must see when visiting the area. We only had the evening so we planned to use the late sundown to our advantage.

We checked in at the KOA Alamo campground. We liked the way it was set up. All the cabins and buildings looked brand new. There is a large playground you can’t help but take notice of when you first enter. After checking in we were escorted to our campsite. We pulled in, parked and walked straight to the bathrooms to wash up and get ready to go downtown.

We walked past many different sized campsites and took notice of all the cabins they had there. We will have to try one of their cabins out at some point in the future. They look pretty cool. We would recommend this KOA if visiting the area.

We changed out of our road clothes into something fresh and off we went. Downtown was literally less than five miles away from the KOA.

Downtown San Antonio | Riverwalk Boat Ride & $45 Crab Cakes

We drove around a few of the same blocks over and over again looking for The Alamo. We couldn’t find it even though our street maps showed us arrived. We found it after we parked. Turns out The Alamo is not as big as we imagined it would be. It was closed, we did snap a couple of pictures before we left downtown though. It was hidden by a lot of construction.

Parking was a breeze. We found a small little parking lot right across from The Alamo and a block away from a stairwell leading down into the river walk area. It was a pay to park, the van fit in a space with plenty of room on both sides, even with the hideous spare tire hanging out from the hitch.

We passed a horse and carriage with passengers on our two block walk. Down some steps and we were walking the river. This river walk is a well renowned 15-mile urban waterway. It is also called, Paseo del Rio. It is definitely a very serene and pleasant way to navigate the city. Well worth it.

We walked past numerous shops and restaurants. There are numerous stone bridges that allow you to cross over to the other side. We found the ticket counter to purchase tickets for the riverboat.

We got on our boat and began our ride. So peaceful, so relaxing. We went under bridges, saw ducks swimming by, took in the beautiful landscapes. We were surrounded by skyscraper buildings. We past a church, we past a huge statute and continued on. Shops, restaurants galore. Amy and I would catch each other’s gaze and I could tell she was having a great time, I knew I was. It can be a very romantic atmosphere. We past the mall looking area and then under some more bridges. We made some turns here and there and came through a section with a stone seated amphitheater on our left and a beautiful stage across the canal on our right. I didn’t want it to end, I would be happy to cruise all night. But…we were getting hungry and the ride did eventually come to an end.

We left our boat to take a stroll along the river. Amy told me she was hungry and we were eating someplace nice. That made me think she might already have the place we were going in mind. I had no idea. She assured me it was going to be fantastic.

We walked for a while longer. The Texas sun was finally going down, the lights along the canal were on filling the area with different soft colors. The boats continued to motor up the canal.

We went up a series of steps and then I saw it. Landry’s. Now I knew not only were we eating good, but the bill was going to be good and big as well!

Amy ordered some wine with her fish dinner and I of course had to try out my favorite seafood dish, the crab cakes.

Although the food was fantastic the service was pretty slow, but that was okay, perfection is better than a hurried plate!

Amy teased with me asking, “so are those the best crab cakes you ever had?”

I replied with a smile, “They cost forty-five bucks!”

She asked me again. I tried to keep a serious face but gave up quickly, “Yes, they actually are the best crab cakes i’ve ever had.”