Texas

San Antonio’s historic Menger Hotel, located right across the street from the Alamo, has seen its share of history since its opening in 1859. Unsurprisingly, much of the excitement has centered around the hotel bar. From its start, the cozy wood-paneled tavern has had a link with history—in 1887, Herman Kampmann, the Menger Hotel’s second owner, sent an architect to London to study the pub in the House of Lords. The Menger Bar was designed and built following the architect’s sketches.

McAllen, Texas, located on the southern tip of the Lone Star State, is a birding hotspot—it even has its own official bird, the beautiful Green Jay.

Among the area’s best spots for birding is the Quinta Mazatlan estate. One of nine World Birding Centers in the Rio Grande Valley, the estate surrounds a 1930s Spanish Revival hacienda. Special programs and events here include birding tours on the estate’s nature trails, which wind through more than 15 acres of birding habitat including native woodland and tropical landscaping. A casual walk here is liable to turn up everything from Gold-fronted Woodpeckers to the Buff-bellied Hummingbirds which are found here year-round.

It is the winter home of the only natural colony of the endangered whooping cranes in the world.  A most elegant creature, they land among wind-bent trees that dot the sand-dune covered beaches of Rockport and Fulton, Texas.  The largest bird in North America, an adult male stands five feet high and can have a […]

There are a lot of gems in the Texas Panhandle: from the world famous Big Texan, to Cadillacs embedded in the ground at the Cadillac Ranch. If you are a visitor, you may gravitate towards those sights, but I have prepared a more exclusive list of things to do based on my personal exploration of […]

Toe tappin’ music and lunchtime eateries will make your next trip to Lubbock something different than anticipated. While most university cities offer the quintessential college bar and burger experience, Lubbock goes beyond what you’d expect. Make sure you are hungry when lunchtime rolls around, because growing restless after 15 years as a stay-at-home mom, Teresa […]

San Antonio has a rich Spanish history. Its reflected in the culture, the food and yes, even at a resort. The Westin La Cantera Resort pays tribute to that Spanish history. With its high white plastered walls,  red tile roofs and limestone boulders it’s easy to imagine walking through a Spanish Colonial town. The resort […]