Browse around on Airbnb for Hill Country or even cites with a lake (Lake Conroe, Lake Mcqueeney, ect.) and find something for probably a fraction of that and you will have a nice weekend getaway. We booked one back in November but as a group. There were 8 of us and we got a really nice place in Seguin that accommodated all of us and had lots to do: large jaccuzi, horseshoes, a small creek with canoes, fire pits. It was on a large property and was extremely affordable. We payed like 2,000 dollars total for 2 nights, 3 days and split that between all of us.
Wimberly is awesome and affordable. I went there for a weekend, did a zip-line, floated the river, and stayed in a bed and breakfast on a hill with a beautiful view.
Make reservations at Eculent and rent a beach house on Crystal beach for the weekend. Get to Eculent around 6:00 pm on a Friday/Saturday, enjoy a beautiful-unique dinner til around 11:00, then drive down to Crystal beach where your house awaits. Enjoy a couple of glasses of wine on the beach as the waves roll in under the moonlight. Next day go to the tiki hut and eat some seafood and drink some beers. They have bands that play every now and again. Then relax on the beach some more. Just take advantage of the weather right now.
August/September gives you and your wife enough time to sign up for a few big credit card bonus offers and meet the minimum spend to get the huge sign up bonuses. If you do it right, you can fly anywhere you want in North America and stay at a 5-star hotel for free. Spend the $1,000 on food/entertainment.
I did the same with United Mileage card. I spent 3k within 3 months and received enough mileage to fly to hawaii for 40 bucks only.
