New Orleans is awesome.....even now. Great food, and always a good time. Still, I'm surprised no one mentioned this place: http://www.fredericksburgtexas.com/dining.html
New Orleans is a nice little drive though, more like 5 to 6 hrs, just in case clutch is trying to stay in the 2-3 hr limit. new orleans is close but its not that close, it basically the halfway point between here and atlanta, and thinking about it like that, it isn't that close.
My family is planning a summer trip to Galveston to try out thr new Schlitterbahn park. We'll be spending 2 days there and probably one day at NASA or at Moody Gardens.
Ok, I finally have time to post about this. If you and the others haven't been to Galveston, then that is definitely the place to go for 1-2 days of family fun. First, food-wise: Plenty of extensive food selections here. I like Gaidos on Seawall Blvd. But that's mainly due to always going there as a child. The food is still very good, although no longer spectacular. They do a good job of handling kids for an upscale restaurant. http://www.galveston.com/gaidos/restaraunts.html Now, if the kid's enjoyment is more important than the food itself, the Rainforest Cafe is an awesome experience for the tykes. They even have a volcano that goes off every 15 minutes on the outside. http://www.rainforestcafe.com/ Food on the Strand tends to be better these days. Just about every culinary selection can be found over there. However, when I'm in Galveston, I have seafood on the brain, so I'll suggest either Fisherman's Wharf or Saltwater Grill. Both are excellent. (and, yes, I know Fisherman's wharf is Landry's. So is Vic and Anthony's. I thought the food was excellent ) http://www.galveston.com/landrys/ http://www.galveston.com/saltwatergrill/ Second - Entertainment: This is one of the best places to go if you only have a couple of days. First - Shlitterbahn's Grand opening is this week, and it will be open every weekend from now on. That should be fun. http://www.schlitterbahn.com/gal/default.asp Second - Moody Gardens. A ton of stuff to do there, as well. Definitely more appropriate if you have kids, however. They just opened a Spongebob "4-D" event there that is supposed to be really cool. Plus they have a humongous aquarium pyramid, and an even larger rainforest pyramid. They also put in a Discovery pyramid. I went once with my girlfriend, and we had a blast. http://www.moodygardens.com/ Third - The Strand. I don't care who you are. If you've ever enjoyed history, then this is the place to go. They have a really nice railroad museum, lots of unique shopping areas and Col. Bubbies for the guys when the women need to be left alone. (trust me. Bubbies is really a cool place for memoribilia. I heard this is THE place Hollywood goes to when they're recreating Army movies) http://www.thestrand.com/ http://www.galvestonrrmuseum.com/ http://www.colbubbie.com/ And, as always, you have the beach and the ocean. BUT even if the women go "ewww!" when they see the beach. (which I doubt. Most women are pleasantly surprised when they get there) But if they are, you still get the sea air and breeze at night, which is definitely a truly romantic experience. http://www.galveston.com/ Third - for places to stay: If you can do the homework, I suggest seeing about a vacant beach house. That's my personal preference. www.sandnsea.com However, if you're looking for something this weekend, or you just prefer a hotel, my recommendation would be the San Luis Resort, the Hotel Galvez, or the Harbor House. The San Luis and the Galvez are Beachfront, while Harbor House is on the Strand. (of the three, Harbor house is the most romantic, San Luis is the best with kids.) http://www.harborhousepier21.com/ http://www.sanluisresort.com/ http://www.galveston.com/galvez/ Of course, you can always stay at less expensive places, as well. But those would be my choices. Probably all are $80-140/night. Anyway, those are my thoughts.
Quick followup on Fatty's post (since it has to do with food)... If you're a fan of Tex-Mex (specifically Nachos), you won't regret going to Salsa's on the Seawall and ordering their "dirty nachos"...the best nachos I have EVER had. Oh, make sure to tell them to get everything on the side with your order. The nachos are huge and they're yum-yum tasty...and only $7-$8 per order. OK, I just talked myself into paying a little visit to Galveston once springbreak is over...
Just got back from san antonio, the place is much more lively than houston... first time i been there in like 10 years. Its a really nice town. Lots of stuff to do, not enough time.
Thanks all (Fatty - wow!) for the help on this .... this gave me some very good ideas. I'll let you know when I try out some of these places.
i like showing people from out of town that Houston can be entertaining! BTW, I was down there today. I forgot about The Elissa, which is an historical clipper ship on the Strand that is open to tours, as well as a couple of historical Mansions that survived the Great Storm of 1900. (also open to tours) Both are on Broadway. And there is also an historical museum on the Strand with a history of The Great Storm, as well.
