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(Revisit) Season 3 - The Texas Exploration Challenge
129 Plays6 months ago
Welcome to the Lone Star State, where an unforgettable journey awaits across the vast and diverse landscapes of Texas! Envision yourself delving into the heart of charming towns, immersing yourself in a vibrant arts scene, and savoring Texas's finest local flavors. Don't miss out on dynamic spots like Lake Travis and South Padre Island, where a fusion of rich history and modern allure creates an electrifying atmosphere. Texas encapsulates a broad spectrum, from the bustling urban energy of cities to serene coastal getaways, ensuring an adventure-filled expedition. Get ready for exhilarating experiences, whether you're unwinding along the shores of Galveston or exploring the historic streets of San Antonio. With every mile, you'll uncover more of Texas's captivating culture, breathtaking landscapes, and remarkable stories. This road trip is poised to be a gateway to timeless memories, embracing the unique essence that Texas cherishes dearly.
And for the ultimate insider's guide to your Texas adventure, head over to OnlyInYourState – your adventure headquarters!
Essential Texas Road Trip Stops We Cover This Episode:
1. The Big Bend Ghost Town, Terlingua
2. The Marfa Lights, Marfa
3. Jacob's Well, Wimberley
4. Fredericksburg, TX
5. Hill Country (wine)
6. Congress Bridge (bats) - Austin
7. Blue Lagoon Huntsville
8. Casa de Luz
9. Rockport-Fulton Beach
10. Devil’s Sinkhole
11. The National Museum of Funeral History
12. Fort Worth
13. The Sixth Floor Museum
14. Guadalupe Mountains National Park
15. San Antonio
Podcast Timestamps:
[00:02:20] Kicking off some interesting TX facts.
[00:07:00] Where are we stopping in Texas first?
[00:23:15] A little bit of Texas history thrown in the mix.
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Get In Touch!
If you have personal experiences with any of the attractions mentioned above, call or text 805-298-1420! We’d love to hear your thoughts on these essential Texas places and maybe even share your clip on the show! You can also reach out to us via email at [email protected].
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Transcript
Introduction to the Podcast
00:00:06
Speaker
This is Not Your Average Bucket List by Only In Your State, a podcast about exploring the hidden gems right in your own backyard. Hey, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Not Your Average Bucket List by Only In Your State. My name is Marissa. I'm here with my co-host, Sarah. Hi, Sarah. Hello, Marissa. How are you? Good. How are you doing today?
00:00:32
Speaker
I'm great. It's snowing. It's cold. It's very winter. Yeah. Snow? Yeah, actual snow. Wow. Do you like snow? I'm a huge fan of it. I do. I do. Growing up, I ... Maybe not growing up. There was a time in my life where I was very frustrated by the snow, but then I realized there's no bad weather, only bad clothes.
00:00:53
Speaker
So once I started investing in the things you need and like getting an all-road drive vehicle and things like that, I like it a lot more. Changes seasons is nice. Like I miss that whenever I didn't have it. Yeah, I agree with that. I love snow. I love bundling up.
00:01:10
Speaker
The only thing that I really couldn't stand about snow is having to defrost your car and heat up your car for you. Yeah. All that, but I don't have that problem. Also, every year, everyone forgets how to drive in the snow, it seems. That first couple of days, it's always really dodgy because people are just sliding everywhere. Yeah, that's true. That's right. If you were in New Jersey, I'm sure you got some snow.
00:01:36
Speaker
Yeah, yes, I do miss it. I like going back to visit and just kind of like, you know, being in it for a little while, but...
00:01:44
Speaker
Yeah, I know. But then check it out. We're going back to the beach. I get it. Yeah, exactly. Yes. I'm like, Oh, okay. I remember why I love this.
Exploring Texas: An Overview
00:01:55
Speaker
So today it's our last episode of season three, and we're focusing on Texas. And we've given Texas some attention in the past with our small town getaway season when we highlighted Fredericksburg. So I think this is going to be a fun episode.
00:02:13
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, there's a lot. I mean, it's a big state, a lot of different things to do. It's really cool. Yeah.
Unique Texas Facts
00:02:20
Speaker
So we're kicking it off as we have this whole season with some fun facts, weird facts, hopefully the weirdest you've ever heard. Hopefully dairy based again. That was great.
00:02:31
Speaker
Yeah, we've had some really interesting facts, I think, throughout the season. So I have three. Okay. Yeah, pick it off. Okay, cool. So first, this one is, I had no idea, the world's smallest active volcano is in Texas. Really? Where? So it's located near Rock Springs, and it's only 40 feet wide at the top. Just a little guy.
00:03:00
Speaker
Yeah, well, actually, it drops down 350 feet. And it's called the Devil's Sinkhole. So a little bit eerie. Okay, just like coming across that being like, Oh, cool, 40 feet. And then you go down and you're just like, funny enough, I was gonna talk about the Devil's Sinkhole.
Hidalgo and the Killer Bee Legend
00:03:22
Speaker
I didn't realize it was an active volcano.
00:03:26
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Well, we're gonna swing back up to it. Yeah, cool. Okay. Yeah. Good. Do you have any fun facts, weird facts? I do. Did you know that the killer bee capital of the world is in Texas?
00:03:43
Speaker
Wow. Hidalgo. Where is it? Hidalgo, Texas. They have the largest killer bee statue in the world as well because, you know, why not? Got to support the moniker. So basically, Hidalgo is the spot allegedly where killer bees were first introduced to the US ecosystem. So it claims it
00:04:04
Speaker
maybe they were hailed from Brazil, but were brought across country lines through Mexico in an effort to like, oh, we want to make our domestic bees more, you know, more productive and get better yield. And so they just made angrier bees. So yeah, Southern Texas is specifically Hidalgo. We're trying to crossbreed their honeybees and ended up with killer bees. So
00:04:29
Speaker
Good on that. I was going to say they leaned into that. They did something. Okay, cool. My other fun weird fact is in 2005, the town of Clark, Texas changed its name to Dish after the satellite TV provider and residents got free basic television service for 10 years.
00:04:55
Speaker
That's it, 10 years of life. If I'm living in a dish, I should be getting it, right? Yes, 100%. Yes. Wow. Okay, cool. So I have one final fact too. I thought that was interesting. Do you know the slogan, don't mess with Texas?
00:05:13
Speaker
Yeah, it was actually created its origin was for an anti littering campaign. So it's kind of wholesome. Like I always read it as something like
The 'Don't Mess with Texas' Campaign
00:05:21
Speaker
somewhat aggressive and like, yeah, politically charged. But no, it was because they wanted to stop people from littering. So they're like, don't mess with Texas. $100 fine. Oh, wow. That is really good to know.
00:05:34
Speaker
Yeah. So it's like, don't mess with Texas, quote unquote. Yeah, I like it. From that, like, I'm like, yeah, we're proud of where we are. There's some wordplay going on. No one likes littering. Yeah. No. Great. Oh, actually, I didn't know that. So that really loves learning new things. Yeah.
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Personal Texas Travel Stories
00:07:01
Speaker
Cool. So let's kick off this episode of Texas because I'm sure we have a lot to cover. And I've spent a lot of time in Texas. I actually lived there for a while. You spent time in Texas also, right? Driving through it, not actually, well, I have been to like San Antonio and Dallas and stuff, but it's not like I've lived there. But I have experienced Texas before.
00:07:25
Speaker
Yeah. I feel like I really enjoyed living there. I still love Texas. I think I haven't explored as much of it as I would have liked, but I've been to the major cities and then just traveling south actually. One of my favorite national parks is there.
00:07:45
Speaker
And I love going west where there's nothing. Just like beautiful, but nothing out there. It is so eerie. Like once it is past dusk and you're just driving through Texas, I start to get a little itchy. You know what I mean? Like, oh, if I broke down, I'm screwed. Yeah. It's not great.
00:08:04
Speaker
So I also grew up being terrified of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and that I think I know. Yeah, the original one too, which I think is very scary, but
00:08:18
Speaker
But yeah, so I don't know if you want to kick us off with your first stop on our Texas essentials list.
Natural Wonders: Devil's Sinkhole
00:08:25
Speaker
Yeah, so why don't we talk about devil sinkhole you got me interested now because mice. It's obviously we not professional researchers necessarily just professional travel enthusiasts.
00:08:36
Speaker
So it was interesting to me that you said it was a volcano because Devil's Sinkhole in Rock Springs is a really famous natural spot that people go to photograph. There's like 300, 400 feet deep, as you said, and there's a state natural area surrounding it. And basically, it was
00:08:58
Speaker
So, I mean, I need to really double check this because I'm seeing like water erosion, but maybe they're talking about the sinkhole was created by volcano in a bigger cavern, kind of like extended because of water erosion. However, if you want to see bats, which there are apparently quite a few places to see wild bat colonies in Texas, you can go to double sinkhole. Evening bat flight tours are offered in the summer and
00:09:24
Speaker
guided nature hikes are also available, which I would suggest because this place is big and gorgeous and eerie. And yeah, you don't want to just fall into a big hole in the ground. So yeah, take the tour. Comment, write in, phone in. I'm very curious about the origin of the Devil's Sinkhole because
00:09:43
Speaker
It's really cool to look at. It's I mean, it's like one of those like I know like Thunder Hole and Maine and then there's there's also one in Oregon that's like by the you know what I'm talking about the one that's by the coast. It's a giant hole and you can see like the waves come in.
00:09:58
Speaker
Yes. That was that was a punch ball. Punch ball. Yes. I think it's that devil's punch ball. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. One of the places obviously we're talking about it so you should go see yourself is devil's and coal. Cool. Yeah. That's a good one.
Swimming at Jacob's Well
00:10:18
Speaker
I'm gonna just going off of that there's another natural spot that could you do you know if you could swim in devil's and coal?
00:10:27
Speaker
Um, I do not know. I want to say yes.
00:10:34
Speaker
Maybe during certain times. You might need to get a permit or something because it's one of those places where it's probably more dangerous than it seems. It's beautiful, but don't climb on the rocks and fall in and then have to get rescued. I love the sleeping bear dunes sign. Don't go to the bottom. You have to pay $3,000 if you can't walk back up, so know that. Oh my God. Wow. Well, so this is Jacob's Well in Wimberley. This is definitely a place that you can swim, and it's a natural artisan spring.
00:11:04
Speaker
And this one, I feel like tops every list that we have on Only In Your State for Texas Natural Attractions. It's gorgeous, yeah. Yeah, it's absolutely beautiful. It's almost like has a mystical quality to it where, you know, I think anything that is in the ground that we don't really have too much information on in terms of
00:11:30
Speaker
like how it came to be or depth or I mean, I know this one in particular has different underwater passages, which is just very creepy.
00:11:38
Speaker
For people to dive down, I don't know why I find it creepy. I'm sure some people find it fascinating, but yeah, so Jacob's Well, we're going to add this one onto the list because I feel like it's a must visit. For anybody that wants to swim, I mean, Texas gets hot, so if it's climbing up into the hundreds, go cool off at a really stunning underwater cave system and swimming hole.
00:12:03
Speaker
Yeah, and don't get overwhelmed. I don't think you're going to get like stuck in the cave. It is very beautiful. You can pull a me and just like sit on the outside, maybe put your feet in a little bit. Don't really venture in and then you're safe. Yeah, it's true. So I'm going to, I think I'm going to switch to something else where you can also enjoy some swimming. And that would be at the Rockport Fulton beach. And this is along the Gulf coast and it is
00:12:27
Speaker
I mean, there are so many beautiful places you can visit down there, so like Galveston and South Padre Island, but if the National Seashore is in your vibe and you're looking for like maybe, it seems like to have, Rockport has this like almost like artsy family friendly vibe and like the beaches look really beautiful. I don't know, have you been there before?
00:12:46
Speaker
Okay. So there is a festival scene there. It has like a really artistic downtown. You can go birding there. So it's not just like a beach only vibe. And so it also has the biggest, the world's largest blue crab statue. The big blue crab, if you want to go visit, it looks terrifying to be honest, but it's huge.
00:13:10
Speaker
But also, I know I talked about an oak tree last time. Apparently, I just love them. But you can visit this tree, which is in which is in Rockport as well. And it was named the Texas State Champion Virginia Live Oak in 1969 and retain that title into 2003, when another oak in Texas took the largest oak
00:13:30
Speaker
title, not sure where it stacks up to the Angel Oak and where we were just, South Carolina, but it's also very, very big and beautiful. So if you're going to have a little beach vacation, go down to Rockport, check out the art scene, visit the pristine just blue water beach, and then go check out the big tree. Cool.
00:13:51
Speaker
Wow. It sounds like a fun weekend getaway.
Bat Watching at Congress Avenue Bridge
00:13:56
Speaker
Okay. So moving on, I know we mentioned bats and I would hate to get through an entire podcast episode about Texas and not talk about bats some more. You got to talk about the bats. So in Austin, Texas, you have to go to the Congress Avenue bridge at sunset.
00:14:13
Speaker
From March to November, this is a specific time that you can go. When the sun is setting, there will be millions of Mexican free-tailed bats that come from the bridge, and it's like this beautiful, natural showcasing of what wildlife is about. I feel like that
00:14:34
Speaker
You know, you hear them kind of chirping at first underneath the bridge and then all of a sudden they start coming out in waves and it's literally just blankets of just black dots in the sky and they're all just going out there to start their nightly hunt of eating bugs.
00:14:53
Speaker
That's awesome. I would love to see that. I would also love to take my mother there to see it too because she terrified of bats. So I grew up in the country when he had a security light. So there'll always be bugs by the security lights. Bats, you know, hunting their bugs and stuff. But it was one of those things where she could be a football field away just like ducking in cover like, oh no, they're going to get in my hair.
00:15:16
Speaker
They can swoop. They can swoop pretty low too. Yeah, but the goal is the bug. It's not attacking humans to make vampires or anything.
00:15:27
Speaker
What a bad rap to have as a bat. Just doing your thing, helping the environment, one less mosquito, but then people just lump you in with vampires. Yeah. I will say, in all of wildlife, I've always been surprised by how uniquely shaped the bat's faces are. Not like the flying fox or the fruit bats, but the ones that just have
00:15:54
Speaker
You know, it's like the like the star mole rat going on. Like, what is this and why? How is this helpful? It's terrifying. If I saw one, it could be the most harmless thing. I would just run screaming. No offense bats if you're listening. Yeah, it's just I don't know.
00:16:10
Speaker
I feel like I find them adorable and I don't know. Have you seen the video of the old fruit bat that can't fly anymore but people take it on flies around? Yes. Those are the kinds of stories I like. That's the news I follow. Right? And then I'm just like tearing up like, I hope he's enjoying this. But while we're on the topic of, oh, go ahead.
00:16:36
Speaker
No, I was just going to say go to Texas and see the bats. That's just a huge highlight. Batty for Texas. That's a new state slogan. You're welcome. So while we're talking about Austin, I also want to mention, I mean, there's so many amazing things to do in Austin, but I want to make sure people remember like Austin is weird and lovely and you should enjoy those weird, lovely parts of Austin. In addition to the tech scene, the music scene, the bat scene,
00:17:00
Speaker
So, they have places like the Museum of the Weird, Cathedral of Junk, Uncommon Objects, and just way more.
Austin's Quirky Attractions
00:17:08
Speaker
Like, you could go to Austin with the, like, a weekend itinerary of just hitting all the weirdest, like, oddity shops, and you would just have fun. And then go see live music and bats at night. I think that's the perfect trip. Yeah. No, that's why I loved Austin, is that there's so much to do.
00:17:26
Speaker
I do have one more place in Austin that I wanted to mention just because this was one of my favorite restaurants when I lived there. I think it's so different and unique. It's a place called Casa de Luz.
00:17:41
Speaker
focus solely on organic plant-based meals, but it's cafeteria style and People can volunteer to cook there and you could just be on the team of cooks and they just make big batch really really healthy food a lot of like Ayurvedic foods and They use only locally sourced ingredients and you can go and and pay
00:18:05
Speaker
one flat rate and get a soup, a salad, a little bit of an entree. They have these really great teas too that they all make in-house. It's in a holistic wellness center, really, really beautiful place. You can sit outside and just eat and sip some teas that you won't normally find. They brew their own
00:18:27
Speaker
medicinal teas, which I think is very cool. I talked about that maybe last day. Yeah, yeah. Okay. I wanted to throw that in the mix. Yeah, there's a lot of great places there. I want to go back so badly. Even though I love that. I know we talked about before, but like Rainy Street and all the weird like little bars there and like the shipping container bar and anyway, it's just it's a neat place to go out.
00:18:52
Speaker
So next I'm going to talk about, since we, you already maybe mentioned it, but was the National Park, the Guadalupe Mountains National Park that you love or is it another one? No. Okay, great. So yeah. So what was the one that you would recommend just to add it to the list?
00:19:09
Speaker
It's Big Bend National Park. Yeah, we'll circle back to that because you have some. Yeah, okay. So Guadalupe Mountains National Park, it is in the desert out in western Texas, and it's known for its salt dunes, its grasslands, reef mountains with fossils in them. And I just thought it was worth mentioning because it's a national park. I didn't even
00:19:32
Speaker
like I wasn't aware it existed. So until I looked and I'm like wow this is really just a fascinating national park to where you can go on really really strenuous hikes like the Guadalupe Peak Trail is a six to eight hour hike that's very you know very difficult but it has some amazing views but then you can also take like a half mile hike or maybe not half mile but the Manzanita Spring Trail and see equally lovely views and just enjoy it. So
00:19:59
Speaker
I wanted to suggest this national park just because I felt like I haven't heard of it before and it seemed like a great place to go. That sounds cool. I think the most surprising thing for me about Texas is how many pockets of just like natural beauty there are. I wasn't expecting that. I don't know why. It is so big, so just like mind bogglingly big.
00:20:23
Speaker
whenever you're driving through it. I've experienced all levels of weather driving through Texas, you know what I mean? Like you go from the desert and then there was like flooding and rain and I had to pull off the side of the road and then I went a little further and the next morning there was an ice warning and schools were canceled for snow. I'm like, what is happening? There's a lot going on. So yeah, Texas is big.
Big Bend and Terlingua
00:20:45
Speaker
Yeah, yes. All right, so I'll throw in Big Bend National Park on this next one. And this is kind of a double because I want to talk about Big Bend, but I also want to talk about the ghost town right outside of it, Turlingua.
00:21:01
Speaker
which always got to throw a ghost town in there. And so Big Bend, it's my favorite national park just because it's at kind of the southern end-ish of Texas. And it is just absolutely beautiful. What separates the park, you have Mexico just right across the river, the Rio Grande.
00:21:25
Speaker
But what was so cool about Big Bend is that there are so many different, I guess I want to say landscapes, but also like climate differentials because the park is so big. So you have basically the desert where you can go in the desert and go by the Rio Grande and
00:21:42
Speaker
all this hiking and just desert landscape, beautiful, beautiful sunsets and stars. And then you drive a little ways and you go up and another aspect of the park are the mountains. So it's completely forested, there are pine trees.
00:21:59
Speaker
It's just two completely different places rolled into one, which I think is wonderful. I love that so much. Different biomes, honestly. Yes, yes. Even just driving through California recently, I forgot how that is. You're driving, and then 10 minutes later, you're in a forest, and 10 minutes later, back in the desert. Yeah. That's cool.
00:22:17
Speaker
Yeah so outside of Big Ben there's a ghost town called Terlingua and it was once a mining town that was bustling, it was packed and now it's completely abandoned. There are ruins, adobe ruins that you can go.
00:22:33
Speaker
and a lot of grave sites too. But also people come and they kind of decorate it a little bit. There's a lot of Mexican heritage there that I think is really pretty. So yeah, recommend going to Terlingua. Have you ever been?
00:22:53
Speaker
Yeah. Nice. Nice. Yeah. I came across that in my list and didn't realize that you were also research, researching because yeah, it's like, it's located very close to the national park, but it's like this strange little like almost roadside attraction. I see that they even have, they might like do horseback tours and things like that. And like really play into the ghost town of the West sort of thing. So, um, yeah, I would love to go explore. Yeah, it is really cool.
The National Museum of Funeral History
00:23:19
Speaker
Okay, so now I am going to talk about the National Museum of Funeral History in Houston.
00:23:29
Speaker
So it is it's one of those places that yes it is morbid and it's you know could be triggering for some people to visit but also I think it's just a fascinating subject matter you know it just basically contains a collection all dedicated to educating the public about um death care and the process and how you know how it was happened across the world and in the past and how
00:23:54
Speaker
like different funeral service items were developed throughout history and things like that. So there are permanent exhibits there, there are rotating exhibits. You can learn about hearses, caskets, coffins, like the funerals of the presidents and popes. And I saw that there was like a exhibit on Japanese funerals. So it's like something you can learn a lot about, like how they preserve the bodies, what different cultures do and how they kind of like go through the whole ritual.
00:24:21
Speaker
And so yeah, there's a lot of cultural heritage to learn about in this museum, but it also looks like they put on some really interesting events too. Like I saw they had a Christmas one coming up and so it's, yeah, it's one of those, I love like oddity museums, I think it's just fascinating. So if you're ever near Houston, the National Museum of Funeral History,
00:24:45
Speaker
That's really cool. That's a really cool unique find. I feel like I never would have expected something like that to exist. It's almost like a mini archaeology museum or something. You know what I mean? Very cool. Awesome. OK, so I'm going to jump into Marfa, Texas.
The Mystery of Marfa Lights
00:25:11
Speaker
which a little town that is famous for its mysterious and unexplained lights, the Marfa lights, which that's kind of how people hear about the weird things of Marfa, but it's also a very creative and artistic town and it's had this resurgence in the past probably two decades.
00:25:33
Speaker
But the Marfa lights is reason enough to go. It's like this inexplicable phenomena that people have guessed. Is it atmospheric reflections? Are they car headlights in the distance? Is it something otherworldly? Nobody really can put a finger on it.
00:25:52
Speaker
You can go to the specific place that Marfa will direct you as you're going into town, where you can look into the desert night sky and see the Marfa lights for yourself and kind of form your own opinion. Wow, so people can see them that often. Yeah, every night, pretty much, as long as- Really? Yeah. Have you seen them? Yes. What does it look like? What's the experience?
00:26:17
Speaker
Um, so it's, I do think it might be more in the headlight realm. Um, but it's just, you're looking into the distance and you kind of see these, it is just floating orbs of light. Oh, okay. So like there's an optical illusion or? Yes. Yes. Yeah. It's probably a combination of like the atmospheric reflections and car headlights combined, but, uh, still worth going and checking out. I think it's really neat. I love things like that.
00:26:46
Speaker
Or maybe really consistent aliens. That's just got to appreciate. Anything that is maybe paranormal or interesting to see like the Northern Lights, which I still haven't seen with my own eyes yet. But I think that yeah, it's breathtaking in a way that's different than big trees or big canyons. So that's a really cool mention.
00:27:09
Speaker
So next I am going to talk about just a city in general, but some spots to talk to
Fort Worth: Stockyards and Zoo
00:27:17
Speaker
stop in the city. So I have two of these on my list, but Fort Worth, which I didn't realize that it had the biggest population gain in 2022 of all American cities. So it's like a fast growing city, but still has sort of like these smaller, um, smaller town vibes. Like I know that they share like the, um,
00:27:36
Speaker
Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, and it's near some bigger cities. So I just have a feeling like, as you know, especially during the pandemic, and as different generations come up, they kind of claim new areas of the state and city. So I think that's, you know, just a fast growing city. And you should go to the stockyards, which these historic Western stockyards feature the only twice daily cattle drive, I think,
00:27:59
Speaker
Definitely in the US, maybe in the world. So if you want to see what a cattle drive is like, you can go to the stockyards. But it's also a historic district that has a lot of businesses and bars and restaurants you can just go through and just see kind of like old school Texas.
00:28:14
Speaker
like downtown district. And there's also this water garden feature that is just like really pretty. It was built in the 70s and it's on the south end of downtown Fort Worth that I thought was just a really cool fountain that people should stop by. And also people rave about the Fort Worth Zoo. I'm not a huge zoo person myself, but it's like ranked like number five in the nation or something like that. So it probably is worth checking out.
00:28:38
Speaker
It's probably huge, I would assume, if it's in Texas. Yes. Cool. Neat. Okay, so Fort Worth. You said the stockyards? The Fort Worth stockyards, yeah. Okay, that's like the historic area, like downtown area? Yeah. Okay, cool. Neat. All right, cool. So I know that we've kind of mentioned this before, and we talked about Fredericksburg in our Small Town Getaways episode, but
00:29:08
Speaker
I wanted to also throw into this episode Texas Hill Country, specifically the wine and the vineyards because it just fascinates me that Texas has a wine scene as big as it does. I wouldn't have expected wine to grow in Texas successfully, but it does.
00:29:30
Speaker
There's a huge wine scene with tons of vineyards. And so Texas Hill Country, if you want to drink some wine in Texas, they have wineries that offer tasting specifically of two different varietals, the Tempranillo and the Vanier.
00:29:50
Speaker
Yeah, I'm not sure. So yeah, basically warm days and cool nights are what create an ideal environment for wine to thrive and Hill Country has that. So you can go rent an Airbnb, get a hotel and do one of the vineyard tours, which you can have somebody else drive, which is the best part of wine tasting and hop on a shuttle and go around to different vineyards and kind of taste and have a good time.
00:30:16
Speaker
I was so shocked by how big of a wine scene there is in texas because if you were to approach previous me and ask like hey what's the biggest wine region in the u.s i'd be like oh i know oregon california maybe somewhere in new york but no there's a huge one in texas and it does seem to be packed all together near a bunch of really cute towns and places so yes pleasant surprise
00:30:39
Speaker
Okay, did you want to also talk about Fredericksburg or since it's kind of related? Yeah, I didn't want to dive too deep. Maybe I can just direct people to our other episode, Small Town Getaways in the show notes. But yes, we featured Fredericksburg and I think we each created our own itineraries, what to do in Fredericksburg when you visit.
00:31:07
Speaker
Because there's a lot to do in Fredericksburg. It's a very charming small town, has a lot of German heritage and boutiques, galleries, restaurants. There are museums in the area.
00:31:22
Speaker
Yeah, so very cute small town that you'll get to or pass through when you're going to Hill Country, Texas Hill Country. I feel like if you're going on a wine tour, you're probably going to pass by Fredericksburg 10 different times. But yeah, so it's definitely worth visiting if you're in there for the wine. OK.
00:31:39
Speaker
Just wanna make sure. So, let's see, I have two left. First, I want to talk about the sixth floor museum. And this is located within the former Texas School Book Depository building. So you probably know where I'm going with this, but it is dedicated to the legacy and the assassination of JFK.
00:32:03
Speaker
So the school book depository is where, you know, he's a lot of really assassinated shot from and that's why they're I only say allegedly because it used to be a little conspiracy theorist, but that's fine. We're not digging into that. But so, yeah, it was
00:32:20
Speaker
You can just learn all about the assassination. There are items related to it, talking about the global and local aftermath and just what happened in the 1960s after. I know that obviously I did not live through that, but I have lived through a lot of big cultural changes. But it's kind of shocking, too, to think that, you know, just one day people woke up and was like, ah, our president was assassinated. And just how that really impacted the day to day, you know. Yeah. No, that's true.
00:32:50
Speaker
Sitting in the corner of Texas hill country having some wine and just trying to trying to ground so Yeah, yeah, I think it's just a really fascinating history and if you are into you know What happened that day and you don't know like how things progress during the motorcade and all that stuff It's somewhere you can learn about what went down. So yeah, the sixth floor Museum in Dallas
00:33:14
Speaker
I didn't even know that existed.
JFK's Legacy at the Sixth Floor Museum
00:33:16
Speaker
I just started watching this new, they just came out with a new series. I don't remember what it's on, but it's about just the assassination and everything. A lot of things I didn't know because obviously, like you said, we didn't really grow up in that time, but very fascinating to learn about still today.
00:33:36
Speaker
like the man on the hill in the magic bullet and the umbrellas and like the Zapruder films or isn't no is that something else so but still like they have all the yeah yeah no very fascinating um all right cool so yeah that do you have any more on your list that you want to talk about
00:33:54
Speaker
So I did have one final talent mention and I know we've spoken about this before not only I don't know It might have been during one of our best things to do during the season and that is san antonio um Because not only does it have the iconic river walk to where you can just like really enjoy The lights and the the bars and restaurants are along the river, but there's also um, the buckhorn saloon in texas ranger museum, which is just I think the oldest running saloon in texas and it has
00:34:25
Speaker
an animal collection, a cafe, a gift shop. It's just sort of like a big attraction. And I feel like if you're in Texas, you can go to this like classic Texan place. And then also there's the natural bridge caverns and the natural bridge zoo. The caverns are the largest commercial caverns in Texas. And the name is pulled from the giant 60 foot limestone slab bridge that spans the caves entrance.
00:34:51
Speaker
So, it's just something which I wouldn't be surprised if there are some bats that come out every night just because, you know, bat country. And then also, yeah, it's just like a great town to visit. And I feel like, one, Texas is so huge. You have to hit a lot of these different ones to really get a feel, but I wanted to make sure I mentioned it because I personally really enjoyed it. But, yeah. I think that's about it though.
00:35:15
Speaker
Yeah, that's a good way to kind of close off. Also, just to let people know that I feel like San Antonio I think is about 45 minutes from Austin, which is like two and a half hours from Houston and then three hours roughly. Everything, all these major cities are drivable. They're just like clustered down in like the southeast corner. So yeah, if you wanted to make a big trip of it, you absolutely good.
00:35:39
Speaker
Yeah, and we're going to have a map that we have added all the places we've talked about today plus a whole bunch more. We're going to have it in our article, companion article, put it in the show notes. And this map you can basically add or whatever stops you want, but we are creating this map specifically for you guys to turn into a road trip. So yeah, hopefully you do and customize it.
00:36:07
Speaker
Sarah's also creating playlists per state, so that's always road trip essential in my book. Yeah. I did want to note that I go through and block, so shuffle the playlists. I think you're going to get a better experience instead of just going through a whole list of, I haven't done Texas yet, so I don't know who I'm going to have on there, but mix it up. Cool.
00:36:32
Speaker
And yeah, so this pretty much wraps up our season of the exploration challenge. Yeah. Do you have any places that we talked about this season that maybe were a favorite or like stood out to you? Oh, man. Let me think. Honestly. Can you hear me?
00:37:06
Speaker
Uh-oh. Can you hear me? Yes. Okay. Now we can. When did you stop hearing me?
00:37:14
Speaker
Uh, just now when I was like doing this and I was like, I can't hear you. Oh, okay. Cause I don't remember anyway. Um,
Season Reflections and State Highlights
00:37:23
Speaker
okay. What I was going to say was, uh, New Jersey. I feel like I got really excited about New Jersey. I haven't spent a lot of time in there and I felt like, I don't know. We chatted about some really cool places. I want to go get that pizza. Um, yeah. Yeah. I always have fun talking about New Jersey. Um,
00:37:43
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know why, too. I think Florida was fun for me, obviously, because I live here. But we started the season, believe it or not, back in August, talking about Ohio. And that was a good one that I really enjoyed.
00:37:55
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. Honestly, we had a lot of really great spots and it's not that I wouldn't want to continue this season, but I feel like there are just so many more places in the US that we want to cover. We might rethink about how we want to approach it, but yeah, the season was great. Yeah, it was. Yeah, so everybody listening, we're going to take a couple of weeks off for the holiday and then we're going to come back with season four
00:38:22
Speaker
which right now it's a mystery surprise. So, yeah. If you guys reach out to us, contact us if you have any suggestions for a season, because we would love to hear from you.
00:38:34
Speaker
Um, yeah. Yeah. And if you haven't already, please, uh, join one of our state Facebook pages. So only in your state is our national page, but also you can join only in Ohio, only in New Jersey, only in Florida. And that is where we post our prompts for what are the best things to do in the state. Um, ask for photos, pictures, all the stuff. So make sure you join our social communities and stay in touch as we get ready for the next season.
00:39:07
Speaker
Only In Your State is an award-winning travel publisher that uncovers hidden gems and local favorites across the U.S. We have a presence in all 50 states with a passionate following of fellow travelers looking to get out and explore. Head on over to onlyinyourstate.com to find the best attractions in your backyard and beyond.