A Weekend in Boerne Texas

Howdy, y’all!

A few weeks ago, my husband and I spent a weekend in Boerne, Texas for the wedding of one of my cousins. We met up with my brother and extended family for the nupitals which were held in this small town close to San Antonio, and the time away—59 hours to be precise—was an infrequent kid free weekend for us.

A kid free weekend meant that we did all the things that we never do when traveling with our son and daughter:

We slept past 6 AM.
We took an afternoon nap.
We caught up on our reading.
We had long, leisurely conversations about adult topics.

We didn’t go a children’s museum, watch cartoons, talk about Harry Potter, referee an explosion of sibling rivalry, or answer Star Wars trivia. We missed our kids, but, wow, those 59 hours were great.

The thing I love most about travel is determining what I want to do when. Not every person visits the same place and has the same experience. That makes travel exciting—your trip is all yours.

The wedding and associated gatherings were held in Boerne (pronounced Burn-ey), which is about 30 minutes from the San Antonio airport. In the area, you can find vineyards and antiquing; you can also have the quintessential Texas experience by shopping for cowboy gear or visiting a ranch. We, however, focused on catching up (it had been too long since I had last seen my brother) and eating.

Boerne, despite its small size, is home to some good eating establishments, and we tried three of them:

  • Little Gretel – This part of Texas was settled by German immigrants, and, as a result, authentic German cuisine can be found. We lunched at Little Gretel, sitting on its patio in the warm sun, partaking of their pretzel appetizer, crisp white wine, bratwurst, sauerkraut, and schnitzel. Yum.
  • Cypress Grille – This restaurant had been recommended by three of my relatives, so we headed there for dinner on Saturday night, only to face a long wait (it’s that popular). Fortunately, a table opened up in the bar, and we had one of those meals when everyone left pleased with their selections (no menu envy here!), with brother remarking how good his dinner was for hours.
  • Dodging Duck – Since the weather in Texas in April is enjoyable—warm and sunny but not yet oppressive—we again chose a spot where we could sit outside, across the street from Boerne’s own river walk. We ate standard pub food here—salads, burgers, fish tacos; the meal was tasty, the service friendly and welcoming.

There’s more to do in Boerne than just eat! Since the weather was so lovely, before my cousin’s wedding, we walked through the Cibolo Nature Center, a quiet spot where we could appreciate Texas nature up close.

boerne texas

Cibolo Nature Center, Boerne, Texas

We ventured outside of Boerne to see San Antonio’s River Walk, which, on the Saturday afternoon we arrived, was filled with families and groups of friends, enjoying river boat cruises and people watching. A popular destination in San Antonio, the River Walk is home to parades, parties, and restaurants, making it popular with out of town visitors and locals alike.

boerne

We clean up nice!

A confession: We never made it to Alamo! We tried to get there, but our efforts were stymied by a traffic jam and street closings for a fiesta that drew thousands of people to San Antonio. These traffic woes put our GPS in a tailspin and sent us almost to Oklahoma. We’ll see the Alamo next time we’re in Texas—kid free or not.

Disclosures: None; I just wanted to tell you about my trip!

2 Comments
  1. May 14, 2015
    • May 14, 2015