Tag: Outdoor Recreation

Escape to the Texas Hill Country for an exciting experience this summer

Indoor Glamping is just one of the many options available at JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Summer is right around the corner, and if you are looking for vacation ideas, check out what is new at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in the beautiful Texas Hill Country.

Everything is bigger in Texas, including the list of summer activities at JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa. The resort, superbly situated on 600 pristine acres of rolling hills and tree-lined vistas, offers grand views of the wide open Texas Hill Country. This iconic Lone Star retreat offers endless options of summer entertainment for guests of all ages making it a vacation standout. (JW Marriott San Antonio Country Resort & Spa, 2023)

The luxurious JW Marriott San Antonio features 1,002 newly refreshed guest rooms, a world class spa, 36-hole PGA TOUR golf facility, seven restaurant and lounge options, hiking and biking trails, sports court, Topgolf Swing Suite with a variety of virtual games for all ages, daily summer recreational activities, and more than 265,000 square feet of meeting and event space, making it one of the largest JW Marriott resorts in the world. 

The summer temperatures may be bigger in Texas, but JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa’s 9-acre River Bluff Water Experience offers an even bigger cool down –  float along the 1,100-foot lazy river, ascend the 35-foot tall Water Tower to experience the two 275-foot-long tube slides, or try the 60-foot tall body slides that soar above the Hill Country at speeds up to 20 miles-per-hour. There are plenty of pools, including a sand beach-entry pool, an activity swimming pool, a kid’s pool and an adult pool. Private cabanas at the Water Experience are available to reserve. 

Daily programmed summer recreational activities offer big fun for kids and families. Revel in the Zoomagination Wild Animal Experience, photos with a real-life longhorn, Build-A-Bear Workshop, nightly S’mores by the outdoor fire pit, outdoor movies at the pool, water balloon toss, finger painting party, face painting, balloon artist, family bingo, cookie decorating, and more. 

Did you know the Texas longhorn was designated by the state legislature as the state’s “Large Mammal” in 1995? The resort’s Longhorn Scavenger Hunt is available for children to participate in to find the eight stuffed longhorns hidden around the resort. Children are given clues to find the hiding spots, and once found, will take a picture with each longhorn and show the front desk for a tasty prize. 

JW Marriott Hill Country Resort offers guests a “Glamp in the Great Indoors” package experience which includes accommodations in a luxury suite designed to emulate an outdoor camp under the big starry night sky of Texas. This suite is a comfortable upgrade to the great outdoors with air conditioning, lots of surrounding comforts and entertainment, and mosquitos are NOT included! An indoor tent sleeps two to three people, and is outfitted with a cozy blanket, longhorn stuffed animal and sleeping bags for young glampers to take home. The Glamping Suite includes a connecting king or double queen room and features over 1,400 square feet of space, a dining table for eight people, and a small kitchenette. Guests can experience nature and make endless family memories, all while enjoying the comfort of the great indoors, room service, and perhaps a relaxing massage. The package is available for stays at the resort now through July 31, 2023, and can be booked online using the promotional code ARN. 

Adults have just as much fun as their children at JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa. Golf enthusiasts can master the sport with the 36-hole PGA TOUR golf facility, TPC San Antonio, located within the resort and featuring two golf courses exclusive to resort guests and members. Both courses have played host to PGA TOUR events with The Oaks course serving as the host venue of the PGA TOUR’s Valero Texas Open since 2010. Super Twilight golf will be available for resort guests after 4p.m. during the summer months and is $125 plus tax per player. 

Everyone deserves to be pampered during vacation. Drawing upon the vibrant spirit and traditions that have defined the Texas Hill Country for centuries, the award-winning Lantana Spa offers personalized treatments with natural elements offering a holistic approach to revive the mind, body, and spirit. 

Located less than 20 minutes from the San Antonio International Airport and 30 minutes from downtown, JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa offers authentic experiences with influences from the heritage of the Texas Hill Country and the rich culture of the dynamic city of San Antonio, to provide something for everyone for a truly Texas experience.

Tulip picking at Texas Tulips in La Vernia

texastulipsThe first official day of Spring is March 19 but flowers of all kinds have been blooming for weeks. For anyone who loves flowers and nature, there is a new tulip farm that just opened last month in La Vernia. Texas Tulips is a family-owned “you pick” tulip farm in La Vernia, TX just 30 minutes south of San Antonio. This is the ideal road trip to get some much needed fresh air, spend time with family and friends and pick your own tulips to create a custom made bouquet. There are thousands of tulips to choose from at only $2.50 a stem and the flowers are then wrapped in pretty paper and the stems are put in flower gel. Entrance fee is $5 per person. Additional information as well as farm rules and regulations are available online.

We visited the Saturday morning after Valentine’s Day to be able to spend some time outdoors and the opportunity to create our own unique bouquet. The trip there did not take long but it took awhile to find the farm since it is in the outskirts of town. They provide a basket for guests’ convenience and it comes in handy once the picking starts. There are indeed many varieties to choose from and it is impressive to see the many colors available but I was expecting the location to be bigger. It was early in the day but the crowd was already growing and while it is the picture-perfect location for Instagram worthy shots, some of the guest were trampling the greenery around the tulips and access was limited due to lingering groups. Regardless, I got to pick the colors I wanted and ended up with a small bouquet of one red, one yellow and one white tulip and took the necessary pictures to show off our visit. The return trip home took an hour and they were already wilting but once placed in a vase with fresh water and plant food, they perked right up.

The overall trip was pleasant enough to recommend it to nature lovers. A chance to pick your own bouquet is a unique experience and more people should try it. It appears to be a popular place so my advice is to go early in the day because the traffic can get overwhelming. Parking is free so the parking lot was full by the time we left and it took us twenty minutes of idling just to get to the exit. Perhaps the owners underestimated the traffic they would get because the entrance gate is only one way. Hopefully this will be fixed in the near future. One major drawback is that it is not pet friendly; it would have been nice to be able to take our dog. The primary location is in Dallas. Business hours are 10a.m. to 6p.m. seven days a week and they expect to be open through early March, depending on the weather.

Texas Tulips – San Antonio
15122 FM 775
La Vernia, TX 78121
(940) 440-0232

Texas Tulips – Dallas
10656 FM 2931
Pilot Point, TX 76258

Annual PARK(ing) Day this Friday

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The annual PARK(ing) Day event will take place this Friday September 21 on McCullough Avenue. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

In cities across America, acres of real estate are dedicated to surface parking. If those spaces could be reclaimed, how would that transform the urban experience? The local chapters of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and The American Institute of Architects (AIA San Antonio) and the McCullough Avenue Consortium are transforming curbside parking spaces into tiny parks at their annual PARK(ing) Day event on Friday, September 21 in on the 500 block of McCullough Avenue (at Avenue B) from 11a.m. until 8p.m. (McCullough Avenue Consortium, 2018)

PARK(ing) Day 2018 will pop up along the 500 block of McCullough Avenue, where talented local landscape architects and local AIA members will re-imagine six 9’ x 22’ curbside parking spaces as places for people. Participants include ASLA, Ford, Powell & Carson Architects & Planners and Lake|Flato Architects. Three additional spaces designed by members of AIA San Antonio’s 2PLP professional leadership class will demonstrate solutions for activating and greening McCullough Avenue. Two spaces, sponsored by Christian Assistance Ministries and the San Antonio River Authority, will creatively reflect the missions of their organizations.

PARK(ing) Day 2018 opens at 11a.m. on Friday, September 21 with six unique mini-parks and a Community Table where some of San Antonio’s best and brightest will gather to discuss issues facing our community, including the opportunity to revitalize McCullough Avenue. The community is invited to ‘come to the table’ and experience the transformational affect the PARK(ing) Day installations have on this normally busy street. Lunch will be offered by area food trucks.

A free Community Block Party begins at 5p.m. and will include a mobile amphitheater and three live bands. Free parking is sponsored by First Baptist Church of San Antonio. The celebration goes on until 8p.m. with a sampling of savory bites offered by area food trucks.

PARK(ing) Day and the Community Block Party are hosted by ASLA, AIA San Antonio and the McCullough Avenue Consortium with generous funding by First Baptist Church of San Antonio, Metropolitan Methodist Hospital, Christian Assistance Ministries and the San Antonio River Authority. In-kind sponsors include Centro San Antonio, CPS Energy, Gratr Landscapes and Schultz Landscapes.

“We hope that downtown workers, neighbors and all of San Antonio will join us at this one-day, free event, PARK(ing) Day is planned to be casual and fun – everyone is invited to join us during lunch or after work to see ideas for making McCullough Avenue more welcoming.” – Caleb Etheredge, ASLA South Texas Section president

PARK(ing) Day takes place annually on the third Friday in September. The event began in 2005 with one parking space. The temporary public park in San Francisco was created by Rebar, a local landscape design firm, in response to the fact that 70% of San Francisco’s downtown outdoor space was dedicated to the private vehicle. More than a decade later, their open source event has gone viral. Each year, more than 700 PARK(ing) Day events are organized in more than 150 cities across the United States and on 6 continents, in 21 countries around the world.