| Austin, the Capitol City
Browsing in Historic Boerne
Caverns and Gruene
Fredericksburg and the Wine Country
German Heritage
Hill Country Adventure
San Antonio by Water and by Land
Solamente San Antonio
Treasures and Traditions
Austin, the Capitol City
 Austin is one of the busiest and loveliest cities in the Lone Star State. Over 50,000 students are enrolled at the University and people come from all over the world to tour, among other things, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library. Drive by the Governor's Mansion. The 35+ families who pioneered, persevered, laughed, cried, gave birth, and died within its walls have preserved the house forever as a wellspring of Texas history. Tour the State Capital Building – The Capital opened in May 1888 after the first wooden building burned in 1881. Tour the LBJ Library and Museum – This facility houses over 36 million personal and official documents and historical and cultural exhibits. Stop at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum! The $80 million facility in downtown Austin is a showcase for "The Story of Texas" and, of course, it takes a Texas sized museum to tell it! The museum is a trove of Texas treasures offering a marvelous setting for the interested tourist.
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Browsing in Historic Boerne
German settlers, searching for a bountiful water supply and fertile soil, first settled here nearly 150 years. Situated along the banks of Cibolo Creek, south of the Guadalupe River and northwest of the Comal River, the settlement was named in honor of a radical German idealist, Ludvig Boerne. Boerne relishes its German heritage and takes pride in its past. Of the ten homes built by 1858, five are still in existence today! Shopping in Boerne is an experience. Within a three-block walk, you will find unlimited treasures and unusual finds - the joy of the true browser. Many of the shops are cooperatives with as many as 30 dealers displaying in one building. For collectibles and antiques of every kind, make sure to visit the Boerne Emporium, an old general store and boarding house that has been turned into a maze of shops and stalls. Anything the collector desires can be found in Boerne!
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Caverns and Gruene
Our first stop is the Natural Bridge Caverns, named for the 60-foot natural limestone bridge that spans its entrance. This is a living cavern – the constant drip of water you will find throughout the Caverns means the many formations are still changing. Except for the lights and smooth walkways, you will see this underground wonder much as its discoverers did in 1960! Guests will then have time to shop the numerous shops in Gruene, which sell everything from antiques and regional wines, to functional pottery and fly tackle. The first settlers in the area now known as Gruene were German farmers who arrived in Texas in the mid-1840's. We can't bypass the oldest dance hall in Texas, Gruene Hall. Many famous music stars began their careers here, including George Strait and Lyle Lovett. The hall has also been the site of numerous music videos, live recordings, album covers, national advertisements and the great John Travolta dance scene in the 1996 movie "Michael".
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Fredericksburg and the Wine Country
 Fredericksburg, settled over 150 years ago by German immigrants, is located in the heart of the beautiful Texas Hill Country. With wide streets lined with picturesque homes and buildings that Old World charm still exists. Fredericksburg is home to numerous natural and historical parks, and its historic district provides guests with a view into her past. Fredericksburg's quaint shops have something for every taste. We continue to one of the area wineries for a tour and tasting of the many award-winning Texas wines. This viticulture area of Texas is set at an elevation of nearly 2,000 feet and has a moderate climate for fruit production. The soils are distinctively high in minerals, with all the elements to assure production of quality wines.
German Heritage
 This tour takes us approximately 40 minutes North of San Antonio to the picturesque German community of New Braunfels, founded in the mid-1800's by Prince Carl Solms. First, we will tour the Sophienburg Museum, which is like walking through the pages of history. We continue to the town that time forgot, Gruene (pronounced "Green"), a small Texas town founded in the mid-1800's. Its architecture still reflects the vision of H. D. Gruene. Today Gruene's surviving structures are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Your guests will have time to shop the numerous shops selling everything from antiques and regional wines, to functional pottery and fly tackle. We can't bypass the oldest dance hall in Texas, Gruene Hall, where many famous music stars began their careers, including George Strait and Lyle Lovett. The hall has also been the site of numerous music videos, live recordings, album covers, national advertisements and the great John Travolta dance scene in the 1996 movie Michael.
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Hill Country Adventure
 This tour will take guests to the Lyndon B. Johnson State Historical Park, which honors a native Texan who achieved the nation's highest office. Bus tours of the LBJ Ranch are conducted by the National Park Service and start at the State Park Visitor Center. The tours pass by the one-room Junction School first attended by the four-year-old Lyndon B. Johnson in 1912 and stop by his reconstructed birthplace and the nearby Johnson family cemetery where the former President is buried. Tours also go throughout the working LBJ Ranch where cattle are still raised. Fredericksburg, settled over 150 years ago by German immigrants, is our next stop. With wide streets lined with picturesque homes and buildings that Old World charm still exists. Fredericksburg's quaint shops have something for every taste.
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San Antonio by Water and by Land
 Guests will board barges for a ride on the Paseo Del Rio - The pride of the city! Lush, green subtropical foliage lines the banks of the peaceful river and threads its way through the city one level below the busy streets. Barges will stop and guests will disembark and stroll to the Alamo - A visit to Texas would not be complete without a stop at the Alamo - the most famous spot in Texas where all 189 defenders fell on March 6, 1836, after 13 days of repeated attacks by Mexican General Santa Anna's Army of 4,000 men. After the tour of the Alamo, guests will board waiting transportation for the short trip to El Mercado - known to our city as the Mexican Market. The more than 125 shops offer everything from the smart to the exotic - pottery, piñatas, dresses, jewelry, blankets and art. El Mercado attracts visitors and locals alike with its shopping, dining and entertainment. The final stop will be at the Buckhorn Saloon & Museum, which is a safari to the far corners of the world with more than 3,500 wildlife trophies exhibited in their native habitat. There is also the Hall of Fins and Hall of Feathers featuring a wide variety of Texas fish and fowl.
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Solamente San Antonio
 First, we will drive by the complex known worldwide as "The Alamo". On March 6, 1836, the death of the Alamo Defenders has come to symbolize courage and sacrifice for the cause of Liberty. Next, we will tour Mission San José. The "Queen of the Missions" was the largest of the missions in the area. We will then return and tour the most widely known of the San Antonio missions, San Antonio de Valero, commonly called the Alamo. It was well over 100 years old when it became the focal point for the Battle of the Alamo. We continue to Market Square. Known as El Mercado by the locals, it captures San Antonio's Mexican and Hispanic heritages. Its two blocks of shops are filled with everything from piñatas and pottery to colorful clothing and onyx carvings to metal work, woven baskets and blankets. Our next stop is revered as the oldest cathedral sanctuary in the United States, the San Fernando Cathedral. The grounds of this beautiful cathedral have seen an abundance of historical happenings. This tour also includes a drive by the Spanish Governor's Palace, a simple structure from the 1700's, now equipped with period furnishings. We continue to the historic King William District, the most elegant residential area in the city in the 1800's. We will walk a short distance to visit the only house in the District open to the public – the Steves Homestead. Centrally located in the elite old German residential section on the banks of the San Antonio River, in the King William Historic District. Edward Steves who immigrated to Texas in 1848 and later founded the Steves Lumber Company built this lovely restored home in 1876. We will enjoy a visit to the elegant Guenther House - The elegant home of the founding family of the Pioneer Flour Mills - still an active San Antonio business. Located on a bend of the San Antonio River in one of the oldest registered historic districts in Texas, King William, this stately home was built in 1860's by Carl Hilmar Guenther.
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Treasures and Traditions
 Artisans' Alley - Nestled in the trees and tucked away in the northern part of San Antonio is a magical and marvelous little shopping mall, Artisans' Alley! It is a maze of twenty-two wonderful specialty shops with a delightful tearoom, all of which has been designed with remnants from turn of the century buildings. We will then head to one of the most popular attractions in the Garden Ridge area, the lovely Bracken Village, a village that time forgot. A wonderful collection of masterfully restored homes, the village hosts a large variety of gift shops and eating establishments. The developer of the village has done an exquisite job of restoring this historic collection of homes on the property.
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