We all slept well again and decided to go back to Jo's for breakfast as we had enjoyed it so much last time. (I had found a breakfast taco place online called Juan in a Million which was tempting but nobody could be bothered with a drive just for a taco).
We got muffins and cinnamon rolls again and sat chatting to a friendly couple from Austin while we ate. After breakfast, it was pack up and check out as we were heading for New Braunfels and the Guadalupe River on the way to San Antonio.
The plan for today was to go tubing as this seems to be a quintessential Hill Country summer activity. There are plenty of outfitters to chose from and we had picked Whitewater Tubing for no particular reason!
It wasn't a long drive to the Canyon Lake area and we found the Tubing place no problem. They also have an arena where they have live music - alas, nobody was playing while we were there.
We parked up and booked in - hiring 4 tubes wasn't expensive and you could choose from a 1 hour, 2 hour or 3 hour float and go as many times as you liked in one day. We picked the 2 hour and went to apply plenty of sunscreen and drop our stuff off in the car. We only had hats and bottles of water with us. You could rent an extra tube if you wanted to take a cooler with you but it was a bit early for a picnic.
You leave your car keys with the desk and then it's a short walk to the river with your tube. We don't have a waterproof camera and so there aren't any pictures which is a shame as it was really lovely. Looks like
this
Getting into the tubes was challenging but we all managed it - in the end! The water isn't deep - waist height mainly - and it flows fairly slowly. You just bob along and enjoy the sunshine and the scenery. It was pretty quiet in the morning - on a weekend afternoon it must be like being on the lazy river at Blizzard Beach in peak season!
There were a couple of rapids on our route, which were fun, and we enjoyed spotting wildlife - fish, turtles and dragonflies mainly. I did end up with a bit of tube rash on my arms from sculling to catch up with the others but the tubes are covered so you don't get hot rubber burns. Despite the sunscreen, we did all burn a little bit - you realise the bits you have missed when you are in the sun for a good couple of hours! Some doofus (Dad) didn't put cream on his legs and was rewarded with bright red thighs later on!
It was lovely and relaxing and something you'd never do in the UK alas! We got to the getting out point and climbed up a short slope to a phone where you ring the tubing company to come and collect you.
Back at the centre, we got dried and dressed and headed off for some lunch. All that sitting back and relaxing had made us pretty hungry and we all fancied a burger, so we headed for Whataburger at New Braunfels. On the way, we passed signs for Schlitterbahn, a huge water park, but decided that the tubing had been enough water action for one day!
After lunch, the next stop was San Antonio, which was a bit of a nightmare to drive into, with huge criss-crossing ring roads. However, our trusty satnav kept us on the right road and we found our hotel, the Hampton Inn at Market Square, without too much trouble.
We had a lovely room with the most enormous bed for us and a pull out bed for the kids. We were all pretty shattered and rested in the room for a while, trying to find the energy to go out. The heat and humidity had really caught up with us, so we chilled for quite a while.
We had identified a nice sounding Mexican place for an evening meal, so headed that way once we'd found some energy! The book had recommended a bar called the Ice House so we stopped off for a drink on the way. It was quite a nice area and the bar was clearly a hipster hangout, judging by the number of man-buns in evidence! We had a nice drink in the shade but it was soured by the behaviour of one of the bartenders. Paul went to get another drink and paid with a $10 dollar note. Instead of giving him his $6 dollar change, the bartender put it straight into the tips jar :angry:. Paul was unimpressed with this and asked for his change, which they had to sheepishly give him. There was no chance of any tip after that and we left soon after.
It was a short walk to Rosario's and we had a lovely meal there. The smokey salsa that came with the chips was particularly delicious and they had a great veggie selection. We split 3 meals between the 4 of us and it was just the right amount of food. Along with Gueros, this was the best Mexican food we had in Texas - it was a cut above the standard burritos etc and we all enjoyed it.
Realising we hadn't taken any pictures all day, we paused for a slightly blurry shot outside the restaurant, before the short walk back to the hotel.
We collapsed onto our ginormous bed and watched the Rangers take on the Mariners before a very restful and much needed sleep!