Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2018 i Texas Highways Magazine

THE BEST DESTINATION CITIES give travelers a distinct feeling that can only be experienced by walking their streets. A visit to a city as rich in culture, colorful in personality, and as central to Texas history as San Antonio is uniquely satisfying. With the city pu_ing nishing touches on plans for unprecedented celebrations in honor of its tricentennial year—plans that have been underway since 2015— the Alamo City will sparkle like never before in 2018. Events Editor Jane Murray visited the Tricentennial Commission o.ces that sit above Centro des Artes in San Antonio’s Market Square last August to research our cover story: “Even the Tricentennial o.ces re.ect the colorful culture we all know and love about San Antonio— walls painted orange, blue, green, pink, purple, and yellow; always ready for…

WHILE GOURMET COFFEE ON MADISON Avenue in New York City may sell for $24 a serving, you can sip a similar cup for $2 in the Eastland County town of Cisco at Waverly’s Coffee & Gifts, a cozy refuge in the center of this newly percolating community. “There are New York, Seattle, and Austin coffee shops. We are a Texas coffee shop,” says proprietor Sean Grose, who started a new life here in 2012 with his wife and daughter. Waverly’s isn’t the only reason to investigate Sean’s adopted hometown. “Cisco is kind of having a boom,” says John Williamson, innkeeper of Log Cabin Guest Haus. From the 19th-century two-story cabin he and his wife, Mary Kay, moved from Pennsylvania to the front yard of their restored Victorian home, visitors can…

FOR MOST OF US, IT WOULDN’T OCCUR TO DRIVEout to a town’s airport just to eat. But then again, most towns don’t have an airport café as enjoyable as the Hangar 6 Air Cafe in Uvalde. Longtime aviation veteran Mark Huffstutler and his son-in-law Eric Reyes launched Hangar 6 Air Cafe at Uvalde’s Garner Field Airport in July 2016, and the restaurant’s charm, nostalgia, and “just plane good” food attract pilots and drivers from near and far. Pilots enjoy flying in for Hangar 6’s version of the so-called “$100 hamburger.” Burgers don’t actually cost a C-note, but come free to pilots who purchase $100 of airplane fuel at the Uvalde Flight Center gas station. It’s a new twist on a time-honored practice among pilots, some of whom will fly across…

Before 1500 Prior to the arrival of the first European explorers, indigenous peoples, including the Payaya, a Coahuiltecan tribe, inhabit the area of present-day San Antonio, calling their village Yanaguana. For thousands of years, hunters and gatherers favor this slice of land for its rich soil, warm climate, and prevalent game and fishing. 1691 On June 13, the feast day of St. Anthony of Padua, a group of Spanish explorers and missionaries come across a Native American settlement along the banks of the present-day San Antonio River. Father Damian Massanet names both the place and river “San Antonio” in honor of St. Anthony. 1718 On May 1, Spanish Franciscan Friar Antonio Olivares founds the Mission San Antonio de Valero, now commonly known as the Alamo. Four days later, the Presidio…

VISIT SAN ANTONIO No Texas travel bucket list would be complete without a visit to the Alamo City. With its historic missions, 15-mile River Walk, and dynamic art and dining scenes, there’s no shortage of reasons to plan a San Antonio vacation. But in 2018, all of this is turned up a notch as the city celebrates its tricentennial. Special events, commemorative art exhibitions, and celebrations abound. For more on all the festivities, see our feature on Page 32. visitsanantonio.com/300 2 Enjoy the great outdoors at a state park Hike, camp, fish, bike, swim, canoe… or chill out in a hammock and listen to birdsong. No matt er what floats your boat, Texas state parks are calling your name in 2018. Thanks to state legislation passed in 2015 that designated…

We hope our “18 Trips for 2018” feature (page 46) inspires you to travel to our suggested destinations. We’d love to hear from readers who use our story as their guide. Please send your memories and photos to letters@texashighways.com and we might spotlight your journey on our social media channels. MLK DAY Visit texashighways.com to read about the biggest parades and festivals in the state celebrating the life and legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. during the weekend of Jan. 15. FOLLOW US! Don’t let your Texas travel inspiration end once you finish an issue—follow us @texashighwayson Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep the wanderlust going all month long. EVENTS CALENDAR At texashighways.com/events we’ve curated comprehensive statewide listings of events ranging from festivals to craft fairs to…

WHEN THAT ROAD-TRIP ITCH NEEDS scratching, I can always count on one friend to join me: my big mutt Max. He won’t beg off due to work commitments, because he’s too tired, or because he doesn’t have anything to wear. I never hear whining about where I want to go, either, because anyplace with me suits him just fine. Max and I have enjoyed travels everywhere from urban jaunts like downtown San Antonio to the remote reaches of Hill Country State Natural Area. At the former, he gave the hotel housekeeper a bit of a start, and in the latter, a snake gave us the start, but all in all, we have a blast. A few simple rules help make road trips fun for humans and canines. We “stay” at…

JANUARY’S TRAVEL SPOTLIGHT San Antonio Cocktail Conference FOR FIVE DAYS IN JANUARY, in the recuperative lull between New Year’s and Valentine’s Day, San Antonio hosts a smashing soirée that both raises money for children’s charities and celebrates the craft cocktail movement. Founded by Mark Bohanon (whose namesake steakhouse may be the swankiest spot in San Antonio to sip a daiquiri) and the late Sasha Petraske (the bartender widely credited with kickstarting the modern cocktail revival), the conference (Jan. 10-14) makes it easy to duck in for a quick nip of cocktail culture or stay for a weekend-long eye-opener. The conference sells individual tickets to seminars, tastings, and events, so you can join in on a little, or a lot. sanantoniococktailconference.com Want more? Go to the Events Calendar at texashighways.com. BIG…

CHARLEY PRIDE MOVED TO DALLAS FOR THE SAME REASONS that people have flocked to the city for generations: He was chasing a dream, and Big D provided easy airport access. That was in 1969, when Pride’s fledgling career in country music was gaining altitude. RCA had recently signed him to a contract—the first such opportunity for an African American country singer with a major label—and his single “Just Between You and Me” was soaring at the top of the country charts. With a busy schedule of concerts across the nation, Pride found that Montana, where his young family had lived for about 10 years, was too remote to sustain his career. Charley Pride has never been one to sit idly by when his dreams are at stake. One of 11…

THE NARROW HILL COUNTRY ROAD DROPS TOWARDa low bridge over a small creek. I coast on my bicycle, faster than I ever have before, scanning the pavement in front of me for potholes, tires humming, the wind blowing in my face. It feels exhilarating. I zip across the bridge and make it halfway up the short ascent before losing momentum. My guide, Rob Adams, waits for me at the top of the hill. “Just a few more miles,” he says with an ever-present smile. No one would mistake me for a serious cyclist. But I love the outdoors and the Hill Country, and I’m geffing a full serving of both on this outing custom-designed for me by Texas Bike Tours. Over the course of the day, I ride about 25…

Three hundred years ago— before Davy Crockett became a household name, before the Chili Queens served hearty bowls of red on San Antonio’s Military Plaza, and long before Fiesta San Antonio became an annual 11-day party att racting some 3.5 million visitors to the Alamo City—Spanish missionaries founded Mission San Antonio de Valero, best known these days as the Alamo. May 1, 1718: It’s the moment in San Antonio’s long, convoluted history the city points to as its founding. It’s also the focal point of this year’s San Antonio Tricentennial celebration, a 12-month spotlight on the details that make this vibrant city so special to so many. (See sidebar on page 44.) Today, millions of tourists head to San Antonio to see the Alamo up-close before they discover the city’s…

Perfectly Pleasant MOUNT PLEASANT, in the northeast corner of Texas, combines history, unexpected cuisine, and beautiful scenery that go together just like iced tea, sugar, and lemon. It’s a small town that exudes Southern charm and hospitality but isn’t afraid to add in a dash of fun and whimsy. 8:30 A.M. My first stop was Laura’s Cheesecake, a bakery where it’s more than acceptable to eat dessert first thing in the morning. So, of course, I opted for the “breakfast cheesecake.” I ordered an “Elvis Style” slice that came spread with peanut butter and honey, and stacked high with bananas and bacon. It was delicious. And since it had bananas, I considered it a healthy start to the day. 9:30 A.M. After breakfast, while strolling around the Titus County Courthouse,…

WHAT: JAPANESE TEA GARDEN WHERE: 3853 N. SAINT MARY’S ST., SAN ANTONIO WHEN: YEAR-ROUND San Antonio’s Japanese Tea Garden—once an abandoned rock quarry—stands today as a lush landscape with limestone bridges, ponds filled with Japanese koi, a Japanese pagoda-style pavilion, a café, and a 60-foot waterfall. But one element confuses most visitors upon arrival: Its beautifully carved entrance sign reads “Chinese Tea Garden.” In 1917, City Parks Commissioner Ray Lambert led the quarry’s transformation into this Japanese-style sunken garden. In 1926, the city invited Kimi Eizo Jingu—a Japanese- American artist and U.S. Army veteran—and his family to move in as caretakers. But after the attack of Pearl Harbor in 1941, anti-Japanese sentiment gripped the country; the city evicted the Jingus, renamed the property, and erected its new sign. In 1983,…