We decided to take a little trip during our Thanksgiving break. We knew our time in Texas would be drawing to a close very soon and we hadn't had the opportunity to get over to San Antonio yet. We visited there when Brenna was just a baby and she doesn't remember it now. So we packed up and headed to the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort for a few days of taking in the tourist sights. The resort was all decorated and ready for Christmas. The front entrance had large ornaments hanging from the pavilion, the lobby was decked with Christmas trees, and the back outdoor patio was covered in the Christmas light displayed called Light Up the Night.
We checked into our room which was on the top floor of the back of the resort and had a beautiful view of the grounds and Christmas lights. I snapped a few pictures from the balcony and then we headed downstairs to have dinner at a restaurant in the lobby. After dinner we walked through the Christmas lights set to music and then headed back up to the room to unpack and settle in for the night. After we'd unpacked and I had run a full bath and was just getting ready to soak, we hit a snag. Our room had a murphy bed in the living room that was meant to be Brenna's bed. She was super excited about this because she'd never seen a murphy bed before. Unfortunately, when we pulled the bed down, the bottom fell out! We called housekeeping. They called engineering and an hour later after multiple visitors they determined we had to be relocated because it would take too long to make the repair. So, we packed up again and started all over. We were relocated to the same kind of room on a lower floor just off the lobby, which I liked better because things were much more convenient and there was never a wait for an elevator. The next morning we discovered that rather than a balcony we had a very large patio overlooking the beautifully courtyard of the resort. So despite the rough start, I was very pleased with the adjustment and the resort even comped us one night for the troubles!
Our first morning we headed over to Natural Bridge Caverns. Brenna has never been inside any of the caverns and she was excited to see how things looked underground. Despite the chilly weather outside, it was very warm in the caves and we all had to start shedding layers before we reached the end. At its deepest point we reached 180 feet below ground. The path was a tight squeeze in some places and the rock formations were intriguing. They even had the caves decorated for Christmas with twinkle lights lining the tunnel leading back up to the ground exit. After touring the caves Brenna and I did the five-level ropes course and zip lined across the complex. We did some souvenir shopping, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and then headed off to our next stop.
The natural bridge that Natural Bridge Caverns is named after.
Just next door to Natural Bridge Caverns is Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch. We've had several friends recommend this to us so we were excited to give it a try. You buy bags of feed at the entrance and then tour the ground in your own vehicle as you feed the animals along the way. It was a really fun experience and Brenna's favorite part of the trip. The zebras were the best! At the end we stopped off at the petting zoo because Brenna will never pass one up. After we were all thoroughly covered in animal slobber and goat hair we headed back to the resort for the afternoon.
The next morning we drove down to the River Walk, but first we stopped off at Lulu's Cafe for breakfast. We first heard about Lulu's on the Travel Channel's Man vs. Food where they hold the title of the biggest cinnamon roll in Texas. We attempted to tackle the 3 lb pastry with nearly a quart of icing. We managed about 1/3 before we were all stuffed. The waitress happily wrapped in up for us to go and sent us on our way. Next, we jumped on a boat tour of the River Walk.
On our final afternoon at the resort Brenna and Jacob decided to make the most out of our stay and brave the cool weather and enjoy River Bluff Water Park. They floated the lazy river, rode the slides, and warmed up in the hot tub while I watched from the lounger all cuddled up in towels. While it wasn't crowded, we weren't the only people out there either. Several families were out enjoying the water park on that cool clear day. There was no wait to ride any of the slides, but it was a cold climb to the top of the tower for the ride down!
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