THE NEW SAN MARCOS

The View Below The River Pub

When we first bought this house, we used to spend a lot of time over in the little college town of San Marcos, about 30 minutes south of us. For one thing, they had the only movie theater nearby. For another, our daughter was in school there, at Texas State, and enjoyed introducing us to all of her favorite hangouts, such as the infamous River Pub, and a ginormous hodgepodge of a shop called The Paper Bear.

After awhile, however, it seemed that most of these places were getting kinda seedy and run down. Paper Bear ended up cutting their size in half when the economy crashed (tho still a lot of fun), and the River Pub shut down altogether. Meanwhile, more and more new stuff was popping up in Kyle, just 20 minutes east of us, including a giant new movie theater/arcade/bowling alley/restaurant/bar/church called EVO, as well as a Target, a giant HEB and our favorite Mexican joint. So, we ended up spending more and more time over there, instead.

Lately, however, I've been hearing rumors -- rumors about an influx of retirees to San Marcos, and all the new restaurants popping up that are no longer geared strictly towards the college kids. After spotting this list of 10 things to do in San Marcos on Facebook, we decided it was definitely time for a little adventure!

Note the rooftop party bar.

First stop was AquaBrew restaurant and brewery, for brunch.

Shared Communal Tables Inside, Beer Garden Out Back

I opted for the grilled pimiento cheese breakfast sandwich with fried egg and bacon jam.

Definitely a moaner!

Hubby went for the fresh blueberry pancakes.

Can't wait to go back so Hubby can try some of their craft beers, and I can make a tappas-style meal out of their upscale Pub Snacks.

Next stop was another new EVO theater called The Spot, minus the arcade, but with the addition of reclining lounge chairs and table service.

It was a mighty fine adventure.

Who knows? With that ginormous 55+ master-planned community called Kissing Tree going in over there (think Sun City), we may even end up with some clothing stores in San Marcos that actually have stuff for people over 21! Wouldn't that be somthin'?

THIS IS YOUR MISSION...

Mission Concepción

Make it your mission to visit the San Antonio missions! Can't believe I've lived in Texas all my life without visiting any other than the Alamo, and just recently, the one in Goliad. Alas, it took the formation of Hubby's Hill Country Photo Walk group to finally spur me into action. 

Their very first adventure was scheduled for this past Friday, but when we awoke to rain and heavy fog, cancellation messages were quick to pop up on Hubby's phone. Fortunately, for we intrepid few who opted to carry on, it ended up being a great day for photo-taking!

Mission San José

Though there is a bit of color left inside some of the missions, most of their original color-madness has been worn away by time and the elements.

The Only Piece of Color Left on the Exterior

Years ago when I visited Biltmore Estate with a friend, I discovered that, while most people were interested in seeing the glamorous public spaces and gardens, what I loved was seeing the kitchens, larders, servant's quarters, attics, and veggie gardens. I had a compulsion to see what all went on behind the scenes, to make it all work. The same was true here. So while my fellow adventurers were busy choosing which of their cameras and lenses and settings were just right for capturing that certain architectural detail, I was off exploring the amazing stone ovens and wells and aqueduct systems that brought water from the river to run their grist mill.

The Oldest Mill in Texas

After that we stopped at conveniently located Nicha's Comida Mexicana on Roosevelt, just across the street from this awesome drive-in theater...

 

for a mighty tasty lunch. Tell 'em it's your first time there, and you get a free cup of tortilla soup! Next it was on to tiny little Mission San Juan.

The interesting thing to me is that all these little mission chapels appear to be holding weekly services still, and this building below had a sign saying it was a private residence.

Just as we hit our last stop, Mission Espada, the clouds broke loose. Fortunately, we were able to pull right up to the front door and get a good look without leaving the car. Alas, that door happened to be fairly awesome, and two of our group just couldn't resist hopping out in the rain to snap a few close-ups of it. Good thing they did, since that ended up being Hubby's favorite photo of the day!

My favorite part of the day? When the other couple finished loading our trunk to the brim with all their equipment, then turned to me to ask where all my stuff was. The look on their faces when I pulled my tiny point-and-shoot from my hip pocket? Priceless!