Spring may have just started but it's already severe weather time in Texas! On Wednesday, the first big storm of the season struck with enough hail to suddenly turn the ground white:
Marble-sized hail quickly covered the ground but we were lucky: Marble Falls saw golf and tennis ball-sized hail while windshields were knocked out of cars in Austin!
If we all don't melt first, it will soon be football season and, as you know, that's a big subject in Texas.
We've just launched a new page on TexasTripper with links to purchase sports tickets to NFL and college games (as well as baseball, basketball, hockey, NASCAR, and even concert tickets).
Please help support TexasTripper--and find tickets for events you might think are already sold out--by checking our Texas Sports Tickets page.
Do you have a favorite Texas recipe you'd like to share? Whether you're a Texas B&B, a Texas food purveyor, a barbecue competitor, or just a good home cook, we've got a new contest for you. Enter one of your favorite Texas recipes in our new Texas Online Cookbook and you'll be eligible to win a copy of Texas Cowboy Cooking.
TexasTripper to Launch Online Texas Cookbook Next Month
We won't be officially launching our new online cookbook until next month but we wanted to give you a sneak peek of the TexasTripper Online Cookbook! We're up to almost 100 recipes so far (and, don't forget our barbecue recipe section) and will be adding new recipes from across the Lone Star State daily. Look for a launch of this new feature (and a Texas food-related contest) next month!
We were excited to see the latest edition of our Day Trips from Austinguidebook listed in yesterday's Austin American-Statesman as the #6 local bestseller!
It's time again for a new TexasTripper contest! Thanks to gas prices, this contest will focus on Texas Vacations for Free with a whole package of prize materials for one lucky winner:
• a copy of the new Free Texas guidebook by Tab Lloyd. It's a great look at free attractions all through the state! • a bluebonnet festival t-shirt and a Taylor International Barbecue Cookoff t-shirt • a Schlitterbahn ball cap • a San Antonio photo album for your vacation photos • an autographed copy of both our Day Trips from Austin and Day Trips from San Antonio guidebooks, both covering places you can travel in just two hours (and one tank of gas!) from these two cities
To enter the contest, head over to our contest page and complete a five-question survey about how gas prices are impacting your travel plans this summer! We'll select one winner at random the end of June. Good luck!
Congratulations to AC in Kyle, the winner of our latest TexasTripper contest! She wins two autographed guidebooks and a couple of bluebonnet t-shirts for her beautiful bluebonnet photograph. Head over to the Roaming Readers section to check it out! And if you'd like to submit your own reader recommendations for Texas travel (have you enjoyed a great restaurant lately? found a scenic drive? come across a great little museum or festival?), submit your review and/or photos on the Roaming Readers submission page.
We've just added a new video player on TexasTripper.com, showing the most recent videos. Have a look on our video page or just click on any of the videos below:
Our new Say It Like a Texan pronunciation guide to hard to say Texas towns, rivers and counties has been receiving a lot of attention lately! It was featured in the Chicago Sun-Times and on Fark.com this month and literally thousands of readers have been learning how to pronounce every place from Mexia to Refugio.
We've also heard from many readers about places to add to the guide, towns that were either new to us or ones we'd heard all our lives and didn't realize how tough they were to say! We've added about 50 new destinations to the guide and we'll keep looking for additional towns. If you know of any locales we've missed, please drop us an email at editors@TexasTripper.com!
It's time for a new contest at TexasTripper! This month we're celebrating our new "Roaming Readers" feature, a reader-contributed section where you can share your Texas travel discoveries!
This month's winner will win an Alamo cooking apron (perfect for the upcoming barbecue season!) and autographed copies of our two San Antonio guidebooks. Read all about the contest rules and how you can enter as often as you like!
And congratulations to Duane in Tomball, Texas, the winner of our "Where in Texas are Paris and John?" contest; Duane wins copies of our San Antonio guidebooks!
If you're looking for some Texas travel ideas--especially some travel ideas for Valentine's Day--don't miss Paris on BlogTalk Radio this afternoon. (John has a horrible cold so Paris will be flying solo this interview!) The interview is with Ralph's Back Porch, a two-hour Texas radio show broadcast live on BlogTalk Radio and archived on Ralph's Back Porch.
Paris will be on the show starting at 2:45pm CST until about 3:15. If you have a question, call 347-215-8849 to be on the radio.
Update: I enjoyed this afternoon's interview and hope you'll check out the of the show, available on the player below. I'm on at about the 58 minute mark and talk for about half an hour about great Texas getaways and destinations for Valentine's Day.
It's always said that things are done just a little differently in Texas...and sometimes that extends to pronunciation as well. If you've ever wrestled with how to say Texas place name, check out our new Say It Like a Texan pronunciation dictionary. With over 60 audio files so you can hear the pronunciation of each town name, we think this will be a unique addition to TexasTripper! We'll be adding more towns and place names in the future as well.
One of our New Year's resolutions here at TexasTripper was to find a way to get more reader input on this site, a way for you to share your experiences about your travels across the Lone Star State.
We've come up with a way: Roaming Readers. This new feature will showcase your experiences: the great restaurant you discovered, the pretty drive you took on Sunday afternoon, the new museum exhibit you enjoyed, a fun festival you stumbled across, the hotel you found that was just the right fit.
Send us your travel experiences across Texas! We'd love to hear about your trip and also receive a photo if you've got one! Check out our page on becoming a Roaming Reader to find out how to send us your postings and photos!
It's time for the first TexasTripper contest of 2008! This is our first "Where in Texas are Paris and John?" contest! Check out our contest page and test your Texas knowledge...can you identify where this photo was made?
And congratulations to Connie in Durham, North Carolina, the winner of the December contest and the 2008 Texas Wildflowers calendar!
Well, it's that time of year again...time to resolve to do things just a little differently this year! We've been making a list of our Texas travel resolutions for 2008:
• Stay Up and Enjoy the Nightlife. OK, we admit it: we're not night owls. We resolve to get out more often and enjoy the state's nightlife, even if it keeps us up past our bedtime.
• Attend At Least One Festival Every Month. So many of the Texas festivals fall in April and October but there are festivals scheduled all year long. We're determined to get out and enjoy one or more every month, even if there are icicles hanging off the car or the tires are melting to the pavement.
• Try to Collect More Regional Recipes. As we travel, we resolve to ask for more recipes from our favorite restaurants and cookoffs. Sure, some of them are top secret, but you know what they say: it never hurts to ask.
• Carry Our Cameras Every Single Day. Maybe we won't carry the multi-lens Nikon SLR but we're going to carry at least our small digital cameras every day. Whether it's a photo of a wild turkey gazing at us from the side of the road or a new attraction under construction, we're going to be ready.
It wouldn't be the end of the year without some kind of top 10 list, would it? We thought it would be fitting to pass along some of our favorite Texas travel websites, ones whose excellent writing motivates us when we sit down at the keyboards and whose coverage encourages us to get out and explore the Lone Star State even more:
We're longtime fans of Bob Phillips and his Texas Country Reporter television show; visit his website to see some of his videos online, check his festivals section, and see the upcoming schedule for his shows.
We always enjoy June's articles in Texas Highways as well as her many guidebooks to the state, and we love following along with her state travels in this frequently-updated blog.
This excellent online look at Texas, also written by a Texas-based husband and wife team, is a great resource for learning about the state's many small towns and the history behind the places you might otherwise miss on your drive across the state.
The official website of the Texas Travel Industry Association, this site has lots of freebies: brochures, maps, and more, some available for immediate download and some sent you free by postal mail...what a deal!
We wanted to pop online and wish all our TexasTripper readers a safe and happy holiday season, wherever your travels may take you! We've spent the last few days enjoying several local day trips including Luling, Gonzales, Bastrop, and Elgin as well as small town like Moulton and Muldoon. We'll be bringing you more coverage of these towns in the coming days but, for now, want to pass along our very best to all our readers! Merry Christmas!
It's time again for another TexasTripper contest! With 2008 just around the corner, we're giving away a copy of the Texas Wildflowers calendar. Check our contest page for all the details and good luck!
And congratulations to Wayne in Harlingen, Texas; he's the winner of our November contest. Wayne wins two adult t-shirts from Lakeway Resort & Spa, an autographed copy of the 5th edition of our Day Trips from Austin guidebook, a Texas flag lapel pin, and a toy Austin bat.
After a 90 degree day here yesterday, the Hill Country bundles up for a near freezing night tonight...another reminder to us how interesting Texas travel always is! Wherever your Thanksgiving travels may take you, safe travels and happy holidays from TexasTripper.com!
November is getting off to a fun start with us; we just received our copies of the fifth edition of our Day Trips from Austin guidebook! We've been writing this guide since the early 90s when it was first published by Two Lane Press in Missouri; at that time our book was called Day Trips from Austin and San Antonio. The last several editions have been with Globe Pequot and now the book covers getaways just within two hours of Austin, an area roughly from Waco to San Antonio and Brenham to Mason.
Fall festivals are in full swing throughout Texas now with holiday events right around the corner. We're busily covering events across the Lone Star State and look forward to bringing you news of holiday festivals!
Happy travels! Paris and John
Don't Miss
Photo of the DayThe newest section of TexasTripper features a different Texas photo every day!
Enter the TexasTripper Contest!
Celebrate the publication of the fifth edition of our Day Trips from Austin guidebook with our new contest; enter for a chance to win:
• two Lakeway Resort t-shirts
• an autographed copy of the 5th edition of our Day Trips from Austin guide
(And if you like contests, we also have a new contest on our CaribbeanFamilyTripper.com website giving away two of our Caribbean guidebooks and other goodies; this contest is in conjuction with our JamaicaTripper.com website!)
And congratulations to Paula in Conway, Missouri; she wins our October prize package!
We had a lot of fun researching and writing this longtime guide of ours; there are many new attractions throughout the region so we made a lot of discoveries.
To celebrate the release of our new book, we just posted the November contest which includes an autographed copy of the book as well as other goodies from the Austin area! Pop over to the contest page for all the details and good luck!
We're also adding video resources to many of the travel pages, featuring online video of festivals, cities, and special attractions throughout the Lone Star State!
Can you believe autumn is just days away? Although the days are still pretty toasty, the light now has a warm glow, a hint of the special season that's just around the corner. With this summer's bountiful rains, hopefully this will be a colorful fall across the Lone Star State!
Just a few weeks ago, we took part in a true summer activity, though: we were judges at the annual Taylor International Barbecue Cookoff. We judged the beef category, a true challenge with so many good competitors!
We've posted a photo gallery of the event so you can have a look at this popular cookoff.
Happy travels!
Paris and John
Enter the TexasTripper Contest!
Celebrate September with our Austin, Texas contest! Enter to win two Austin t-shirts (large), an Austin rodeo cap, a Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards cap, a Don't Mess with Texas oven mitt, a Texas lapel pin and an autographed copy of our Day Trips from Austin guidebook!
(And if you like contests, we also have a new contest on our CaribbeanFamilyTripper.com website giving away two of our Caribbean guidebooks and other goodies and a whole stack of Jamaica goodies on our JamaicaTripper.com website!)
And congratulations to Sharon in Grapevine, Texas who won our August prize package!
TexasTripper Editors Judging Taylor International Barbecue Cookoff
It's almost the third weekend in August again and that means it's time for the Taylor International Barbecue Cookoff! This year, we'll be judging several barbecue categories in the competition so keep an eye out for us at the event on Saturday, August 18 and come by and say hi if you see us!
The cookoff takes place in Murphy Park; gates open at 9am with judging at noon. Along with the 'que, there will also be pony rides, a petting zoo, arts and crafts, and more.
There's a common joke in Texas that if you don't like the weather, wait fifteen minutes. Well, on Easter weekend, we went from a sunny Friday to a snowy Saturday! Here are some photos of bluebonnets along RM 1431 taken on Saturday, just a few miles from the TexasTripper offices...and snow falling at the TexasTripper offices Saturday afternoon! Fortunately predictions call for a fast warm-up this week.
We've just launched a new TexasTripper contest! Enter for a chance to win a Texas bluebonnet package! The package is filled with bluebonnet-themed items including:
• a bluebonnet charm bracelet
• bluebonnet sun catcher
• bluebonnet cream pitcher
• bluebonnet coffee cup
• bluebonnet ceramic ornament
The prize is contained in a blue Texas basket. The prize also includes an autographed copy of our Day Trips from San Antonio guidebook!
Have any questions about romantic getaways in Texas? We'll be doing an online chat in honor of Valentine's Day; it will be live on Budget Travel Magazine's website, http://www.budgettravelonline.com on Tuesday, February 6.
Our chat will be from noon to 1pm Eastern time but you can send us questions in advance and we'll post them during that time. To send us your question, visit the Trip Coach page on the Budget Travel site.
You may have noticed that things have been pretty quiet at TexasTripper.com this past week. Thanks to a freeze that hit the Austin area, we've been without an internet connection the past four days! Near Lake Travis, we had about half an inch of ice (unfortunately no snow) and everything has been at a standstill. Yesterday the mercury rose above freezing and everything (including our internet satellite dish) thawed out. Look for new coverage of Texas attractions and activities in the coming days, but first, we wanted to pass along some pictures from the big freeze:
From sunny central Texas, we wanted to wish all our TexasTripper.com readers a very happy new year! Whether you're enjoying one of the many New Year's Eve celebrations across the Lone Star State tonight or watching the calendar change elsewhere around the world, we look forward to keeping you posted on what's new in Lone Star State travel in 2007!
With 30,000 Iowa residents headed to San Antonio this week for the Alamo Bowl, we were interviewed on Des Moines' WHO radio about Texas travel. For half an hour, we enjoyed talking about San Antonio as well as day trips into the Hill Country on the call-in show. The station gave away copies of our Insiders' Guide to San Antonio during the call, a fun way to introduce travelers to the state's top vacation destination.
This weekend it was time to put up the TexasTripper office Christmas tree. We've been collecting tin ornaments for years from shopping trips to Laredo and Nuevo Laredo; this year we added to our collection with a visit to San Antonio's El Mercado (did you know that the largest Mexican market in the country is in San Antonio?) Our favorite new purchases: a tin ornament of the Alamo and one of the State of Texas. They join some other favorite ornaments including a ceramic Alamo, Corpus Christi seashells, and yarn ornaments from mercados along the border.
With Valentine's Day on the horizon, we've launched our Texas Romance Contest! Enter for a chance to win a romantic Willie Nelson CD, a DVD of Hope Floats (did you know it was filmed in Smithville, Texas?), his 'n hers Texas t-shirts, Texas themed earrings, and more! Check out the contest page for all the details.
Don't forget to enter our Luckenbach contest for a chance to win two Luckenbach t-shirts, two keychains, and two bumper stickers! We'll be announcing the contest winner in Tuesday's newsletter so be sure to subscribe. There's a subscription form on the contest page at http://www.texastripper.com/contest.html . We've had over 500 entries so far so be sure to send us yours. Also in Tuesday's newsletter, we'll be announcing our new holiday contest!
We've launched a new Texas store on TexasTripper.com! You'll be able to shop online for Texas clothing and accessories, Texas jewelry, Texas-made foods, guidebooks, movies, and a lot more.
We've started a new section on the site: the TexasTripper Minute! Each week, we'll be featuring a one-minute video about Texas travel. This week, visit Fredericksburg's Wildseed Farms.
Will you be attending a Halloween festival or special attraction this year? Be sure to vote in this week's poll about Halloween, located on the home page of TexasTripper. So far, about 2/3rds of all readers are planning some Halloween fun!
We've been sifting through our collection of historic Texas travel postcards, many dating back to the Twenties and Thirties, and have launched a new section in TexasTripper. Check out our growing Texas Travel Historic Postcards section for a new look at what's not so new in Texas!
If you have a Texas or travel-related website or blog, we're now making our news headlines available for free use on your site. Check out our Texas News Syndication page for information on the easy (just one line!) code you can drop into your site to automatically show the latest Texas travel headlines...a neat way to keep your site timely.
Luckenbach, Texas has been a legend ever since the song hit the airwaves and even today travelers come from around the world to have a look at this music hotspot. This weekend, we had the chance to attend Fandango, a music festival now in its fourth year at Luckenbach and shot many photos of the action in the dance hall. We've now got some free wallpapers you may use on your computer; visit our Texas Wallpapers page to check out the three wallpapers, each available in four screen sizes!
We received some exciting news today: two Texas travel articles we wrote for Fiesta, the magazine of the San Antonio Express-News, were selected to receive San Antonio Women in Communications Proliner Awards for 2006 in the following categories:
Award of Excellence Travel/Tourism Story "Fun in the Sun" Award of Merit Travel/Tourism Story "A Getaway to Los Dos Laredos"
It's time for a new contest! We're giving away a whole batch of prizes this time...check out our contest page for all the rules and specifics on the prizes!
We just received our advance copies of the third edition of Insiders' Guide to San Antonio--our newly published guide to one of our favorite Texas cities! It will be coming to stores in early August...but look for it in a TexasTripper contest later this month!
Can't make it to England this summer to see Stonehenge? Or to Easter Island view the giant Maoi statues?
No worries...you'll find them all in Texas. Just two miles west of Hunt, Texas on FM 1340, you'll find Stonehenge II, a replica of Britain's Stonehenge. The Texas version is 60% as tall as the original and 90% of its size in circumference. Located on a private ranch, the site is also home to replicas of two giant Moai, the mysterious statues found on Easter Island.
We've just added a photo gallery of Stonehenge II. (When you get to the gallery, click on any thumbnail for a larger vesion and hit the "fast forward" button then to see all the photos as a slide show.)
We've heard from some of our readers that they'd love to stay up to date with the Texas Travel News but they don't yet have a feed reader. We've now got a solution: email updates, thanks to FeedBlitz. Just enter your email address below and you'll receive a digest of the updates to the News:
FeedBlitz will send you an email when you subscribe so you can confirm your email address. You can cancel at any time and your email address will never be shared.
Would you like to get a feed reader? They're fun and easy to use (we use MyYahoo). See more about RSS readers on our Feed page.
You can win an autographed copy of our newly-released Day Trips from Austin guide! We'll be giving away a copy to a newsletter subscriber selected at random. To enter, just add your name to our subscription list (don't worry: we'll never sell or trade your email address and you can unsubscribe at any time). We'll announce the winner on July 15. For more and to enter, see our Day Trips from Austin Contest Page.
Those of you in Texas know that we've been experiencing unseasonably warm weather (and we're not even going to talk about the drought) but today we decided to take advantage of that sunshine with a picnic in Round Rock.
We're just a short drive from Round Rock but you know how it is...sometimes it's just too easy to skip attractions close to home. (We write two day trips books: Day Trips from Austin and Day Trips from San Antonio, both from Globe Pequot, but still it's easy to get caught behind the computers and forget about fun close to home.)
Today, though, we hopped in the car and had a sunny picnic lunch in Round Rock's quiet Veteran's Park before heading downtown to take some photos then over to the round rock itself.
Marble-sized hail quickly covered the ground but we were lucky: Marble Falls saw golf and tennis ball-sized hail while windshields were knocked out of cars in Austin!
And the sound of hail on a Texas tin roof!
guidebook listed in yesterday's 
"Where in Texas are Paris and John?" contest; Duane wins copies of our San Antonio guidebooks!
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