Texas Might As Well Be Its Own Country

I moved to Texas just about a year-and-a-half ago for work. Let me just tell you right now: Texas is HUGE! There is so much to see!  From the different cities like Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio - to the different areas of the state like Hill Country, Big Bend, the Gulf Coast and the Caprock Canyons in the panhandle. I mean get this: Texas is so huge that it'll take you nearly as long to drive from Denton to Brownsville (about 8 hours 30 minutes) as it would from Denton to St. Louis, MO (about 9 hours 30 minutes)! That's crazy! And awesome! 

I can check San Antonio off the list.

This past summer my sister, her husband, Crystal, and I all went down to San Antonio. We made the four hour drive and stayed along the river. The hotel was about a mile from the main part of the River Walk - which was fine by me. I needed the exercise. 

The four of us did it all. No, seriously. I think we did do it all! 

We saw the Alamo (even asked about the basement), took a boat tour of the River Walk, went up their Tower of the Americas, and learned a little bit of history at Mission Concepcion... just to name a few of the things we did. Something else I enjoyed as much as the weekend in San Antonio was a spur-of-the-moment decision to go cave exploring at the Natural Bridge Caverns. That was a rare experience and something I would highly recommend doing.

What's next for me in the Lone Star State?

Next year I'll mark Hill Country off my list and (hopefully) a weekend in Austin. The main reason I got the Hyatt Visa is to help Crystal and I stay for free at the Hill Country Resort and Spa. I'll use the two free nights reward that I'll get there. If we stay longer - no problem! I have plenty of Chase points that I can transfer to my Hyatt account if I need to. 

Even if I can check Hill Country and Austin off the list - there are plenty of other parts of Texas that I want to go see! I'm a bit of a history nerd - and I've heard parts of East Texas are good for the nerd in me. Have you ever heard of the Marfa lights? I'd like to see those too. The list goes on...

What am I missing?  What parts of Texas do you recommend I check out?