I just got back from an incredible birthday trip with my mom and sister, so lots of fun travel content coming your way! We went to Texas – San Antonio and Austin, specifically – and it was so much fun.

We got an early start on our first full day in San Antonio, since it was projected to be over 100 degrees every day of our trip. We had breakfast on the River Walk, which is a gorgeous place to eat, drink, and walk around. The being lower down than street level with the water running through it makes the River Walk a lot cooler and more pleasant than the rest of the city.

After, we walked about seven minutes (which felt like 20 because it was already about 95 degrees) to see the Alamo! I was so excited to see this famous landmark because I studied American History in college; seeing historical sites in real life is always pretty surreal.

After taking a midday break at the hotel to cool off and change (you will sweat if you go to Texas), we ended up making a day of seeing the missions, also driving about twenty minutes outside of downtown San Antonio to the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, which is comprised of four missions: Concepción, San Josè, San Juan, and Espada. These four missions were part of a Spanish colonization system in the Southwest, and are now part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They’re also all still active Catholic parishes, unlike the Alamo, which is also not part of the park and is owned by the State of Texas.

These religious sites were stunning and fascinating to explore, even in the over-100-degree heat. Definitely the highlight of our time in San Antonio!