Starting Point: Houston, TX
Ending Point: Dallas, TX
Distance Traveled: 500 Miles
Today, I left Houston at around 5:30 AM and started the three-hour drive to San Antonio. Arriving in San Antonio at around 9AM, my first stop was the Alamo. The Alamo, mission built in 1744 is the location of the famous Battle of the Alamo, which occurred on March 6, 1836. During the Texas Revolution, the Texan Army was using the mission as a defense fortress against the Mexican Army, but after a few months during the Battle of the Alamo, the Mexican Army wiped out the Texan troops, which were inside the Alamo. The Alamo has come to be a memorial for the Texans who courageously fought for their freedom.
Across the street from the Alamo, steps lead down to as beautiful river-walk. The river walk (also a flood protection system) is an example for all other river walks to aspire for. Along both sides of the river, upscale hotels, restaurants, condominiums, and public parks all combine to provide a gorgeous area even at the slow hour of 9AM when I was visiting.
Afterwards, I visited The Shops at La Cantera, an impressive outdoor shopping mall or “mini city” owned by General Growth Partners. The shopping complex provides hundreds of stores with beautiful common areas, nicely complemented by public seating areas, extravagant building facades, and no-expense-spared landscaping design. When compared to the Grove, this mall isn’t too exciting but it’s still a well-designed mall and quite an accomplishment, which many visitors seem to agree with given it’s 5-star review on trip advisor. The fact that a mall can achieve a five star review on trip advisor is a confirmation of the stability of regional shopping malls because of their roles as entertainment/tourist destinations (in this case, the highest rated “attraction” in the city).
Afterwards, I drove one hour to Austin, TX where I visited Barton Springs Pool (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g30196-d116421-Reviews-Barton_Springs_Pool-Austin_Texas.html), one of the highest rated attractions in Austin, TX. Barton Springs Pool is described as “the soul of Austin” and is obviously a very special place for locals and I can definitely see why. The park is a place for family/friends to gather and just hang out for the day while cooling off from the scorching summer heat and humidity. After a 10-minute dip in the pool/river, I was refreshed and energized and I’m definitely glad I visited.
Next, I drove three additional hours to Dallas, TX, visiting Highland Park Village. Highland Park Village is an outdoor shopping area built in 1931, and was the first self-contained shopping center in America, thereby leading to it’s designation as a National Historical Landmark (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Park_Village). The center is located in the Highland Park neighborhood, one of the most affluent neighborhoods in Dallas, with custom homes ranging from $5MM to $20MM. The 200,000 SF mall on 10 acres was acquired by the current owners for $170 million in 2009, and functions as probably one of the highest-end retail areas in Texas, home to tenants such as Christian Dior, Tom Ford, Brunello Cuchinelli, etc. Rents in the shopping center are only $125/SF/Year, well below the market rents in other high-end retail areas such as Rodeo Drive and Fifth Avenue, thereby providing significant rental upside to the owners. This property is an EXCELLENT real estate investment because of it’s stability, excellent location, excellent entertainment/tourist destination traffic, and intrinsic land value, and rental upside.
Some homes available for the sale in the area are as follows:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4015-Beverly-Dr-Dallas-TX-75205/27200669_zpid/
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4500-Preston-Rd-Dallas-TX-75205/27202976_zpid/
I spend the next couple of hours riding the trolley and walking through the uptown and down districts, followed by a few hours of planning/writing in Starbucks. After reading a WSJ article about how to plan a vacation, one tip that applied to my situation was the importance of ending a trip on a high note. Over the next day or two, I plan of making the most of my time in Albuquerque by hiking the La Luz Trail and enjoying this wonderful road trip opportunity!
