Suzy Banks
Features
Child’s Play
Summer vacation is right around the corner, but that doesn’t mean you should panic. We’ve rounded up 68 of our favorite things to do with your toddlers, teens, and every kid in between. Dance the hokey pokey. Rope a horse. Eat way too many hot dogs. Zip down a waterslide. And yes, feed the animals.
Home on The Range
Dinner Is Served
River Deep, Mountain High
There are any number of fun, adventurous, and unexpected things to do in the Big Bend region of far West Texas. Here are fifteen of my favorites, including scuba diving in Balmorhea, gliding over Marfa, drinking a microbrew in Alpine, horseback riding in Fort Davis, and floating through the Lower Canyons of the Rio Grande.
Shore ’Nuff
The best beaches in Texas for—among other summertime pursuits—shelling, strolling, birding, fishing, treasure hunting, turtle herding, solitude, and surfing, dude.
Free for All
Eighty-five incredibly fun things, from movies to museums, that won’t cost you a red cent.
On the Road Again—Hill Country
West from Dripping Springs to Johnson City, south to Blanco, southeast to Fischer, east to Wimberley, and north to Dripping Springs.
Where to Stay Now 2004
Ten Texas hotels I can recommend without reservations, plus the state's best rooftop pool, outdoor bar, and more.
Coasting
Since I was a kid growing up on polluted Galveston Bay, I’ve held a grudge against the watery edge of Texas—but no more. Protected wetlands! Pelicans and turtles! Historic buildings! Edible oysters! And that’s not the half shell of it.
This Land is Your Land
With more than 600,000 acres of state parks, historic sites, and natural areas, Texas can be a perfect playground for every type of outdoor adventurer—if you know where to go. We do.
25 Things I Love About Dallas
Including my favorite movie theater, a wheely big bike trail, a hardware store with knowledgeable clerks (!), and the most sensuous pedicure a girl could ask for.
Ojo Caliente, New Mexico
How Sweet It Is
We Texans go bananas over peaches, buying them by the bushel, making pies and preserves, freezing them for the future. So what are you waiting for? Bite into summer and let the juice dribble down your chin.
Head for the Hills
A friendly bar in Johnson City, a grand old opry in Mason, a cabin with a view of the Sabinal Canyon, and 22 other things I love about the Hill Country.
Michoacán
My Kind of Town
My Kind of Town
My Kind of Town
My Kind of Town
My Kind of Town
My Kind of Town
My Kind of Town
My Kind of Town
The Bank of America Center and 24 other things I love about Houston.
San Antonio to El Paso on U.S. 90 and Interstate 10
An old opera house, Judge Roy Bean's grave, ancient pictographs—and a drug blimp.
The Shops Around the Corner
In these big-city neighborhoods, at these offbeat stores, you'll find the perfect presents—from lava lamps to vintage kimonos—for everyone on your list.
Old-Fashioned Texas
Texas is changing before our eyes, but fried pies, drive-in movie theaters, and other vestiges of earlier days are all around. To find these treasures, we risked life, limb, and cholesterol count-and had a blast from the past.
On the Water Front
Summer’s blast furnace is firing up. Luckily, Texas is a paradise of spring-fed pools, sparkling beaches, and more. Here are our picks for the best places to chill out, get wet, and go off the deep end. Plus extra web-only information!
Fifty Gifts Yule Love
Attention, holiday shoppers: Time's a-wasting (but help is on the way). This quirky compilation of Texas-made goodies—from mesquite dominoes to mohair throws—should have something for everyone on your list.
Science • George F. Bass
Dive, he said.
Great Escapes
From a boutique hotel in hip South Austin to a bed-and-breakfast across the Mexican border, from fly fishing on the Llano River to bathing in the Chinati Hot Springs, 33 getaways the guidebooks don’t tell you about, courtesy of our intrepid staff of weekend warriors.
Hey, Dude
You might be bunking in a room that would give Martha Stewart seizures, but at these eleven guest ranches you can saddle up and get in touch with your inner buckaroo.
Garden Variety
From antique benches to cast-iron planters, a selective guide to the yard art of your dreams.
Hotels
Big, breezy porches in Port Aransas, the only heated pool for miles in Marathon: You’ll get more than just a bed and breakfast at these ten appealing places to stay.
Tales of the Bazaar
From First Monday Trade Days in Canton to Market Days in Boerne, our guide to Texas’ best troves of trash and treasure.
The Handmades’ Tale
These twelve Texas artisans herald the victory of man over machine, carefully crafting wood, metal, or stone into items for your home and hearth that are tomorrow’s heirlooms today.
Ramblin’ Roses
Texans are rediscovering antique roses, the hardy, neglected beauties that decorate old graveyards and abandoned houses across the state. Whether you buy them from a nursery or rustle cuttings from the wild, here�s the dirt on how to grow your own.
Lights! Camera! Auction!
All over Texas, smart shoppers are bidding on everything from antiques to airplanes. Join them before the best buys are going, going, gone.
Go Wild
With a little planning and these gardening tips, growing your own wildflower meadow will become second nature.
Border Bargains
We’ve found thirty shops just across the Rio Grande where you can buy everything from hand-carved furniture to whimsical walking sticks. The quality is high, the prices are right, and you don't have to pay in pesos.
Columns | Miscellany
The Horror! The Horror!
How my lifelong dream of writing a novel turned into a nightmare.
Scent and Sensibility
Sweaty socks, cat urine, dead skunks: Three cheers for having no sense of smell.
Rental Illness
When people hear I’m a landlady, they tell me I should have my head examined. Yep.
Rio de Enero
When the San Antonio River’s downtown stretches are drained for a week each January, the crowds may ebb too. But it’s a perfect time to discover the waterway’s more natural side.
Track Record
It's not easy, exactly, but it is possible to get from Texas to places like New Orleans and Chicago on a reasonably comfortable Amtrak train. Just don't expect to be on time.
Back to the Future
Lured by the lucre of tourism, many small towns can't resist quainting themselves to death—which is why true-to-itself Fayetteville is such a pleasant place to visit.
Now, Voyager
I'm susceptible to seasickness and sun poisoning, and I hate being part of a herd. So, naturally, I took a cruise.
Love Birds
If you want the romance in your marriage to take flight, take a cue from the whooping cranes of the Texas coast.
Boo!
If you want to get into the Halloween spirit, head to South Texas and try to scare up San Patricio's famous ghost.
Nether Lands
Forget about getting down and dirty. Take a trip into one of Texas' show caves, where the beauty of going underground is on full display.
Urban Renewal
No one considers Dallas a hot getaway for Memorial Day weekend. That's exactly the point.
Cabin Fever
The Hill Country Equestrian Lodge is perfect for city slickers who want to escape civilization—but not entirely.
Reporter
Frontier Chic
San Angelo’s frontier chic.
Epic Western
How the West was fun.
Water World
Athens is all wet.
Take Me to the River
A canoe trip down the Colorado.
It’s Only Natural
A natural antidote to San Antonio sprawl.
Taken for Granite
Llano rocks!
One-track Mind
Houston by train.
Conversion Table
Blanco is cooking. So am I.
Kenney Rocks
My hometown sings a new song.
Going for the Old
In with the old.
Forty Acres in Forty Hours
Forty Acres and a school.
Turn, Turn, Turn
Suzy Banks hits the roads less traveled.
Cold Comfort
What’s loony about the beach in winter?
Cosmic Wonder
A starry-eyed getaway.
Zip It
How to zip across the Hill Country.
The Path of Yeast Resistance
Suzy Banks goes out for a beer.
Shopping
Delicate pine-needle baskets, rustic Italian tableware—and a $1,200 bottle of Pétrus.
Nerd Watching
Suzy Banks pays hommage to a nerd, her dad.
Winging It
A bat man builds a super cave (holy conservation!).
Web Exclusives
High and Mighty
Every once in a while, when I come across something so outrageous, so over-the-top—like Grapevine's new Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center—I can't help myself. I just have to be snotty.
City View
Writer-at-large Suzy Banks discusses what she likes best about Big D and how it compares with Houston.
Staying Power
Not sure where to stay when you go to the Hill Country? Don't worry. I've found the best places, from a historic hotel to a caboose.
Shopping Spree
Writer-at-large Suzy Banks tells the story behind this month's cover story, "The Shops Around the Corner."
Winged Evaders
Catching a bat emergence when Mother Nature isn't cooperating can be a sticky situation. Just ask me.
Head for the Hills
A grand old opry in Mason, a homestyle bakery in Llano, a cabin with a view of the Sabinal Canyon, and sixteen other things I love about the Hill Country.
Texas Monthly Biz
Gimme an e!
Three cheers for twenty Texas Web sites where the buys are.
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