San Antonio Botanical Garden

A couple of weeks ago, we ventured over to the San Antonio Botanical Garden. Let me say, I am so sad we have been missing out on this place since we moved here over four years ago. A low ticket cost of $10 provided us with a chance to explore the amazing gardens on a lovely Sunday. Read on to see some of the beauty we encountered.

We first explored the Fountain Plaza and Japanese Garden. Both were peaceful, scenic spaces perfect for journaling, sketching, or simply enjoying the scenery. The fountains and trickling water created such a relaxing vibe.

Next, we journeyed past the Overlook to spend some time in the various pavilions. Every path we took had no shortage of interesting plants and wildlife to observe.

The first room we explored was the Northrup Tropical Room. It was packed wall-to-ceiling with lush vegetation and colorful plants. It truly provided the sensation of walking through a rainforest.

As you can see, this room was literally overflowing with things to admire.

As native Houstonians, the humidity in the Tropical Room felt familiar, and the dry heat of Kleberg Desert Pavilion felt more like San Antonio. This pavilion held cacti, succulents, and even a tiny, growing pineapple pictured below.


It felt nice to escape the warm Desert Pavilion, and head into the breezy Palm & Cycad Pavilion. This amazing structure housed so many different palms and truly felt like a tropical destination. 

Our final stop in the pavilion area was the Fern Grotto, and we may have saved the best for last! The lush green plants, impressive waterfall, and winding stone path provided a calm oasis that we spent a long time exploring.

We finally stepped outside to admire the Orangerie, where we resisted the urge to harvest some freshly grown limes. It was educational to see how many of the different fruits we enjoy are grown.

We used this shaded path to travel up past the Overlook again to peruse the Cactus and Succulent Garden. This expansive area was a landscape full of so many versions of cacti…some were even purple!

Near the end of the Cactus and Succulent Garden we happened upon the South Texas trail. Here we found this adorable adobe house, more cacti, and an excellent area for bird watching. I have never seen so many cardinals in one spot!

The East Texas Pineywoods section of the gardens welcomed us with the amazing sculpture below. It was made in San Antonio specifically for the Botanical Garden, and it looked stunning reflecting all of the greenery and nature surrounding it. This section of the garden had a lake full of ducks, several tall trees, and a quaint log cabin with light streaming in.

The final section of the garden we visited was the Hill Country. It was wonderful to see signs of spring starting to pop up here and there. I cannot wait to visit again in the springtime when I’m sure this section will be brimming with wildflowers! Our walk through the Schumacher House confirmed that Louis would have been considered a giant in the past. 🙂

We journeyed back towards the front of the garden, pausing to enjoy the tranquil Sacred Garden.

As you can see, the San Antonio Botanical Garden was already full of blooming tulips, colorful succulents, and more plants. I can only imagine how beautiful it will be in a few weeks when spring is in full swing!

If you’re looking for a fun, relaxing way to spend a day, I can’t recommend the San Antonio Botanical Garden enough! Have you ever visited? Did we miss any of your favorite parts?

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Night Al Migrations: The Pearl

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Howdy y’all! Remember me? Sorry…I’ve been MIA (no, not the singer/rapper M.I.A.) for a minute! Don’t fret. I’m back.

I wanted to share a pretty cool, new (to us) spot that hubbs and I explored a few weeks ago: The Pearl in San Antonio. We moved to San Antonio almost 2 years ago from our beloved Houston (where our families live) with the attitude that San Antonio would never be as good as our hometown. While that may still ring true, we recently decided to abandon our bitter attitude towards San Antonio and start exploring! I’m hoping as we venture throughout the city together, I can share our experiences here as Night Al Migrations. I’m sorry…I love a good theme, so I’m sticking with the bird idea here.

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Our goal was to branch out from typical tourist spots like the River Walk and find other cool locations around the city. When we visited Bakery Lorraine for our anniversary, we drove through an area known as The Pearl. The Pearl is a grouping of restaurants, shops, and lofts in buildings that originally housed The Pearl Brewery. We recently made a trip there to enjoy lunch and browse around some of the stores.

1We arrived around one o’clock on a Friday afternoon and headed to The Granary for some BBQ. (Side note: I instagrammed the picture above and misspelled “Granary” in my caption. So embarrassing.) The Granary is located in a charming house from the 1800s and is covered with rich wood, unique lighting, and handwritten chalkboard menus. They also have a dog-friendly, wrap-around porch, which was a nice touch! We got our drinks first (glass bottle Coca Cola for me, house-made root beer for Lou) and waited a few minutes for our meal.

2We weren’t too intrigued by any of the sides, so we each got a chopped beef sandwich and 1/2 lb of beef brisket to split. The Granary is big on only serving humanely raised meat (humanely raised to be slaughtered for our lunch…contradictory?), and it showed in their prices! I can safely say though, that their chopped beef sandwich was one of the best I’ve ever tasted! It was on fresh baked  bread, and their BBQ sauce (which is a crucial component for me) was super tasty. However, the brisket was marbled with LOTS of fat, which we’re not fans of. I can’t recommend it if you prefer lean brisket.

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Once we finished lunch, we decided to walk around and explore some of the boutiques and shops. One of the boutiques we went into was Leighelena, which contained a mixture of vintage boots and clothes, handmade jewelry and various gifts and decor. It was kind of like a vintage, western Urban Outfitters? They had a ton of unique pieces and some really beautiful jewelry.

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Another favorite store of mine was The Tiny Finch. They had some of the most beautiful home decor unlike anything I’ve ever seen providing several one-of-a-kind pieces. We popped in a few other shops including Ten Thousand Villages (pictured below), which contained pieces from around the world created by various artisans. Each store we visited was distinctly different and offered special pieces you’re unlikely to find anywhere else.

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In fact, The Pearl was so unique, I was kind of worried we weren’t hip enough to be there! Stupid, right? The Culinary Institute of America also has a campus at The Pearl, so, obviously, there is no shortage of adventurous (and pricey) restaurants. They have everything from an authentic Mexican street food ice house to a kosher vegetarian restaurant to a seafood and oyster bar. There’s something for everyone! Be warned though…most of the restaurants aren’t for picky eaters. Louis and I are pretty boring when it comes to food, and several of the restaurant menus require much more sophisticated palates. 😉 Like I said…we may not be hip enough for The Pearl…haha!

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The Pearl has incredible lofts on site that would be a dream to live in! They are also in the process of renovating the historic brew house into a luxury boutique hotel. In addition to all this, they host a huge Farmer’s Market every weekend, which brings in tons of local vendors. I think The Pearl is on the brink of being really popular. I’m sure within the next couple of years once all of the storefronts are occupied and the construction and renovations are complete, the area will be booming. We had a great time exploring it, and I can’t wait to see how it grows in the future! If you’re a local, or you visit San Antonio, add The Pear to your itinerary for some unique food and shopping!

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I hope you all have a wonderful weekend celebrating Easter, and I’ll be back next week with some more Beauty Blurbs and posts!

See you then!

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