San Antonio experts--please advise

[Belle5]

My kids are on an extended Thanksgiving break. They are boys ages 16, 14, 9 and 3. I am a mom who is joining her husband who is in San Antonio (already) on business. I will be taking the kids around by myself while he works. He may join us at night for some things if he can. We are staying in the northwest section of San Antonio in an all-suite hotel with an indoor pool. Please give me your thoughts on the things we are planning. You should know that in March I took them for three days to Fredericksburg and we saw the Alamo then but it wasn't overly enjoyable because of the crowds. I have a couple of kids who would like to see it again (and some who roll their eyes at the idea....)

Tomorrow (Wednesday) forcast of 82 degrees. I am considering driving out to Lost Maples. I have heard there is still color on the trees and I chose this day to do this as it is the last day of great weather. Is there something you would suggest we do if we go there? I am thinking of grabbing an inexpensive lunch or snack in Bandera. Any recommendations? Ice cream (maybe)?
I had considered the option of skipping Lost Maples and instead hiking the Friedrich Wilderness preserve much closer to our hotel. Thoughts? I have never been to either place. (We have been to Enchanted Rock and Perdenales Falls) We like a place with a good view/scenery.

This would be the warmest evening to go to the River Walk. I really don't want to do that without my husband--hopefully he can go. Do the canal boats run at night? I thought it would be nice if the Christmas lights were on to ride the boats after dark. Would you say it is best at night or would you suggest I take the boys during daylight?

Thursday--forcast is a high of 65 degrees. I have two plans in mind and I can't decide between the two.

One plan has us going to the IMAX to see the Alamo movie, revisiting the Alamo,
possibly walking the Riverwalk during the day (if you don't think night time will work), maybe the Spanish Governor's House (should I?), and possibly the San Fernando Cathedral.

The second option has us forgetting all of the above and just heading out to Natural Bridge Caverns. Thought on doing this when it's 65 degrees? I heard the caverns are humid. If we did Lost Maples the day before the Caverns would mean another day of a lot of driving...Thoughts?

The third day--Friday--weather--high of 58 degrees--I have us touring the missions. Any thoughts? We did some of this 6-7 years ago and enjoyed it then. None of us remember that much, though. I think we wanted to start out at Mission San Jose and for sure go to Concepcion. If you had to choose one mission NOT to do--which would it be. Anything you can recommend we do while at the missions? I have read something about there being trails. Too cold?? Worth it? Anything we could do in the area for an inexpensive lunch? Starbucks? icecream?

Off topic--is your hockey arena worth a visit even if we can't see a game? I have some HUGE hockey fans and a son who plays ice hockey. I thought this might be another night time excursion if dad is available.
Any other suggestions would be appreciated. This is trip with a very limited budget as it has not been planned for until yesterday. )

I really appreciate any help you can give since I am leaving around 3:00 today.

Thanks,

Kathy

 

[Planogirl]

I can help with a few of your questions.

The caverns are fun any time of year. The temperature inside is always the same regardless of outdoor weather and shouldn't be affected in any manner. The IMAX movie is wonderful too and so is the San Fernando Cathedral. The governor's mansion doesn't take long. Tell the older kids that the well is rumored to be haunted if that would pique their interest.

Definitely see Mission San Jose and Concepcion. If you plan to skip a mission, I would say the furthest one out on the map - I can't recall the name. If you don't have a map yet, don't forget that the visitor's center on Alamo Plaza can provide you with everything. I don't recall trails and most of the drive is through a park and rather ragged areas. I'd eat before or after going personally.

Have fun. I wish that we could go!

 

[janica]

I would add that the boats on the Riverwalk should be running and the
decorations should be up. If you have a chance to see it at night, it's all
very pretty.

 

[AmazingGrace]

I know it'll be a ittle brisk. But if you want to hear my son singing, he'll be on the River walk at the Arneson on Friday night singing with our church!!
The river boats are a neat thing to do this time of year. and the IMAX is really cool.

 

[Belle5]

I know it'll be a ittle brisk. But if you want to hear my son singing, he'll be on the River walk at the Arneson on Friday night singing with our church!!
The river boats are a neat thing to do this time of year. and the IMAX is really cool.

I would LOVE to hear him sing. Unfortunately, we will be clearing out around 5 or 6 when DH finishes work. We have to get home for soccer tournies.

Thanks Planogirl and janica!

Anyone else?

 

[Belle5]

I wanted to update those of you who responded to me with what we ended up doing.

Here is what we did:

Lost Maples -LOVED IT! The leaves were practically gone but it was still gorgeous! We had some lovely adventures straying off the paths just a bit for the boys to climb a big rocks, etc.
Would love to go back and spend some time in the quaint towns of Medina and Bandera! Only had DQ in Bandera as the 3 year old was sleeping after hours of hiking and we needed a drive-thru.
River Walk after dark--after seeing this at Christmas it's hard to imagine it could ever be so beautiful at any other time. Stunning! We loved the river cruise!
The Missions--freezing cold the day we went. The only one that we foundly interesting at all was Mission San Jose. That one was very well done. From there we went back to River Center mall and had lunch in the food court. Shopped a bit and then walked over to the Alamo. It was more enjoyable this (compared with last spring break) time because of low crowds.
This morning--check out of the Embassy Suites and headed to the AT&T center so we could see where the Rampage play. We could not get a look inside other than the gift shop. Nice place from the outside. Headed over to Fort Sam Houston and really enjoyed taking in the Museum there. It is small but well presented. The three year old just wanted to come home and play with his army men after that! (Seriously, it was not interesting for him but for everyone else it was)
Found a great spot to eat on the way back to Dallas. Chuy's for Mexican food was terrific!. We were very excited to find that they have a location in Dallas . We will be hitting that soon.
Thanks again for trying to help. Your information will not be wasted as we will be back down there soon!