There are many things to do in San Antonio, depending on the time of year you visit here. At the beginning of January, we drain the San Antonio River and have a Mud Festival. Also each January, you can attend the largest Martin Luther King March in the country on Martin Luther King Day.

If you are here on the last Friday of January, you can go to our free and delicious Cowboy Breakfast.

February is Rodeo San Antonio month and for three weeks, the rodeo and all of the country and other types of musical stars and comedians that it brings are at the AT&T Center. Talk about great things to do in San Antonio! Some folks go to the rodeo almost everyday in February! That would drain my budget.

We remember the Alamo each March. The fall of the Alamo happened on March 6, 1836 so the Saturday and Sunday nearest to this date is used for this event. For 2009, the dates are March 8 and 9.

Also in March, we dye the San Antonio River green. There are many things to do in San Antonio all spring and summer long. Our two major attraction theme parks, SeaWorld Of San Antonio and our own Six Flags park, Fiesta Texas, both open in March in time for Spring Break.

On Good Friday, the day Jesus died on the cross for our sins, San Fernando Cathedral holds a Passion Play. This play is open to everyone. You do not have to be Catholic to watch and remember the wonderful sacrifice that Jesus Christ made about 2,000 years ago for all of us.

On Easter Sunday morning, there are sunrise services throughout the city.

Fiesta is an 11 day citywide party each April with a lot of delicious foods, music, entertainment, and three different parades.

Also in April, the Poteet Strawberry Festival is held, with a carnival, tons of food, including all sorts of delicious strawberry desserts, live entertainment, and strawberries for sale. Poteet is not far from San Antonio. This is great family fun for everyone.

A Cinco de Mayo celebration is held on May 5th in Market Square downtown to celebrate the Mexican Army defeating the French on May 5, 1861.

Then there is the Tejano Conjunto Festival held in early May to celebrate the combining of the Mexican guitar with the German accordion to produce Conjunto music. Food plays a big factor in this celebration as well as the beautiful music.

Every May, the small town of Helotes, right outside of San Antonio, holds Cornyval to celebrate the old corn growing by Native Americans. Now there is not much corn grown here, but there is a rodeo, lots of food, entertainment, and arts and crafts.

If you love golf, the PGA Texas Open is held every May at The Resort Course at La Cantera Golf Club.

The city pools all open at the end of May for the public to use.

For the summer months, the public libraries all have summer reading programs going on for children and teenagers. This includes story times, movies, arts and crafts, all free to the public. This means there are many free things to do in San Antonio for kids.

Each June, we have the Texas Folklife Festival downtown at the Institute Of Texas Cultures. This festival celebrates the rich, cultural heritage of the state of Texas with music, dancing, arts and crafts, and food.

For the fourth of July, there are celebrations at several places in town including fireworks on military bases, at SeaWorld, at Fiesta Texas, and close to downtown at Woodlawn Lake Park, which is the official city of San Antonio celebration.

In August, we are thinking about back to school and that means shopping for back to school clothes during our tax-free weekend. Spend $100 or less and you get all of the clothes and shoes for your kids (not to mention for yourself) without paying sales tax. This holiday (and believe me, it is a holiday here) extends from Friday through Sunday for one weekend during August. This year it is set for August 21 through August 23, 2009.

Each October, the military puts on a wonderful weekend of airshows. You can see the famous Blue Angels and many others perform up in the wild blue yonder.

For ten days in November, New Braunfels has Wurstfest with tons of delicious German foods served up for thousands of locals and visitors.

In November, the Friday after Thanksgiving is when our River Walk is lit up for Christmas and the Holiday River Parade is held.

Of course, all month long in December, there are plenty of things to do in San Antonio. The River Walk is lit up and carolers sing along the banks of the San Antonio River.

The college football Alamo Bowl game happens each year here in San Antonio at the Alamodome in December.

On New Year's Eve, there is a huge party for San Antonio downtown in Hemisfair Park with food, music, and fireworks.

Hopefully, this page has given a few good ideas for things to do in San Antonio when you visit us.

San Antonio tourism is quite high in March for spring break and for remembering the Alamo, in April for Fiesta, in the summer for summer vacation, and in December for Christmas on the Riverwalk and for the Alamo Bowl.

Every March, the Battle of the Alamo is reenacted to commemorate the fall of the Alamo and this brings in visitors from all over Texas.

Spring break in Texas means Six Flags Fiesta Texas and SeaWorld San Antonio open to huge crowds. It also means San Antonio tourism dollars for the Riverwalk, plus a lot of other area attractions, hotels, and restaurants.

April means Fiesta, a huge city-wide 10 day party with a variety of celebrations and food. Visitors from all over pour into the city.

June, July, and August bring summer vacationers eager to play and swim in our theme parks and water parks. While here, they visit the Alamo and the Riverwalk, which, by the way are our number one and number two tourist attractions and both are free to the public.

One weekend every August that brings in a lot of tourists is our tax-free weekend. The state of Texas designates a three-day-period of time as being tax-free for all purchase of clothing and other items if the purchase is under $100 for back-to-school. This brings in tourists from all over, and a lot of them come up from Mexico for this tax-free holiday. Stores are overcrowded.

Every December, visitors from all over the state come to the San Antonio River to see the Christmas lights hung all over the river trees.

Then at the end of December, visitors from all over the United States fly into San Antonio to watch their favorite college teams compete in the Alamo Bowl. During this time, crowds flood the Riverwalk and lines are very long to get into the Alamo.

The Martin Luther King March San Antonio has each year is the largest one in the country! Held each January on the Monday that we celebrate Dr. King's birthday, our city remembers the man who is best known for equal rights for everyone regardless of skin color.

This year, the parade will be held on Monday, January 19, 2009 at 10 AM. The starting place is at the MLK Freedom Bridge located at 3500 MLK Drive and it will end at Pittman-Sullivan Park, 1101 Iowa.

The parade brings out at least 100,000 people each year. Did I mention that we proudly hold the largest event of its type honoring Dr. King each and every year?

This is just one of at least 25 events honoring Dr. King in San Antonio each January. No matter what the weather is like, a huge amount of people show up for it. Last year, it poured, but that did not stop people of every race in our city from going out to honor the great civil rights leader.

The MLK Commission arranges all of the events each year. Some are held at colleges and universities, libraries, and on military bases. The theme for 2009 is "Education: March from the dream to reality" and the hope is to improve children's education.

I grew up in New York back in the 1960's during race riots and many marches. Our family watched Dr. King on television as he proclaimed his message of peace. And then we watched the tragedy of his assassination and funeral on our TV through tears. We appreciate all of his work and foresight and are proud to celebrate his life and sacrifice each January.

If you are visiting our city in January at the time of the MLK holiday, be sure to attend the Martin Luther King March San Antonio puts on and pay tribute to a great man!

One of the first tourist attractions we visited was the San Antonio Zoo after we moved here. More formally known as the San Antonio Zoological Gardens And Aquarium, it is located in Brackenridge Park at 3903 N. St. Mary's Street.

My kids loved it and they still do. I enjoy seeing the rhinos. Several years ago, there was a brand new baby rhino and I loved watching the little guy move around. The whole family will find animals they enjoy watching at the zoo. True, this is definitely not in the same class with the San Diego Zoo, the Bronx zoo, or even the zoo in Colorado Springs, but it is a much better zoo than most cities have. I have visited zoos across the country and this one is better than most.

The San Antonio Zoo has 750 different types of animals. The actual number count of animals is more than 3,800.

Many are in natural habitats. From snakes and frogs to birds to fish to beautiful mammals, our zoo has something to please everyone in your family. There is a cool exhibit of Komodo Dragons, my son's (Matthew) favorite. They had babies last year!

Bring comfortable walking shoes, a hat, sunscreen, and a camera. You will do a lot of walking and you will spend a good deal of time in the sun. Some exhibits are indoors, but most are outside. Plan to take your time and have a relaxing visit.

Construction has just begun (September 2008) on the second phase of Africa Live. From what they are saying, it sounds like we will be on a sort of African safari. What could be more adventurous for children? This should open at the end of 2009. I can't wait to see it. The San Antonio Zoo is open 365 days a year, selling tickets from 9am to 5pm. Guests must leave by 6pm each day. Tickets cost $9 for adults, $7 for senior citizens, and $7 for children, ages 3 to 11. Consider buying a season pass if you plan to go several times a year. Parking is free here so you don't have to worry about that.

The first year we moved to San Antonio, we bought a season pass and went to visit the animals two to three times a month. The zoo is educational, fun, and always changing. The animals are fascinating to watch and provide entertainment for the most fidgety child. Trust me--I had three of them!

For additional information, call (210)734-7183.

329 Alamo Plaza is the home of Ripley's Haunted Adventure, Guinness World Records Museum, and Tomb Rider 3D, right across the street from The Alamo and right next to the Plaza Wax Museum and Ripley's Believe It Or Not. These are where the IMAX theater used to be before it moved over to River Center Mall.

Of course, you have heard of the Guinness Book Of World Records on TV and in school. Each year they come out with a new book showing records made in the previous year for all sorts of things. Now you can visit the museum and learn all sorts of cool things. Adults and kids will both enjoy this museum.

You can ride a really cool adventure and journey to Egypt to the tomb of the ancient god, Anubis, and compete to try and defeat his evil curse at the Tomb Rider 3D. The kids will love this.

The third thing you can do at 329 Alamo Plaza is take Ripley's Haunted Adventure in a multi-million dollar open-year-round, three story haunted house. This is a scary ride, especially at night. It is a 10,000 square foot spooky house with live actors, cool sets, and animatronics to scare you and they do a great job of it!

You can buy tickets to all three attractions and get a discount. After your educational visit to the Alamo, have some fun and buy discounted tickets for all three. Let the kids have a great time. You will, too. Of course, if you have very young children, skip the haunted house as they will be freaked out.

For additional information, call them at (210) 226-2828.

Going to a San Antonio public library can be a wonderful experience for children of any age, especially if they already love books. Libraries are located in every area of the city, so no matter where you stay while you are visiting San Antonio, there is a public library near you.

Each library has special story times and some show movies, have craft classes, and hold puppet shows and magic shows during the year. Besides the Central Library downtown at 600 Soledad, there are 24 other branches all around the city. Three of them are close enough to our house so that we call all three "our library."

There are classes of interest for adults, as well as for teens and children. Some of the adult classes are for tax preparation, cooking, crafting, computer classes, computer programming classes and cyber safety for parents and their children. You will find many of these classes helpful and they are free. Just show up 30 minutes prior to the start of class to sign up. No pre-registration is required. Signing up is first come, first serve.

At certain times of the year, there are exhibits on display at the libraries as well. These can be about almost anything. I have seen old collections of cars, dolls, electronics, and artwork.