• Best RV Parks - Mill Creek Ranch Resort in Canton remains at the top with The Vineyards Campground on Lake Grapevine a close second, both have great sites, lots of amenities, cozy cabins, and plenty to see and do nearby.  Here is a link to our unbiased RV Park Reviews and ratings.    
•  Best Texas Lakes - wow, the drought has really impacted our Texas Lakes (ie, Lake Travis is down 52' and all of the public boat ramps are closed but Travis is 201' deep and there are still lots of places where you can rent boats, party barges, or wave runners!) and the few constant level lakes like LBJ, Austin, and Marble Falls are really popular - regardless, Texoma (down only 7') remains our favorite closely followed by Travis, Conroe, and Lake Austin.  Here is our link to our Texas Lake Reviews and ratings - some of which are a little biased towards lakes with on the water bars/restaurants.
• Favorite Resorts - this is a really hard one because our favorites each offer s

  JW Marriott San Antonio

  omething a little different - for example, the Double Diamond Resorts (White Bluff on Lake Whitney and The Cliffs on Possum Kingdom) have good golf courses on two great lakes; JW Marriott and La Cantera in San Antonio  have excellent service, great amenities, and two top rated golf courses; Lakeway on Travis has a little bit of everything; and Lajitas Resort in Big Bend has rafting, hiking, biking, horseback riding, and a stunning golf course.  Read our Reviews of Texas Resorts to learn more.
• Best Texas State Parks - it just doesn't get much better than camping with friends and family in any of the Texas State Parks (games, campfires, s'mores, biking, hiking, and more).  Check out our Reviews of Texas Parks.    

I'm tired and you must be too, so let's take a break from the Best of the Best in 2013 - we'll come back to it later!!              

Turn off the TV, slide off the couch, get out of your comfort zone, and try some new exciting adventures:

• Zip through the Trees - no excuses for not taking the kids and yourself for a zip through the trees and for the really adventurous, test you balance and skills on one of  the Texas Challenge or Ropes Courses 
• Explore a Cave - Texas is home to some excellent caves and if you're looking for something more exciting than the standard tour, take the adventure tour - read out our adventure tour at Sonora Caverns 
• Rent a Houseboat or a Party Barge - nothing better than a weekend or longer on a houseboat or partying on the lake with friends and family on a Party Barge 
• Go For A Sail - if houseboats or party barges don't get you excited, sail off into the sunset for a dinner or romantic cruise

• Flyboarding on Lake Travis

  Try Flyboarding or Indoor Skydiving - two of the newest adrenaline pumping adventures to hit Texas last year and both are very fun - here's a link to our Flyboarding adventure and our good time Skydiving
• Kid's Adventures - why not let the kids pick a couple new adventures to try - maybe a maze, a wildlife park, a water park, a train ride, or maybe a kids museum - if you decide on a train ride with Austin Steam Train, use the code DIESEL and save 25% on any Hill Country Flyer ride in February   

We're always seeking happiness and it typically comes from friends, family, camping, boating, traveling, live music, and just about any outdoor activities.  One of our favorite magazines, Outside Magazine, states that "Happiness starts with a balanced mix of exercise, nutrition, and outdoor play" and they've broken the pursuit down into 37 simple, life changing strategies.  Their top 5 include:

• Rise With The Sun - get 7 to 8 hours but don't sleep in
• Get Dirty -  they claim " dirt

  Try a Mud Crawl in 2014

    may be the Prozac and working in soil raises your spirits" - so get dirty, plant something, have fun in a mud race/crawl, or take a walk in the wilderness
• Make Every Day Saturday - weekends make you happier and research says it's the "freedom to make choices" so figure out some ways to get the weekend buzz during the week (get outside, exercise, bike, be spontaneous, etc.)
• Crank Up The Tunes - hearing music pumps out dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure - enough said
• Drink Up - we were a little disappointed in this one, Outside Magazine is referring to drinking water because dehydration makes you cranky - half your weight and drink that many fluid ounces daily

If you missed any of the festivals in 2013, the good news is you have a chance to attend the Best Music Festivals in 2014.  Here is our list: 

Was that you asking, when do we get back to more of the Best Of The Best, well you got your wish, here it is!

• Best of Texas Golf - one of our favorites and we played a lot of new courses in 2013 and came up with the following:  

  Waldon on Lake Conroe

• Best Public Courses -  Cowboys Golf Club takes the prize again  
• Best Private Courses -  Waldon on Lake Conroe tops the list 
• Best Resort Course - hard to get to but Black Jack's Crossing is worth it 
• Best of the Best of all three of the above - Waldon on Lake Conroe is the winner  
• Best Nine Hole Courses - a short list because we need to play more nine hole courses but Starr Hollow is our favorite 
• Best by City - Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio    
• "Best New US Course You Can Play in 2013" according to Golf Magazine is Max A. Mandel Municipal in Laredo
• Golf Digest voted Austin #28 in "America's Best Buddies Trip Destinations."  
• Best Out of State Resorts - our favorites from California to Florida 
• Top 20 Places To Visit in Texas - plus Trip Advisor's list of must visit locations
• Texas Outside's Vacations & Weekends - we'd love to relive any of these again: Best Fun Filled Vacations, Best Golfing Vacations, and Best Weekend Adventures    
• Best Swimming Holes in Texas - spend some time here on a hot summer  

Sincerely,

 

Texas Outside - Mike & Susie Sharp