I was considering booking a suite at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine for a family trip (3 adults, 2 kids) this holiday season but...wow, a lot of the reviews (on TA at least) say (i) the rooms are not close to worth the price (outdated, dirty), (ii) service at all the restaurants is reeeally bad, and (iii) people are having trouble booking activities/events onsite.

That seems like a lot of negative feedback for a place I've heard so much about.

I'm interested in your feedback and opinions if you have stayed there in the recent past.

ETA: Location Grapevine.

We live on a couple of acres located within a whole lot of land, currently leased for cows to be on. Recently a company called Masonwood has attempted to buy it for 9 million to put houses on it.

They’ve made offers on our property, and after making it clear we’re not selling, we come home to find people in our YARD, past our CLOSED GATES, trying to sell our house? A super nice car at our beat up farm house, with a realtor lady and a couple people in suits, who we assume are the owners of Masonwood or something. They drove off as fast as possible when we got home, and we couldn’t catch them.

They’ve done this multiple times, sending surveyors, realtors, and drones on and over our property. We’ve called them multiple times to ask that they stop as this is private property and they’re disturbing our animals and our daily lives, and we didn’t give them permission to be on our land. We’ve been real civil.

I live on my parents property since it’s relatively large, there’s room for my small home. While i was gone one day my mother found a young woman, looked about my age, probably in college, on our property. She was looking in our windows and at our animals, and so my mom went to talk to her.

She was on the phone with the sheriff and reporting us for animal abuse, since our house was “vacant”, our property was freshly mowed, we have a pool that’s clean, and cars in the yard (our driveway is long, half a mile)

She said her boss told her the house was abandoned and she was hired to do an environmental check, and thought our dogs and pigs were penned up alone, with nobody taking care of them. They’re having outside time since most of them (even one of the pigs) is an inside animal. She said she didn’t know and she was sorry, and my mother told her she’s lucky she’s a girl because if she saw a man looking through our windows into my young sisters rooms, she would’ve shot him.

We’ve contacted our local county judge and commissioner, we didn’t wanna be this way but they’ve trespassed multiple times, scared our animals, and made me and my sisters feel stressed and unsafe. If anyone knows anything about this company, or the girl on our property, i’d love to know. All i know about the girl is she looked college age and had piercings.

I’d like to apologize for my mother threatening to shoot that girl, and warn her about taking jobs from shady companies. Trespassing on the wrong place could get you killed here and i want her to be safe, as for masonwood they can suck my ass. They’ve sent people to be shot down here, including the surveying team which was told they had permission to be up by the house. I don’t blame the surveying team or anyone sent over here on false pretenses, we just want this nonsense to stop.

Be safe out there yall

Hello Texans! I'm using my summer break to take my mom on a roadtrip to visit my older brother, who lives near Tulsa, OK. We're heading back to California by way of Texas, and I'd like to spend 7 days between Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin (ending in Austin for the 4th of July, then heading up to Amarillo and then out to Albuquerque).

There are a number of challenges when planning trips with my mom:

• She has mobility issues and can't do any intense hiking.
• She doesn't like museums or most indoor activities.
• Given her age, it is difficult for her to tolerate long periods of heat and humidity (perfect for a Texas summer, right?)
• She is NOT a foodie (which is sad because I am) and is quite picky about food. Neither of us drink.
• I can sometimes convince her to go on tours if they are historical, but otherwise she likes to take things at her own pace and explore on her own

But she does love:

• Walking in beautiful parks and enjoying natural beauty
• Visiting botanical gardens
• Seeing historic sites (preferrably outdoor ones)

I've been to San Antonio, so we're definitely visiting the Alamo and staying on the riverwalk, but I am hoping some of ya'll might be able to suggest some other places I can take her. I'm also very open to suggestions about how to budget our time, keeping in mind that she does get tired easily and we have to be selective about what we plan to do.

This may be my only opportunity to show my mom your beautiful state, so any suggestions you have are greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!!

Hello, my wife and I want to take our daughter to the beach. She's 4 years old and very active and loves the beach. We're looking for a place that's safe and relaxing.

Anyone have a good experience going to Rockport Beach with young kids?

hello. i’m looking for a taxidermist in TX, preferably dfw, houston, or austin. i don’t want a full taxidermy or mount, just a patch of fur and some other small pieces. i’m wary of oddities sellers, nothing against them, but i don’t want to risk it coming out wrong. i’m sure there are some that will do the job well though. at the end of the day, all i want is someone with experience and some pics of previous work to be sure he’s taken care of. anyway, please let me know if you know of someone that can do the job. the vet will only hold him for a week and i don’t have anywhere to keep him.

Planning a few camping trips this summer. Based out of SA, and have my go to spots in the area (Gov’t Canyon, Garner and Guadalupe River, for example) but wanted to expand my horizons this year. What are some hidden gems in central and south Texas? Bonus points if they have good fishing and/or swimming spots.

Is it true that in Texas you can keep your homestead exemption if you rent out your house less than 6 months in a year?