2004 SPRING FLING IN TEXAS!! 2-4 APRIL
                                              UPDATED 7 MARCH!!!

This year's joint spring outing for all five Texas Jaguar clubs is going to be an activity filled event in one of the most beautiful sections of our
gorgeous state. We are going to partially hitch onto the 2004 Texas Wine
and Food Festival, put on by the organization of the same name where
wineries and restaurants statewide are putting on special events to start
up the spring season. The weekend of 2-4 April coincides with a
maximum level of wildflowers, and given the rain in that part of the state while we have been planning this, we will certainly have plenty of
wildflowers. Each of the events on the agenda is a pay as you go, with the only pre-pay being for the River Cruise, as it is popular and space limited this time of year. All are optional of course, but the other locations have been told to expect our full headcount, with a slight reduction for Friday evening as there may be some late arrivals.

The host hotel for the event is the Hampton Inn on the Lake in Marble Falls. The phone number for the hotel is 830-798-1895. Please
mention the Jaguar event when reserving accommodations. We have
exceeded the original block of 15 rooms, with a king size room rate of
$89/night, so they may be down to only other types of rooms at this same rate. These rooms require a 2 night stay, and they release 3 weeks prior to the event. As of 6 March, an additional 20 rooms were still available beyond the 21 already reserved. Alternate accommodations abound in this area, with some very interesting options, like the Antlers Hotel in Kingsland, next to the Four Bears where we will eat dinner Saturday. The Antlers has antique rail cars refurbished as hotel rooms among their lodging options. Canyon of the Eagles Resort adjacent to the River Cruise also has accommodations which are closer to nature if you so desire. An excellent website for finding other attractions, lodgings, restaurants, and other activities is the Highland Lakes recreation website: www.highlandlakes.com/index.htm .

Friday evening, we will eat at the newest restaurant in Marble Falls that the locals have recommended, the Wild Horse Grill, on Main Street walking distance from the hotel. The menu there is wonderful, and they have their own website if you want to check it out: www.wildhorsegrille.com.

So many have asked us to go again, that we have included a trip on the
Vanishing Texas River Cruise www.vtrc.com. The cruise, while just after the end of the Eagle season, will take us on Lake Buchanan and up the Colorado River past waterfalls and other wildlife in the state natural area.
The two story boat can carry 100 persons, very comfortably, and provides ample viewing space for the narrated nature tour. We have space reserved, for as many as 67 persons on the river cruise. (In 1999, we saw eagles still there around April 10 th .) The group rate for the River Cruise is $14/person, it is BYOB, and we will asking people to register with us by e-mail to blackwbg@msn.com  for this event. We will be collecting the cruise ticket funds beginning Friday afternoon at 5PM at the Hampton Inn, or if you prefer, you can mail a check to San Antonio Jaguar Club to the address listed at the end of this flyer.

Following the cruise, a sporty walk up a rocky flowered path or short drive will take us to the Canyon Room at the Canyon of the Eagle Resort for lunch of various salads and sandwiches. Do not have the approximate cost for this yet, but will update with that information, but their regular lunch sandwich menu averages $8.50 each.
After a thorough sampling of every nearby vineyard, we have selected
Spicewood Vineyards www.spicewoodvineyards.com to visit, which is
only about 14 miles southeast of Marble Falls. They have a wide variety of wines to enjoy, and a nice tour for everyone. The Manigold family that owns the operation are very nice people, and are going to make us feel at home. They have a large tasting area with arts and crafts, with a
covered patio looking out over the vineyards. Every vineyard we found
now charges for tours and tasting, and this one is one of the more
reasonable. The tour and tasting are going to cost $1.50 each per person.
For Saturday evening's meal, we have a special treat picked out. A nice
restaurant, called The Four Bears, is about 15 miles from Marble Falls in
Kingsland, where the Colorado and Llano Rivers conjoin. The restaurant does not have an alcohol permit, so we can bring our own. This will let us shop for wine in the afternoon that we will drink that evening at the Four Bears. The location is adjacent to the Railroad Museum and historic Antlers Hotel, where historic rail cars are among the room options. The historic marker speaks to a time when this was a travel resort, where some of us may elect to stay if you want something different from the Hampton Inn.

Register Friday afternoon beginning at 5PM in the lobby area of the Hampton Inn, or Saturday morning from 7AM - 9AM. We will collect for the River Cruise, ask which events you may not wish to participate in, and provide a list of driving directions to all events with some other information. My wife Paula and I hope you have as much fun as we have had scouting it.

The finalized agenda for the event is as follows:
Time Activity Location 

*Friday, April 2nd 5PM 7PM 
Welcome/Registration Hampton Inn on the Lake, Marble Falls

7PM 9PM Dinner Wild Horse Grill, Main Street
www.wildhorsegrill.com   

*Saturday, April 3rd 
7AM 9AM Breakfast/Registration Hampton Inn on the Lake, Marble Falls

8AM 9:15AM Car Display/Popularity Hotel Parking Lot

9:15AM 10:15AM Tour to River Cruise Lake Buchanan

10:30AM 1:30PM Vanishing Texas River Cruise Canyon of the Eagles - North end of TX Hwy 2341

1:30PM 2:30PM Lunch Canyon Room - Canyon of the Eagles
Resort

2:30PM 3:45PM Caravan to Spicewood Vineyards TX 2341 to TX 29 to US281 to TX 71 to Burnet City 804 and 806

3:45PM 5:15PM Tour, Taste, and Shop Spicewood Creek Vineyards, Tow, Texas

5:15PM 5:30PM Tour back to Hotel(s) Burnet Cty 806 to CR 804, TX 71 to
US 281

6:15PM 6:30PM Drive to Four Bears Rest/Antlers Hotel US 281 to TX 1431 to Kingsland, TX

6:30PM 7:30PM - 8:00PM Reception sponsored by JOASW
The Red Caboose at The Antlers Hotel

7:30PM 10:00PM Dinner Four Bears Restaurant, Kingsland, TX

*Sunday, April 4th

9:00AM 10:30AM Brunch/Breakfast Bluebonnet Café, walk from Hotel

10:30AM More Vineyards? As determined by Group. 
Check www.sajaguarclub.org for updates

Point of Contact for information and email address for registration:
Brian Blackwell blackwbg@msn.com 

 CONTACT FOR REGISTRATION
10506 Bar D Trail
Helotes, TX 78023
Phone: 210-256-5002 days 210-695-8504 evenings 210-381-7737 mobile