Remember the Alamo

Last Friday night, Jerry and I went to a Chicago concert at the Majestic in San Antonio. They were EXCELLENT and you all know how much I love it when a concert starts on time and ends before midnight. They were in rare form and played for about 2 hours. San Antonio was fun ... lots of GREAT food!

Since we were staying on the River (more on this later) we decided to visit the Alamo, which I hadn't been to since the early '90s on a Texas Commerce Bank video shoot. It's always interesting to revisit landmarks you were taken to as a child ~ in some ways they always seem smaller than you remembered.

It's impossible to get a clean shot of the front of the Alamo, so here's a nice one of the front roof line.



Tourists headed in for a look around.



The Mission Well and Live Oak.



Monument ...



While in SA, we saw some things we've never seen before ... PINK bluebonnets.



... an orchid tree



... and this interesting bird with big red spots on his wings!



Here's another shot with the bird's wings open so you can see the red feathers.



These little creatures were hanging out at the Quarry Golf Course on the rocks/sidewalls of the quarry. Don't know what they are, but they were cute.



Here he is wondering what in the world I'm doing watching him instead of Jerry playing golf!



Speaking of golf ... this course is really beautiful.



As you can see the weather was threatening (and cold), but it didn't rain.



Great shot!



Lots of wildflowers ...



... and big rocks on the quarry side.



We had dinner at an old favorite ... Paesano's. Billie, the Shrimp Paesano was "molto bene"! Wish you could have joined us, but you probably made the right decision. It was a madhouse on the river and would have been a major hassle for you to park and get through the crowds.

Here's a nice shot of the river.



I should stop right here, but I have to share my opinion about the Hilton Palacio del Rio, in case any of you are headed to SA anytime soon.

We have had so many great experiences at the Hilton Park Cities in Dallas that I decided to give them a try. Now, I knew I should have booked us at the Mariott RiverCenter or La Mansion, but after looking at the Hilton website I decided to go for it.

We arrived at noon and learned that there is basically no self-parking and that valet is $35 a day. That's not a typo ... THIRTY FIVE dollars a day to park a car in San Antonio, TX. So after schlepping all of our things - with NO ASSISTANCE from the Hotel - into the lobby, we are turned back at check-in because our room was not ready. "Come back after lunch ... "

Lunch was great (Mexican food and margarita) and when we returned to the Hilton we carried our belongings back into the hotel, again with no assistance. Got the room keys and headed upstairs. My upgrade to a "high floor with river view" netted us a room on the 8th floor.

When we stepped from the elevator we were slapped in the face with the stench of cheap room freshener - no doubt over-sprayed to cover some other stench! You could not walk on the bathroom floor without wearing shoes because it had that late-night movie theater slip & slide texture - even wearing running shoes.

So after investing a healthy sum in this hotel stay - and paying extra for a "river view" - THIS is what we saw out our balcony window.



and this ...



In their defence, if you went to the edge of the balcony and looked straight down you could see the river.



Personally, I'll never darken the door of the Hilton Palacio del Rio again!