THE BASS FAMILY: Trip to San Antonio

Since Susan has already blogged our trip, and done a fabulous job, much of what I blog is going to be taken from her text and pictures. No need to rewrite what she already recorded so well.

On Wednesday, April 9, I flew down to San Antonio to meet up with my good friend, Susan, who was flying in from Washington state. Susan and I have been friends for 10 years. We first met at the neighborhood mailbox a few months after we moved to Washington state. We lived down the block & my two oldest kids are the same ages as her two girls. After about 5 years in Washington, we sadly left a lot of good friends behind when we moved to Tennessee nearly 6 years ago. Since then I've seen Susan four times, the last one being in August of 2010 when we met up with our husbands in San Francisco. After having Micah and being tied down for quite some time due to pregnancy, breastfeeding, etc., I determined that when I weaned him, I was going to get away on a girls trip for a few days. I talked to Susan about it, and we decided a visit was way overdue, so we planned this girls trip. We tried to choose a place somewhere in the middle where neither of us had been. Our only other requirement was that this place had to have good weather, and it totally did. We spent 3 glorious days running around in 80 to 90 degree weather and sunshine. It was wonderful!

We both arrived in San Antonio Wednesday evening. Since the day was already mostly gone, we just spent the first evening in the hotel catching up. The next day, Thursday, our adventure began. Susan and I decided not to rent a car because neither of us like to drive in unknown places, especially big cities. Since we stayed close to the airport we had to find alternate transportation into downtown which was about 10 miles away. Luckily, the hotel shuttle was able to drive us to and from a bus transit center which was about a mile away at the North Star Mall. Using the bus was definitely the way to go. We bought bus passes for just $4 each day which gave us unlimited rides. We definitely benefited from this on Thursday. We ended up hopping on several different buses and trolleys because we had no idea how to get anywhere. :)

The bus drivers were really nice & happily gave us directions. However, sometimes 2 blocks was actually 3 or 4, so we remained a bit lost on the first day. Little did we know, San Antonio's FIESTA also had its kick-off the day we arrived. Each April, more than 3 million people participate in an 11-day FIESTA in San Antonio. It includes parades, food, and fun. The FIESTA is a celebration honoring heroes of the Alamo and Battle of San Jacinto, as well as the diverse culture of San Antonio. For us, though, the FIESTA turned out to be more inconvenient than anything else. Unfortunately, with the Festival going on, a lot of the streets were closed off, so some of the bus stops were either closed or moved to different locations. We waited forever at one stop for the number 7 bus to take us to the Botanical gardens only to find out the number 7 bus did not stop at that spot. After passing the River walk multiple times on our way to find other places, we finally decided to bypass the Botanical gardens that day and just explore the River walk since we were right there already. It ended up working out great.

The River walk was really beautiful. We took a boat tour first before having lunch right beside the river at Casa Rio. You can't come to San Antonio without eating some Mexican food! We learned lots about the River walk history on our boat ride. It took a lot of focusing to understand our tour guide's strong accent, but it was still worth doing and a great introduction to the River walk. It was interesting to learn that after the river flooded in 1921 and caused 9 feet of water on Houston street, the plan was to pave over the river so it wouldn't happen again. In 1929, a man by the name of Robert Hugman presented a plan to save the river by creating a walk and sanctuary with restaurants and shops. It included a bypass channel and flood gates to prevent flooding and channel the flow. His plan called "the Shops of Romula and Aragon" was enthusiastically accepted by the mayor and council. However, it didn't completely come to fruition until many years later due to the Great Depression. Now, it is the top attraction in San Antonio, and rightly so. It has been expanded to 13 miles in length. The more northern part of the walk is not commercialized as the central area is.

I was very disappointed when I went to take my first picture of the day only to realize that my camera battery was dead AND I had left my memory card at home... talk about lack of preparation! We found a place to buy another memory card, and luckily, Eric saved me by suggesting I bring my alternate battery and charger. Unfortunately, I carried a bulky camera everywhere with me on Thursday without being able to take a single picture. Oh well, luckily, I could count on Susan to take some great pictures to document our first day. :)

After lunch we headed to the Alamo which was really close by. Susan and I were both surprised at its small size. I thought it would be bigger, but some of it has been torn down. In fact, Alamo Street now goes through a large portion of the former grounds. We toured the church and grounds and also watched a short file about its history which was very interesting.

Afterwards we decided to head over to the King William district. It took us a while, but we finally found the blue trolley that would take us there. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, the historic houses we wanted to tour were closed. We ended up walking around there anyway, exclaiming over the beautiful houses. We decided we would head back there in the morning since we now knew how to get there and what time the tours were.

We caught a bus back to the North Star Mall where we had a yummy dinner at Chick-fil-A before the hotel shuttle picked us up. It was a super long day, but we had a blast just wandering around in the warm sunshine and talking, talking, talking!

Last pic of my baby before I left on the plane

Since it was my first time away from Micah, I knew I was going to miss this little guy a lot (which I did), but the few relaxing days of no responsibilities with a good friend was a welcome break.

A great breakfast was included in our stay each morning!

Old San Antonio National Bank

This is where the bus dropped us off and we got our first view of the beautiful River walk

We seemed to keep coming back to Presa Street all day!

Outside this Texas Ranger Museum is where we met our first Texas cowboy. He was trying to persuade people to come in and see the museum.

We didn't plan to visit this museum/wax museum, but we did take this opportunity to get a couple of interesting pictures. :)

Susan and the Irish Elk

Me and the giant cat!

Tried most of the day to track down the Blue trolley! These were nice trolley cars and included in our day bus fare.

The driver of this trolley told Susan he owed her $20 for his picture. (above)

We took the River boat tour

Our river boat guide with iron bridge behind

There are many bridges over the River. Each one was different and uniquely beautiful.

River stage where performances are done

Here you can see the grass stadium seating opposite the stage

Also, many hotels, restaurants, and shops line the river walk.

This building looks flat

Along the river were many nice gardens, flowers, trees, and waterfalls:

Someone took our picture on the boat

Selfie

Each boat had a name in memory of someone. Ours was Ms. Joci.

After seeing the many dining opportunities along the river, we knew where we had to have lunch!

Here's my lunch! It was delicious and the atmosphere was even better!

Susan with her lunch and a glimpse of the river on the left

Here's a view of our dining area from above. We were just a couple of tables down on the right.

The Alamo:

"The Alamo" was originally known as the Mission San Antonio de Valero. It is a former Roman Catholic mission and fortress compound and the site of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836. It is now a museum in the Downtown San Antonio, Texas.

The compound, which originally consisted of a sanctuary and surrounding buildings, was built by the Spanish Empire in the 18th century for the education of local Native Americans after their conversion to Christianity. In 1793, the mission was secularized and soon abandoned. Ten years later, it became a fortress housing the Mexican Army group, the Second Flying Company of San Carlos de Parras, who likely gave the mission the name Alamo.

The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13 day siege, Mexican troops under Mexican President Santa Anna launched an assault on the Alamo Mission. All of the Texian defenders were killed. Santa Anna's perceived cruelty during the battle inspired many Texians—both Texas settlers and adventurers from the United States—to join the Texian Army. Buoyed by a desire for revenge, the Texians defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto, on April 21, 1836, ending the revolution.