A Visit to San Antonio TX…

We always look forward to the holiday season for the opportunity to visit with our family but all too quickly it must come to an end. Our daughter Katie was scheduled Jan 2nd to fly back home but since the round trip from Mission to San Antonio was very very long (247 miles each way), we decided to stay overnight in a hotel.. I have a friend that lives in San Antonio and after contacting him about where he would recommend we stay he simply found us a place and sent us the confirmation. Thanks David for this great Texas hospitality.

The morning of the drive came early as we hit the road by 5:45 to ensure that Katie would have plenty of time to check her bags and catch her 11 am flight back to North Carolina. Four long hours later we pulled up curbside, said our sad farewells and Katie was on her way headed eastward. Our son who lives near Austin recently was reassigned to a store in San Antonio not too far from the airport so we stopped by and paid him a surprise visit. Odd that we saw both of our kids in San Antonio yet they didn’t get to see each other.

After our short visit with our son we headed to Trader Joe's to replenish some supplies. Next it was off to lunch where we had some decent but not great Tex-Mex food at a place called the Taco Barn. Happily the red and green salsas, chips and warm homemade flour tortillas were fantastic. After eating we realized the early morning wakeup call had caught up with us so we checked into the hotel and rested a few hours before making plans to hit the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio. We heard the Christmas lights had not been taken down yet and David told us that if possible we really must see the Riverwalk at night as it was a terrific sight.

We parked at a nearby city garage and wandered over toward the Riverwalk. We paused to enjoy and photograph the brightly lit Alamo while also noticing the festive lights of every color decorating the horse and buggies lined up to pick up tourists on this unusually chilly nightl  As we walked ahead and down the stairway to the Hyatt Hotel we passed through their lobby and out the other side to the Riverwalk. Wow! The spectacular lights were strung high up into the trees and reflected onto the water making for a very festive feel to the area. We marveled that both of us have visited the Riverwalk many times over the years but never at Christmas and this was a real treat.

We read online that Landry’s Seafood had an awesome Happy Hour so we made our way to the bar and landed a small table by a window overlooking the well lit Riverwalk, Score!!! A couple of drafts of Sam Adams Seasonal and Texas’s Shiner Bock beer along with an appetizer Blackened Chicken Quesadillas and some Crab Stuffed Shrimp Brochettes with Béchamel Sauce, and we were in business. All this for under $20 including the tip made for a great value for any place along the Riverwalk.

It was a great night. Sure glad we made the trip…