San Antonio

(photo from Southern Living)

Friday afternoon My Sweetie and I are taking our first road trip together since March of 2003. We are not big road trippers (obviously!), but My Sweetie bought a new Prius this year and has been itching to take it out on the road. We are heading south to San Antonio. With a few stops along the way, it should be about a five hour trip. San Antonio is most famous for its Riverwalk. The Riverwalk is really pretty and goes on and on. There are bars and cafes along the riverwalk and there are river taxis that cruise the water. You can see a bit of a river taxi just under the bridge up there. And there are other little pedestrian bridges like that so you can change sides or just stand up there and look around.
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The first time I went to San Antonio was in April 1984. My first husband and I were having a sort of ersatz honeymoon. We had married in January on a Thursday and he started a new job the following Monday. I guess he had to work there 90 days to qualify for a few days off. We actually went to the beach. It was my first Texas beach trip and being from North Carolina, I was really disappointed, but this story is not about the slack Texas coast. What we did was stop on the way in San Antonio to spend the night with his aunt and uncle - people he had not seen in years. We woke up the next morning and had horrible scrambled eggs that his aunt made and since I was 5 months pregnant, I don't know how I was able to slurp them down - they were like soup - but I was trying to be polite. Although I was then in a hurry to get to the "beach," he insisted that we make a stop at the Riverwalk downtown. I had never heard of it and had no real interest, but it was my birthday and I was in a good mood. I was very impressed. And it was 100° which was my personal high temperature record for my birthday. Still is. So as pretty as it was, it was very hot and I was quite pregnant so we did not stay long.
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In 1988 when my second husband and I were planning our little November getaway wedding we decided on San Antonio. We found a lovely boutique hotel on the river and got a room that opened out onto a long balcony. I knew it would not be 100° in November, but also knew it would be nice out and we planned to be married on the balcony on a Friday afternoon. We got there early afternoon on Thursday and had to go downtown to get the marriage license and so did not get a long time to enjoy the Riverwalk that day although we did have time to take a short river taxi cruise. The next day was all about getting ready for the wedding and then our guests began arriving early: my parents, his parents and two of his siblings. Then the wedding on the balcony followed by all of us walking to a nearby restaurant for dinner and then stopping in for drinks at our fancy hotel bar. I was very stressed because I had not met his parents before, so obviously I had not really had time to relax and enjoy the locale. On Saturday we got up, got ready and left to come back to DFW for a reception party with friends. So again, I did not get a chance to really explore the whole Riverwalk. And that was the last time I was there.
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Although this will also be a relatively short trip, there will be no distractions and I will finally be able to just amble along the Riverwalk and enjoy everything. It's supposed to be 93° and partly cloudy, but I am guessing that all the shady trees and the river will make the Riverwalk feel a bit cooler. And I won't be pregnant. And I won't be meeting future in-laws for the first time. This should be nice.