We awoke early once again and headed down the hall for our free Hampton Inn breakfast!
We've been in bed well before midnight and up at the crack of Dawn almost EVERY day this trip! I feel so old! Lol!
But I digress!
After breakfast in the chaotic breakfast area, we got ready to do some sightseeing.
The plan for the day was to bop around the Riverwalk area, grab some lunch, then head over to see The Alamo. Our plans for later were dinner with my cousin and her girlfriend....but that wasn't until after 7 pm. It was before noon when we headed out so that left us plenty of time to be tourists!
It was a BEAUTIFUL day so I opted to leave my umbrella on the bike. We hoofed it down to the Riverwalk area once again, stopping to take pix along the way of some of the great architecture! I just love this area!
The Tower Life Building.....
The Cathedral of San Fernando.....
The remains of Davy Crockett, William Travis, and Jim Bowie are allegedly entombed here. I've read conflicting stories, though...
After snapping pix we headed down to the Riverwalk for some lunch. (I know....it's sounds like we JUST ate breakfast but it was at LEAST 2 hours later! Lol!). Since we've eaten nothing but Tex-Mex for 2 days, we decided to switch it up and try an Irish Pub called Waxy O'Connor's. I had Guinness, Tom had a Kilkenny and we split a Reuben. A really good Reuben! With really good fries! Even though it was HOT I really enjoyed sitting outside, people-watching by the Riverwalk! I so wish we had this in Cleveland! After lunch we decided to take a boat tour! These boats are constantly going up & down the river, loaded with tourists. We bought our tickets and, after a short wait, we were on our way! Our guide pointed out the great architecture, told us some factoids, and gave us a little history lesson! Did you know that in the 30's and 40's, due to unrest in their homeland, a LARGE number of Germans immigrated to Galveston and San Antonio? So many that Germans were the majority nationality in that region! Our guide pointed out the oldest restaurant on the Riverwalk, Casa Rio. It was founded in 1946 by....German immigrants! True story! And to this day they're ALWAYS busy! Must be doing something right! Some of the buildings our guide pointed out was the NIX hospital which, thanks to an optical illusion, appears to be a thin wall ready to fall over.
He also pointed out the Tower Life Building, with it's fantastic gothic detail, gargoyles, and grotesques.
The Tower Life Building, originally the Smith-Young Building, was constructed to look like a ship heading into the river from a certain angle.
This building really caught my eye from a distance...I had already taken a ton of pictures of it...so I was reeeeeeaaaally happy to see it up close and get a little description of it! Our guide also told us about 2 hotels that made the Guiness book of world records.... And I can't remember which they were and why they made it now...!!!
He also pointed out the Tower of the Americas, constructed for the 1968 World's fair. It has a viewing area and a restaurant up top that makes a full rotation every hour. It was the tallest observation tower until 1996, when the Starosphere in Vegas bumped it. I wish I could remember everything he told us! There was so much to take in!
Nearing the end of our tour, we were passed by another tour boat. The driver was giving our driver the "slicing throat" sign...you know... The index finger slicing across the throat. Our driver explained to us that....no, she didn't want to kill him, but instead was letting him know that a storm was moving in so the tours would be suspended for a bit. Boy did we get lucky! Our tour was over, so we disembarked and headed for a gift shop to buy an umbrella! Because remember...I left mine on my bike at the hotel! Dammit! The sky was still beautiful....no signs of any storm, but we weren't chancing it and decided to head for one of the the restaurants with outdoor seating that was sheltered. We ended up at Rio Rio..the Naked Iguana Cantina. After perusing the beer list, I opted to continue sampling local brews that I've never had before. I ordered a Lone Star light. It was good! I'm not a huge fan of light beers anymore but on a sweltering hot day I don't want a "big beer"! Shortly after we were seated and had our beer in front of us, the sky opened! Everyone was scrambling for cover! We were dry and comfy, watching it all unfold! Good thing we took that boat ride! If not for the tour guide's warning, we would've never figured a storm was coming! We split an order of Chalupas and an order of street tacos. Decent food there! Nothing amazing, just pretty good! After the rain subsided, we walked around the Riverwalk a bit more, stopping at the Harley shop to buy some T-shirts. I'm trying to ration my t-shirt buying! I'm not sure how much more I can carry in my bike!
Time to find the Alamo! The streets of San Antonio are very well marked with signs pointing out where to find the major attractions. We found the Alamo very easily. We stopped outside to take some pix before heading inside....
Near the entrance and once inside, there were signs letting us know that cell phones were prohibited, as were cameras. It told us not to touch the walls. It also instructed men to remove their hats and for everyone to keep their conversations quiet and to a minimum. Basically, think about where you are and show some respect!
There was a line formed near the back and people were filing past the plaques that listed the names of those that perished there, and what States or Countries they represented. Tom & I got in line, and right behind us were 3 girls...late teens, maybe early 20's. They proceeded to laugh, gossip, and giggle LOUDLY the whole time as we approached the plaques. Good grief, girls! Why are you even HERE?!?! You obviously have no interest or concept about anything that happened here! I glared at them a couple times. They didn't take the hint. Finally I leaned over to the loudest giggler and said "Do me a favor and lower your voices. Show some respect for where you are". I don't think she meant for me to hear it, but as I turned back around Tom overheard her say to her friends in a most juvenile, smartass tone... "I thought we were in America" Tom told her, "yes we are, and you're free to leave!" Then she mumbled something to her friends about "these military people...." Tom showed great restraint in ignoring that comment and not putting her through the wall! What an ignorant group of girls. I believe there's no hope for them! Luckily they kept their distance and kept their traps shut the rest of our visit there.
PS: when I scolded them, as soon as the words came out of my mouth I realized it was my Mom talking!
Idiots aside, I'm so glad we got to see the Alamo. I learned more about it than I had previously known, I realized where the term "Bowie Knife" came from and I also learned that no, there's no basement in The Alamo! (Pee Wee Herman's Big Adventure? Yes, those words were going through my mind throughout the day!)
What I found really disappointing about the area is that across the street there's a Ripley's Believe it or Not and a bunch of other tacky tourist traps. It reminded me of a cheap boardwalk scene. So out of place considering the history in that area.
Tourist time was over. We were HOT! It was in the lower 90's. The walk to the Riverwalk from our hotel was 15 to 20 minutes, then we spent more time walking around the river walk...then walked to the Alamo, then walked about another 1/2 hour back to the hotel! Good Lord!!!! Time for a cold shower and some relaxation before dinner!
Our dinner plans were to meet my cousin Chrissy and her girlfriend Angela at the Spaghetti Warehouse. Yummo! I haven't had Italian food in forever! (Again, we had a worldly cuisine day....Irish lunch, Tex-Mex snack, and Italian dinner!)
Tom discovered an app called "Hail A Cab" which is fantastic! Hardly any wait! It shows exactly where the cabs are close by and gives you the cab number of the one coming to get you. Before he even picks you up, the cab driver knows your name and destination. It's awesome! So, we used "Hail A Cab" and soon we were at the Spaghetti Warehouse!
We met Angela for the first time and had a phenominal pasta dinner! I ordered the Pepperoni Baked Spaghetti, which had bits of pepperoni in the sauce and mozzarella baked over the top! Angela ordered the same thing....
This is Angela's serving. I was jealous because she got more cheese than I did! 😆😋
We had so much fun getting to know Angela and catching up with Chrissy! It was much quieter than when we met the night before at Taco Haven!
Yay! Pasta!!!
Unfortunately it was another early night for us! Angela was working 7a-7p all weekend and we were exhausted from our tourist-y adventures! We said farewell and used good old Hail a Cab to take us "home". Where I promptly fell asleep!
The next day...Sunday....brought more fun and good times! But I'm gonna make a whole new blog entry for that one!!!
Stay tuned!!!!
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