San Antonio and Austin Texas

 April 13 - 23, 2006

The Alamo

It was a long, flat, shrubby drive from Marfa to San Antonio. West Texas is big and mostly the same. Brown is the overarching theme with scattered hillocks poking up through the plains like icebergs in the North Sea. (just being poetic as I have never seen icebergs in the North Sea or anywhere else for that matter)

Riverwalk downtown

By the time we approached San Antonio, it was getting greener and wetter. The RV park was right on the riverwalk just south of downtown. A nice bike ride into the heart of the city and the riverwalk was filled with restaurants and drinking establishments. It is so much cooler below street level along the river. You can almost forget that you are in a biggish city. 

Pearl district square

I was told to check out the Pearl district which used to be one of the largest breweries in Texas. It has since been converted to shopping and dining and had loads of vendors in an open market type thing. I found a seat at a bar for a libation and noticed there was a man on a loudspeaker calling out words in Spanish. After a while trying to figure what they were saying, I asked the person next to me if they were just calling out words and she said it was like bingo. I kinda liked the idea of random words like it was a huge open air Spanish lesson.

Where is the Basement?

Mom and I went to the Alamo, because ya just gotta. I made a joke about the basement and then found out they had a replica of Pee Wee's bike. Nancy never saw it so did not get my joke anyway. May need to watch it on the trip. Maybe i need to find movies that represent the places we visit. The Alamo was super interesting. Phil Collins is apparently a massive Alamo collector and they had a bunch of his items on exhibit. 

Dining along the river. So cool!

The next day was a work day but after work, we went to the riverwalk in downtown and then to the Pearl so Mom could experience it. We had some cocktails on the river and I had a few beers at the Pearl. The grassy square had loads of kids running and playing. It is a very cool little area.

Great Idea!

I had seen a cool place on the bike ride and wanted to take my mom and Pookie there. It is called Hops & Hounds and is a dog park bar. Very cool outdoor space with loungers and loads of dogs. They had a coin operated pet wash station. I think this would be a great business for San Diego.

I think i had to work the next day but the final day we went to one of the four missions in San Antonio. (The Alamo was a mission before it was converted to a fort by the Spanish.) We went to the Mission San José. It was partially restored at different times and very large and peaceful. They had this great rambling mesquite tree that Nancy wanted a picture by. A nice stroll and interesting exhibits.

This was my first time in San Antonio and I really liked the vibe. Seemed very laid back and a good place to chill.

Mission San José

The big Mesquite

Next was a short 75 mile drive to Austin. We had a space right on Lady Bird Lake not far from the bat bridge.  Alex gave me Ingrid's contact info so we had arranged to hang out a bit if the weather cooperated. Luckily, Sunday was a beautiful day after raining all night. She also lives in the same area near the lake so we met up for a leisurely ebike ride around the lake. It was probably in the early 90s since I had seen Ingrid. She is running the Austin division of American Institute of Architects and had plenty of info about the buildings and stuff. 

Groovy Mosaic on the tunnel

Was a super fun (but crowded) ride around the lake. I think when there is a day like that, everyone in Austin wants to get outdoors. We ended up at an outdoor cafe where we caught up on life over a beer. She has done such amazing things and it was truly a blast to find out about her life and family.

Batty batty batty bat.

Right around sunset, Nancy and I went to see the bats. I had seen it before but it really doesn't get old. The largest urban bat colony comes flying out of that bridge. It is crazy cool to see 1.5 million bats swarm and flow off as a huge column of zig-zagging, flapping wings. I heard that the bats were offended and started using the term Trump-shit crazy. Maybe it will catch on...

 

We couldn't even eat half of this.

The next two days it rained like crazy. We did manage to make it to Franklin for BBQ. Everyone says it is the best brisket in Austin or maybe the world. After waiting 1.5 hours in line to get in, they could serve me a McRib sandwich and I would say it was the best thing I ever had. We had the brisket and the ribs with beans and potato salad for sides. Brisket was awesome and the ribs were good but not to die for. 

After lunch, we went to the LBJ presidential library on the UTA campus. I really didn't know much about LBJ and was surprised at how much he actually did. He was apparently a very accomplished politician and was able to get a lot of significant legislation around civil rights and poverty signed. His biggest regret was the escalation of the Vietnam war and he did not seek a second term because of it. Also, Lady Bird was a huge environmentalist and got a bunch of stuff accomplished in her own right. Highly recommended.

Rainey Street

The next day was a work day and mostly rain free. I wanted to see some live music so I rode to Rainey St (seemed appropriate) and popped into a little bar that had some dude playing modern country. Right behind me and competing for my ears was a guy at the bar next door playing slow grunge songs in ballad form. I kinda wish I chose the grunge guy bar but I went in before I really listened to the music. A bit strange but then so is Austin. Even with the rain, it was a really fun visit. Would have loved to see some more music though.

Next is Houston...