Val in San Antonio

We stayed at the RiverCenter Marriott in San Antonio. It’s right on the Paseo Del Rio, or River Walk. The River Walk is a man-made canal extension to the San Antonio River that hosts restaurants, art and craft stalls, and scenic waterfalls like this one. It may be touristy, but it’s fun.

The history of The Alamo might not be quite what is popularly portrayed, and it’s certainly now more of a tourist attraction than anything else, but there are storytellers and people in period costume, and we spent a very enjoyable couple of hours there.

The easiest way to “scout” the territory is to take a ride on a riverboat. The boat captains are a mine of information, and, if you do this first, you get a good idea of the geography and history, and where to go on foot.

The River Walk is truly a fascinating walk. The area was, apparently not too long ago, a safety hazard, due to crime and general gang activity. Despite the fact that San Antonio generally is one of the most unsafe cities in America for teenagers, the River Walk area has been successfully reclaimed. Val is standing by one of the many mosaics that embellish the canal path.

Along the “river” is a small island, known as “Marriage Island” – a popular site for weddings. Val is standing in front of the altar at which the ceremonies are performed.

The RiverCenter is really just a giant mall adjacent to the River Walk. At the point in the river where the boats turn, there is outdoor seating close to the coffee and ice cream stalls. A Peruvian band (with CDs for sale!) plays in the background.

Saturday night in October is pleasantly warm, and an ideal time to sit by the riverside, drink Margaritas, and eat Tex-Mex.

And it’s much better to have your own than to share, because they’re VERY good.

On the way back from San Antonio, we took the back roads through Texas Hill Country. Suddenly, we saw a sign to a flea market, and decided to investigate. Three huge barns full of … well, stuff. Val couldn’t resist this porcelain cornucopia. Getting it in the suitcase was somewhat more of a challenge!

We stopped for lunch at a diner in Fredericksburg (and we can tell you from experience that you just can’t beat a good diner for both food and service – the food in England is much better than it once was, but we still have a long way to go on service).North of Fredericksburg is Enchanted Rock – a huge dome of granite that is a popular site for campers and hikers. Val wanted to trek up to the top, but I didn’t feel up to it.

Still at Enchanted Rock (which I’m sure has a reason for being thus named – you can google it for yourselves), Val was fascinated by the Prickly Pear cactus that dominated the landscape.

Val in Dallas

At the Will Rogers Memorial Center, the American Miniature Horse Association were having their annual show. Val, of course, wanted one to take home. Fortunately, we didn’t have a suitcase big enough.

Val wasn’t in a cleaning mood, so this didn’t prove to be too much of a problem.

I worked with Sook on the American Airlines project a year ago. She and her husband, Sriram, are originally from Singapore. Their daughter, Anna, is now a year old, and we were invited to her birthday party.

While we were away, Jude, the Restaurant Manager at the hotel opposite, looked after Splash for us. One of her hobbies is making bead jewellery, so we took back some beads for her to say “thank you”. Val is standing in the bead “aisle” of a nearby Hobby Lobby!

The Farmers’ Market in Dallas features produce, crafts and furniture not only from the local area, but also imported from Mexico. There are so many varieties of hot peppers that we’d never heard of, dried and fresh beans, fresh crop pecans, pumpkin, white corn …

Val found a Texas longhorn cow skull rendered in tin, which is now mounted in our hallway. The stall owner wrapped it well for us after hearing that it had to travel to England in a suitcase.

In the parking lot of the Farmers’ Market, with the downtown Dallas skyline in the background.

What can I say? We went to the outlet mall on Route 75 at Allen, and I thought, since we were so close, we’d head north to Oklahoma. That would have been fine, except that I chose the “scenic” route back. Val, bless her, stayed awake and appeared interested for the whole time!