I do think I'll be living here again one day

Sept 12 - 17, 2003 - San Antonio, TX

So, based on what I said above, and after having gone on this trip, I must say that I do love the city of San Antonio. It's got so much going for it - I particularly like how there's just so much wildlife and nature around throughout all the parts of the city, giving it a much more un-urban feel. And the fact that I have lots of friends there definitely makes it a great city to live in. So I do expect that one day in the future I'll own a home on the NW side of town (which is the area I lived in when I first lived there) and settle down (Ha! Like that'll ever happen....).

On to the recap of the vacation - I flew in to San Antonio about 1 pm on Friday the 12th, and Byron picked me up. We grabbed some grub at Whataburger (Yum! I do miss those) and then we spent some major time at Best Buy and Barnes & Noble. Hey, this is my vacation, and I know I can do that anywhere, but the SA locations will always have a place in my heart! Then that night, we met up with the newly-liberated-from-Lajes Thompsons, Scott & Sunday. They were my Baltimore buddies and my first Azores friends, and it is awesome to still be in touch with them. We went to this great pasta buffet restaurant in the Hyatt on the Riverwalk - good eatin', let me tell ya. After dinner, we made it to the Tower of the Americas, and went up top at night. It's a pretty great view during the evening, and the weather was perfectly warm. And my height fear wasn't as pronounced, as it's deceptive how high you are when all you can see are pretty lights. Yay for pretty lights.

The next day, we made it to Fiesta Texas!!! Robbie was gonna go, but he had scrapbooking class.... (don't ask.) So Byron, Connie & I trekked out there and went on all the fun rides, including Superman Krypton Coaster, which is a blast. We even got Connie, the uber-chicken, to go on it. Of course she didn't open her eyes or anything, but at least she was a trooper and went on the ride in the first place. And I found joy on Poltergeist, which I used to associate with hell, as the coaster is violent as f*ck and it used to have head restraints that totally jacked you up. But they removed those head restraints and the ride is a blast! Highly recommended! Anyways, it was a great time at the park, even though I got soaked on the damn log ride. Below you'll see some photos I took on the Rattler as well - a little shaky, but damn, that coaster is fun! After Fiesta Texas, we then had a great poker party at the house, with Robbie coming to this as well as Ben Wallis and Scott. I didn't do that well, but a fortunate last round hand at Screw Your Neighbor made my losses only $10 as opposed to $25. Wasn't I supposed to win since I was the guest? Hmmm......

On Sunday, we had a barbecue at the house which was great, as Byron and Connie love to cook and they make good stuff. Scott and Sunday came over with their son Alex, as did Carolyn! It was great to just chill and catch up on old times, and it was nice to do it and not have to be on our feet, like at Fiesta Texas. Very relaxing, and very necessary. I think after that was over, Byron and I had some Rise of Nations fun, which was a common theme whenever we had a free moment to do so. Damn, that game is addicting.

Monday, I can't remember doing all that much. I think we went shopping a little bit more, but pretty much the event of the day was going to see for free the movie Underworld. Robbie had hooked us up with some free movie passes, and we met up with him at the Quarry Theatres. Definitely underwhelmed by the movie, but while we were waiting in line to enter the theatre, we got to see the lamest recreation of Vampire vs. Werewolf antagonism. But hey, the movie was free, so why complain?

On Tuesday, we went and had lunch with the gang from AIA over at Mary's. I got to see Calvin, Ladd, Dan!, Carolyn, Robbie, Randy, and some guy. It was great to see everyone again, and made me miss being around there. Oh well, one day!

Finally on Wednesday, it was my departure day, but I didn't leave till the evening, so we decided to go on a drive up to the Canyon Lake area. First we made it to the land that Byron and Connie own and will one day build on. It will be a great area, and the design that they have for the house will make for a very dramatic and beautiful home. Good luck paying for it, Kelly Family! :-) Then we drove down River Road, which parallels the Guadalupe River for a while. It's pretty much the big tubing river that everyone rides on when it's summer and people tube and stuff. I tubed back when I lived in San Antonio, and also managed to get quite blitzed because all you're doing is drinking and drifting down a river. It's great! Anyways, we did that, got back, and then it was time to go back to Vegas, and curse at myself for not taking just two more days of leave so I didn't have to work on Thursday and Friday.

It was a great visit though, and it was awesome to hang out with Byron and Connie, and Aidan, who is definitely a two year old, but he is still a cool two year old though.

San Antonio pictures

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