For my Birthday, I had wanted to go back to the Riverwalk. When I was there 12+ years ago, it was right before Christmas, and it was beautiful. The twinkling lights, the smells from the restaurants bordering the walk, the people stopping to admire the beauty that is the San Antonio Riverwalk.
Cut to 2018. Yesterday was the first day since my Birthday that it either wasn't freezing cold or raining cats and dogs. So, we thought, good day to go.
The skies were bleak and gray all day and it drizzled. It wasn't cold enough for a jacket, but too cool to go without, so we spent all our time taking off and putting on our jackets.
I had input Riverwalk parking into my phone's GPS, thinking it would get us as close as possible. Once we parked and started walking, we realized that that was not the case. Nothing looked like it did when I was there last. And we ended up taking a roundabout way that meant we walked for at least a mile before we got there.
Once we arrived, we went to Schilo's the Riverwalk's oldest deli. It had texan and some german foods, so we enjoyed a nice lunch. After a nice lunch, we walked down the stairs and hit the Riverwalk.
It was just as gorgeous as I remembered and there were no crowds, probably because smarter people realized the weather wasn't great and stayed away. The landscaping was lush and grown out. The sidewalk cafes looked colorful and bright. We listened to one of the sightseeing barge drivers making jokes as he meandered throughout. I even found the restaurant we ate at all those years ago.
We walked for probably a mile or so and I did a little window shopping before we decided to start heading back to the truck.
Did I mention that I left my purse in the truck? Which meant, of course, that my camera's battery died and I had to use Dave's phone to take pictures. It also meant that my phone was back at the truck with the address of the parking lot in it. Did I also mention that downtown San Antonio is much bigger than I remember?
We came back out on street level several blocks from where we entered. Nothing looked familiar and all I could remember about the parking lot was that it was somewhere near Broadway and Fourth Street.
We looked at several maps, stopped (me) a couple of times and asked for directions and we still managed to navigate through most of downtown SA. I was beginning to think that we would have to get a taxi to go home and buy a new truck, because how could I find ours in the midst of all these buildings that didn't look familiar?
We ended up at a park that we had never seen before while I insisted that the church we were near was the one near the parking lot. It wasn't. But we finally found Broadway and all we had to do now was find Fourth Street. We argued about the direction to take. Luckily, I was right and we only had to walk a few more blocks because Dave saw the truck.
So, we probably walked two or more miles just trying to find the truck. We were exhausted! Dave could barely walk and I had a blister that didn't just pop open, it bled all the way through my sock.
So, lessons learned: Take a picture of the damn parking ticket with the address on it. If I used my phone to get there, bring it with me so I have the address. Bring my damn purse so I have an extra camera battery cause phone pics in the gloomy mist really suck.
We can honestly say that we'll never forget our first trip together to the SA Riverwalk and now I know what not to do when I take my mom there. Adventure? We got that in spades as we contemplated never finding our truck again. I was already envisioning how I would get a new license from TN, as well as credit cards and other things in my purse. Then I thought that after a week or so of the truck not moving, maybe someone would run the plate and we'd get notified. So, maybe we should just rent a car for a week and see what happens. All those crazy thoughts helped me walk every step. Did I mention that I hugged the truck when we got back to it?
Just another day, living our not-so-simple life :)
Below are the pictures that I managed to take. Hope you enjoy them - they were well earned!
Cut to 2018. Yesterday was the first day since my Birthday that it either wasn't freezing cold or raining cats and dogs. So, we thought, good day to go.
The skies were bleak and gray all day and it drizzled. It wasn't cold enough for a jacket, but too cool to go without, so we spent all our time taking off and putting on our jackets.
I had input Riverwalk parking into my phone's GPS, thinking it would get us as close as possible. Once we parked and started walking, we realized that that was not the case. Nothing looked like it did when I was there last. And we ended up taking a roundabout way that meant we walked for at least a mile before we got there.
Once we arrived, we went to Schilo's the Riverwalk's oldest deli. It had texan and some german foods, so we enjoyed a nice lunch. After a nice lunch, we walked down the stairs and hit the Riverwalk.
It was just as gorgeous as I remembered and there were no crowds, probably because smarter people realized the weather wasn't great and stayed away. The landscaping was lush and grown out. The sidewalk cafes looked colorful and bright. We listened to one of the sightseeing barge drivers making jokes as he meandered throughout. I even found the restaurant we ate at all those years ago.
We walked for probably a mile or so and I did a little window shopping before we decided to start heading back to the truck.
Did I mention that I left my purse in the truck? Which meant, of course, that my camera's battery died and I had to use Dave's phone to take pictures. It also meant that my phone was back at the truck with the address of the parking lot in it. Did I also mention that downtown San Antonio is much bigger than I remember?
We came back out on street level several blocks from where we entered. Nothing looked familiar and all I could remember about the parking lot was that it was somewhere near Broadway and Fourth Street.
We looked at several maps, stopped (me) a couple of times and asked for directions and we still managed to navigate through most of downtown SA. I was beginning to think that we would have to get a taxi to go home and buy a new truck, because how could I find ours in the midst of all these buildings that didn't look familiar?
We ended up at a park that we had never seen before while I insisted that the church we were near was the one near the parking lot. It wasn't. But we finally found Broadway and all we had to do now was find Fourth Street. We argued about the direction to take. Luckily, I was right and we only had to walk a few more blocks because Dave saw the truck.
So, we probably walked two or more miles just trying to find the truck. We were exhausted! Dave could barely walk and I had a blister that didn't just pop open, it bled all the way through my sock.
So, lessons learned: Take a picture of the damn parking ticket with the address on it. If I used my phone to get there, bring it with me so I have the address. Bring my damn purse so I have an extra camera battery cause phone pics in the gloomy mist really suck.
We can honestly say that we'll never forget our first trip together to the SA Riverwalk and now I know what not to do when I take my mom there. Adventure? We got that in spades as we contemplated never finding our truck again. I was already envisioning how I would get a new license from TN, as well as credit cards and other things in my purse. Then I thought that after a week or so of the truck not moving, maybe someone would run the plate and we'd get notified. So, maybe we should just rent a car for a week and see what happens. All those crazy thoughts helped me walk every step. Did I mention that I hugged the truck when we got back to it?
Just another day, living our not-so-simple life :)
Below are the pictures that I managed to take. Hope you enjoy them - they were well earned!