Trip to San Antonio, Texas - November 2018

Thursday, November 22 - I was picked up by Vancouver Cab at 4:50AM.  It had been raining during the night but the rain had stopped.  I checked in at Alaska and went through TSA checkpoint.  I purchased a Day Pass at the Alaska Lounge.  It was a short flight to Seattle at 7:00AM.  Screaming baby!  I did a Virtual Geocache - Flying Fish at Sea-Tac.  I visited the Alaska Lounge.  Flight left at 11:51AM, arriving about 5:46PM.  I took a Super Shuttle ride to Drury Plaza Hotel - San Antonio River Walk.  The hotel is housed within the beautifully restored 1929 Alamo National Bank Building.  I had a Fruit and Cheese Platter for light dinner.  I read "The Devil wore Prada".

Friday, November 23 - I had an early breakfast.  I went back to bed for a couple hours.  I found Easy Riverwalk Cache - my 1st in Texas!  I tried to find the Alamo Red and Green Trolley but it was no longer running so I took a City Sightseeing Double Decker Bus Tour.  I ate Red Beans and Rice for lunch at Pat O'Briens at Alamo Plaza.  I walked back to the hotel.  I had a reserved seat at the Drury Plaza Riverwalk for the Holiday River Parade. 

Saturday, November 24 - I rode Lyft to Halcyon cafe at 1414 S. Alamo Street where I hosted a Geocaching Event from 8:00 to 9:30.  About 18 cachers attended the Event including Shane and Gwen TEAMDW99 who sat beside me during the Holiday River Parade the previous evening.  I had a large mug of hot chocolate.  I got a ride back to the hotel.  I walked over to the Alamo.  I had Filet-O-Fish sandwich and coke for lunch at McDonalds.  I rode the Via Shuttle stopping at the Market Square - El Mercado.  I bought two chocolate chip cookies at the bakery.  After about an hour I rode the Via Shuttle back to the Alamo stop.  I purchased Fruit and Cheese Platter and Shortbread cookies from Starbucks for light dinner.   I found a Virtual - Riverwalk Cache where I saw a wedding across the river and then sat near another wedding by the steps.  Across the river was the Arneson River Theatre.  I watched the Laser show on the facade of the Cathedral from the Drury Hotel's 14th floor. 

Sunday, November 25 - I attended Mass at the San Fernando Cathedral.   I rode Lyft to the San Antonio Museum of Art formerly the 1884 Old Lone Star Brewery.  I had lunch at Tre Trattoria halfway through viewing the exhibits.  I found a nearby cache - Waste of a Good Brewery (GC206FR).  I rode Lyft back to the hotel.  I watched a movie "Fail Safe" on television.  I went to Road Scholar registration, orientation, introductions and San Antonio overview.  Chris and Carol Toda from Hawaii gave us each a macadamias treat.  We departed from the lobby to walk to dinner at Paesano's on the Riverwalk.  I watched the Laser show on the facade of the San Fernando Cathedral from the plaza.

Monday, November 26 - We had early breakfast.  We had a presentation "Gone to Texas" by Professor Allen Lee Hamilton.  The group went on a guided walk.  I took Lyft to the 1859 Menger Hotel with its gorgeous, three-story lobby near Alamo Square.  I took photos of the Fergusons at the Christmas tree that I emailed to them later.  RS group had a lunch buffet at the Menger Hotel.  I had cheesecake and a bit of Bread Pudding for dessert.  We visited the Mission de Valero (The Alamo).  I photographed a benchmark at the Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse.  I saw "Alamo: The Price of Freedom" at the IMAX theater.   I found Remember the Alamo Virtual.   I read "The Gates of the Alamo" by Stephen Harrigan before the trip.  I wandered along the Riverwalk to Joe's Crab Shack.  I got a Corona beer, sat at the front of the cafe and people watched until the RS group showed up for dinner.  We had a private, narrated river barge ride.  I was so cold! 

Tuesday, November 27 - After breakfast we departed the hotel by motorcoach.  We toured part of the San Antonio Mission National Historic District.  I found a Virtual - Dam, Ditch, and Aqueduct.  There was a tree at the dam honoring President John F. Kennedy.  He visited San Antonio in 1963 to dedicate the Aerospace Medical Center at Brooks AFB one day before he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.  I photographed the Espada Aqueduct.  The aqueduct was part of an extensive system of irrigation ditches called acequias that watered the mission fields.  We visited Mission San Jose with its legendary Rose Window and Mission Concepcion, the best preserved of the missions.  We had lunch at La Margarita in Market Square.  We departed Market Square about 2:00.  We had Tamale making demonstration by cookbook author Diana Barrios.  We had dinner at the Plaza Club - First Bank Tower.  Afterwards I saw the SAGA laser show again at the facade of the San Fernando Cathedral.  I sat next to three guys that were geocachers: ankka07 and puupaa7581 from Finland and their Texan host.  

Wednesday,  November 28 - After breakfast we had a presentation "LBJ - His Life and His Legacy".  We departed the hotel lobby for lunch and a guided walk.  We took bus #51.  We had lunch at Liberty Bar in King William neighborhood.  Terrible lunch.  I left the guided walk to take the 1 1/2 hour guided tour of 1876 Italianate Villa Finale; Museum and Gardens.  I got a ride back to the hotel.  I ate dinner at the hotel and watched "Survivor". 

Thursday, November 29 - After breakfast we departed by motorcoach for LBJ National Historical Park.  We visited the LBJ Ranch that sits in the middle of the Pedernales River.  We stopped at the family cemetery.  We could not visit the interior of the main house.  I watched the film and looked around the gift shop.  I completely forgot to look for geocaches.  We traveled to Fredericksburg.  I had lunch at Auslander Restaurant.  I purchased a Snickers bar at Dooley's 5 and Dime.  I found two geocaches.  We departed by bus to see holiday lights of the Hill Country.  We drove through Johnson City.  We had dinner at Old 300 BBQ in Blanco, Texas.  The trip back to the hotel was miserable.  We had to listen to country music, the film screens were incredibly bright and it was quite late.  Several people had to leave very early in the morning so it must have been frustrating not to get back right after dinner.  I watched the last bit of "Murphy Brown".

Friday, November 30 - I had a late checkout so I slept late.  I packed my suitcases and took them to the front desk to store about noontime.  I took a Lyft to the Madhatters Tea House for Afternoon Tea.  I had three kinds of sandwiches, a scone, petit fours and a pot of hot Earl Grey tea.  I took a Lyft to the Alamo where I got a stamp on my Road Scholar passport and talked with the Ranger about the proposed changes coming to the Alamo site.  I found a geocache along the Riverwalk.  I walked back to the hotel to retrieve my luggage.  I was picked up by Super Shuttle at 4:15PM.  I purchased a fruit parfait and biscotti at Starbucks at the airport.  I boarded the flight to Seattle and then another to Portland, Oregon.  My daughter Catherine picked me up about 1:00AM.  It was a great trip only because I arrived three days earlier so I could do several activities including watching the Holiday River Parade and hosting a Geocaching Event before the RS program began as well as adding activities during the RS program.