It is difficult for me to wind down to vacation speed. Because of the Texas heat, we've walked slower although longer; we've eaten out often, but a little at a time; we've shopped a lot, but spent less money than a few trips to Target. I guess things on vacation are the same, but different.
We've enjoyed one another's company - and that's the best part of vacation for me. I actually miss the people with whom I work, and I know they'll be there when I get home. But the time I get to spend with Kyle while here is precious to me. Even though we live together, it seems we're like ships passing in the day and night with our busy schedules. Vacation is a great time to reconnect and enjoy one another again - to share outings and quiet moments.
Trinkets and clothing, pictures and blogs will help us to remember the respite from our "regular life", but being in the moment of this "alternate reality" has been wonderful. I'm grateful for our places of employment for allowing this time of rest and renewal. I'm grateful to Kyle for wanting to surprise me with a great 5th anniversary vacation. He tells me it's my choice next time - hmmm. I'll begin taking suggestions if anyone has them:)
Thanks for touring San Antonio with us! I hope you have enjoyed Kyle's blogging and our pictures. If you would rather us keep the info to ourselves - feel free to blog us with your vacation details as well! It seems we have to gear up to head home... and just when I was getting the pace of vacation perfected.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Happy Memorial Day!!
We hope everyone is enjoying the holiday today. We ventured out of our comfort zone today by utilizing VIA to go to a great shopping area in North San Antonio called 'The Quarry Market'. The Quarry Market was built on an old quarry site, and many of the original structures have been incorporated into the design of the outdoor shopping center. The whole area is very interesting architecturally, but it is what you would expect of an open air shopping center. There were most of the usual suspects: Old Navy; Borders (finally, a book store!!); Starbucks; Chili's; etc.
With one exception. If any of you know Trish, then you know that she is a huge James Avery fan. James Avery is a jewlry designer who is from Texas, a fact with which Trisha was very familiar. She was surprised however to find a James Avery store. We decided to grab a bite first, and then go 'shopping' at the James Avery store.
We wanted to try something new for lunch, so we popped in to a place called Freddy's Steakburgers, but it seemed a little to 'fast foody' for us; we really wanted to sit down and order from a menu. Around the corner we found a place called 'Canyon Cafe'. This turned out to be the surprise of all surprises. The restaurant didn't stand out in the way of decor or menu choices. I ordered a chimichanga, while Trish ordered the salmon. But when the food arrived, it was fabulous! We both decided that this was the best meal of the whole trip, and from a chain restaurant none-the-less! We told the waitress how much we liked it, and she gave us complementary desserts! So, if anyone ever comes across a Canyon Cafe, we highly recommend stopping in.
After our great meal, we finally headed to the James Avery store. Trisha recognized many of the pieces, and commented that seeing them in person was so much better then looking at the pieces in catalogs, or online. We looked through the whole store and found ourselves back at the very first case we saw near the door. There was a ring there that really caught my eye upon entering, and Trish liked it equally as well. It is a double knot design, you can see a photo of it on my FaceBook photos.
After a little more shopping, we each picked up a pair of flip-flops and I got a new belt (I felt like a 'banger', I have actually lost a little weight on the trip and my cargo shorts were all baggy and falling off!), we hopped back on the bus(es) and made our way back to the hotel.
Last night we stayed in and ordered some chinese food for delivery to our room. Tonight we decided to visit the River Walk one last time, but we're going to the pool for a bit. Today it isn't much cooler, but the skies are partly cloudy and there is a nice breeze to help cool us off.
Tomorrow is our travel day. We depart SA at 11:40 and arrive in Omaha via Memphis around 8:30. If we have time we'll shoot off a post before we leave.
Happy Holiday!
Kyle & Trisha.
With one exception. If any of you know Trish, then you know that she is a huge James Avery fan. James Avery is a jewlry designer who is from Texas, a fact with which Trisha was very familiar. She was surprised however to find a James Avery store. We decided to grab a bite first, and then go 'shopping' at the James Avery store.
We wanted to try something new for lunch, so we popped in to a place called Freddy's Steakburgers, but it seemed a little to 'fast foody' for us; we really wanted to sit down and order from a menu. Around the corner we found a place called 'Canyon Cafe'. This turned out to be the surprise of all surprises. The restaurant didn't stand out in the way of decor or menu choices. I ordered a chimichanga, while Trish ordered the salmon. But when the food arrived, it was fabulous! We both decided that this was the best meal of the whole trip, and from a chain restaurant none-the-less! We told the waitress how much we liked it, and she gave us complementary desserts! So, if anyone ever comes across a Canyon Cafe, we highly recommend stopping in.
After our great meal, we finally headed to the James Avery store. Trisha recognized many of the pieces, and commented that seeing them in person was so much better then looking at the pieces in catalogs, or online. We looked through the whole store and found ourselves back at the very first case we saw near the door. There was a ring there that really caught my eye upon entering, and Trish liked it equally as well. It is a double knot design, you can see a photo of it on my FaceBook photos.
After a little more shopping, we each picked up a pair of flip-flops and I got a new belt (I felt like a 'banger', I have actually lost a little weight on the trip and my cargo shorts were all baggy and falling off!), we hopped back on the bus(es) and made our way back to the hotel.
Last night we stayed in and ordered some chinese food for delivery to our room. Tonight we decided to visit the River Walk one last time, but we're going to the pool for a bit. Today it isn't much cooler, but the skies are partly cloudy and there is a nice breeze to help cool us off.
Tomorrow is our travel day. We depart SA at 11:40 and arrive in Omaha via Memphis around 8:30. If we have time we'll shoot off a post before we leave.
Happy Holiday!
Kyle & Trisha.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Church at St. Johns
After another nice hotel breakfast, Trish and I set out for St. John's Lutheran Church. Worship was at 10:45, and we arrived about 30 minutes early. I know a few churches back in Dakota that could take hospitality lessons from the folks here in San Antonio! We were greeted very warmly and made to feel right at home, and yes, that was before Trisha was outed as a Pastor.
The service was interesting, a bit 'High Church' for either of us, but the message was nice, and Pastor Skip Courter kept us interested. The choir was excellent, as was the bell choir. They had a magnificent pipe organ, clearly their music program was outstanding.
After the service, we stuck around for the obligatory Lutheran coffee and treats. We actually found two members who were born and raised in South Dakota. The world is small.
We had planned to get a couple tacos at a stand in La Villita, however they were out of steak and tortillas. Luckily, I remembered a *great* restaurant I had been to in 2006 called Rosario's, which was only about 5 blocks away. We walked there and had a very nice lunch. Rosario's is kind of a 'new wave' or 'trendy' Mexican restaurant. The food was great and the ambiance was bright and cheery.
We hopped a trolley after lunch and went to the mall to find a bookstore. I fear the people in San Antonio, although very friendly, must be mostly illiterate. We have found the only mall in the US that does not have a bookstore. Nor is there a bookstore anywhere in the downtown area. After leaving empty handed, we found ourselves back at the hotel.
Unfortunately, I have to tend to some work which will take me a couple hours (I hope that's all it takes), after which we'll figure out what's next.
Tomorrow could be interesting. We found a note slid under our door warning us that the water would be shut off Monday from 10:00AM to 5:00PM, so I guess we'll have to plan around that.
Have a great holiday!!
Kyle & Trisha.
The service was interesting, a bit 'High Church' for either of us, but the message was nice, and Pastor Skip Courter kept us interested. The choir was excellent, as was the bell choir. They had a magnificent pipe organ, clearly their music program was outstanding.
After the service, we stuck around for the obligatory Lutheran coffee and treats. We actually found two members who were born and raised in South Dakota. The world is small.
We had planned to get a couple tacos at a stand in La Villita, however they were out of steak and tortillas. Luckily, I remembered a *great* restaurant I had been to in 2006 called Rosario's, which was only about 5 blocks away. We walked there and had a very nice lunch. Rosario's is kind of a 'new wave' or 'trendy' Mexican restaurant. The food was great and the ambiance was bright and cheery.
We hopped a trolley after lunch and went to the mall to find a bookstore. I fear the people in San Antonio, although very friendly, must be mostly illiterate. We have found the only mall in the US that does not have a bookstore. Nor is there a bookstore anywhere in the downtown area. After leaving empty handed, we found ourselves back at the hotel.
Unfortunately, I have to tend to some work which will take me a couple hours (I hope that's all it takes), after which we'll figure out what's next.
Tomorrow could be interesting. We found a note slid under our door warning us that the water would be shut off Monday from 10:00AM to 5:00PM, so I guess we'll have to plan around that.
Have a great holiday!!
Kyle & Trisha.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Saturday Night in SA
T and I decided to go back to the River Walk for a bit. There were a *TON* of people down there tonight! I don't know if this is a typical Saturday night, or if the holiday weekend is drawing more people, or maybe people are starting to come to town for the big game tomorrow night. Add to that the fact that there are arts and crafts vendors setup along the River Walk selling their wares, it really was too crowded for our taste.
We had 1 drink at Ibiza, the bar beneath the Hilton Palacia Del Rio and then headed up to take the trolley back to our hotel.
We decided it wouldn't be bad to make it an earlier night as we are planning on attending St. John's Lutheran Church in the morning.
Have a great night everyone!!
K & T
We had 1 drink at Ibiza, the bar beneath the Hilton Palacia Del Rio and then headed up to take the trolley back to our hotel.
We decided it wouldn't be bad to make it an earlier night as we are planning on attending St. John's Lutheran Church in the morning.
Have a great night everyone!!
K & T
Saturday in SA
Saturday was a fun day. We had breakfast at the hotel, with mounds and mounds of fresh fruit, and other assorted goodies. It seems hard to find fresh fruit when you're on vacation, I'm sure our bodies welcomed the nutritious treat.
After we ate, we headed downtown for the Segway tour. After a brief training session, we were out and riding. If you ever have the chance to ride a Segway, we both recommend it. We had a blast riding around downtown SA, as well as some of the beautiful historic district homes. All too soon our fun tour came to an end, and we had to give the Segway back to the tour company :-(
On the recommendation of our tour guide, Megan, we hopped a trolley to find Blanco's Mexican Cafe. Unfortunately, Blanco's closes at 2PM. We hopped back on the trolley and headed to El Mercado where we ate at Pico De Gallo's and then went souvenir shopping at El Mercado.
It is really, really hot here again today. I hear it isn't so hot back in SD, sorry!! Because of the heat, we decided to walk back to our hotel from El Mercado and relax for a couple hours. We may head back down to the River Walk for a couple drinks a little later, or maybe not. We're on vacation so it doesn't really matter!
Kyle & Trisha
After we ate, we headed downtown for the Segway tour. After a brief training session, we were out and riding. If you ever have the chance to ride a Segway, we both recommend it. We had a blast riding around downtown SA, as well as some of the beautiful historic district homes. All too soon our fun tour came to an end, and we had to give the Segway back to the tour company :-(
On the recommendation of our tour guide, Megan, we hopped a trolley to find Blanco's Mexican Cafe. Unfortunately, Blanco's closes at 2PM. We hopped back on the trolley and headed to El Mercado where we ate at Pico De Gallo's and then went souvenir shopping at El Mercado.
It is really, really hot here again today. I hear it isn't so hot back in SD, sorry!! Because of the heat, we decided to walk back to our hotel from El Mercado and relax for a couple hours. We may head back down to the River Walk for a couple drinks a little later, or maybe not. We're on vacation so it doesn't really matter!
Kyle & Trisha
Friday, May 23, 2008
Part 2 of Friday...
What? What? What? Trisha is getting sick and tired of hearing me say that. After a nice nap during the hottest part of the day, I awoke to the absence of any pain in my ear!! Whatever the doctor gave me seems to be helping, a little. However pain free, I still believe myself to be profoundly deaf in my right ear. I am hoping this is temporary because it really is frustrating.
Anyway, after we regrouped, we headed out to a pizza joint we found online. It is called Central Park Pizza of NY (we posted some pictures on my FaceBook account). The pizza was spectacular! We then headed out to the River Walk for some night time activities. We finally found a place with an open table right on the River Walk and I enjoyed a couple Dos XX Lager taps, while Trisha had a couple O'Douls.
We then took a very noisy Yellow route bus back to our hotel and are settling in for the night.
So, the San Antonio Spurs are playing game 3 of their series on Sunday night, here in SA. I checked for tickets on TicketMaster b/c I thought it would be pretty cool to see an NBA playoff game live. Of course, there are no tickets for sale on the regular part of TicketMaster, but I did find some on the area of TicketMaster where season ticket holders can sell their tickets if they're not going to use them. I don't think we're going to go. The least expensive tickets have a face value of $23.00 and are selling for $150.00. Court side tickets are usually $1,600.00 and are available for the low, low price of $20,650.00. Enough said.
Finally, look for our pictures tomorrow. There should be some good ones. Trisha and I are going to take a segway tour of downtown San Antonio at 1:00, you know, those things that look like 2 wheel hand carts. I've always wanted to try riding one of those things!!
Have a good night and a good weekend everyone!!!
Kyle and Trisha.
Anyway, after we regrouped, we headed out to a pizza joint we found online. It is called Central Park Pizza of NY (we posted some pictures on my FaceBook account). The pizza was spectacular! We then headed out to the River Walk for some night time activities. We finally found a place with an open table right on the River Walk and I enjoyed a couple Dos XX Lager taps, while Trisha had a couple O'Douls.
We then took a very noisy Yellow route bus back to our hotel and are settling in for the night.
So, the San Antonio Spurs are playing game 3 of their series on Sunday night, here in SA. I checked for tickets on TicketMaster b/c I thought it would be pretty cool to see an NBA playoff game live. Of course, there are no tickets for sale on the regular part of TicketMaster, but I did find some on the area of TicketMaster where season ticket holders can sell their tickets if they're not going to use them. I don't think we're going to go. The least expensive tickets have a face value of $23.00 and are selling for $150.00. Court side tickets are usually $1,600.00 and are available for the low, low price of $20,650.00. Enough said.
Finally, look for our pictures tomorrow. There should be some good ones. Trisha and I are going to take a segway tour of downtown San Antonio at 1:00, you know, those things that look like 2 wheel hand carts. I've always wanted to try riding one of those things!!
Have a good night and a good weekend everyone!!!
Kyle and Trisha.
San Antonio Health Care System
That's right. Don't worry Trisha is fine. It was actually me that had to find a doctor. I failed to mention in either of the earlier posts that I had more difficulty with my ears during both legs of our flight than I have ever experience before. My dad has had problems in the past, so maybe it runs in our family. I thought that after a day or two things would work themselves out, but when I awoke this morning, the annoying discomfort that felt like someone shoved an earplug in my right ear, was joined by a fair amount of pain. Still thinking that it would get better throughout the day, we set out for 'La Villita'.
It became clear very soon that it would not get better, and in fact it felt like things were getting worse. I called the 800 number on our insurance card, and Keysha very graciously found an ear, nose and throat specialist about 5 blocks from where we were. I called the office and they said get over here right away! But not because they were worried about my condition, the only doctor on staff was leaving for the weekend. We hoofed it over to the office and after a thourough check up, it was determined that my right ear never fully depressurized so my eardrum was bowing out, and there was a fair amount of infection brewing in the liquid trapped inside by my eardrum.
They thouroughly irrigated my nostrils with Afrin and sent me on my way with 2 prescriptions. The closest pharmacy turned out to be 8 blocks away, so we hoofed it there. After having the scripts filled, we opted to take the red trolly back to the downtown/riverwalk area.
By this time, we were both pretty hungry and we found a Fuddruckers. I know, I know, we can eat at a Fuddruckers anytime, but it sure was tasty! After lunch we finally made our way back to La Villita. Trisha enjoyed browsing through the shops, but felt things were a little too touristy, pricewise anyway. We again boarded the red trolly and headed to El Mercado, which is still pretty touristy, but better priced.
Trisha found some great turqouise jewelry and after some more shopping, we decided to walk back to our hotel and take it easy for a bit.
I should mention that Trisha is having some sinus difficulties, so we are a great pair this week with our ailments! We're feeling more like 60 than 40!
We'll check back in a little later...
It became clear very soon that it would not get better, and in fact it felt like things were getting worse. I called the 800 number on our insurance card, and Keysha very graciously found an ear, nose and throat specialist about 5 blocks from where we were. I called the office and they said get over here right away! But not because they were worried about my condition, the only doctor on staff was leaving for the weekend. We hoofed it over to the office and after a thourough check up, it was determined that my right ear never fully depressurized so my eardrum was bowing out, and there was a fair amount of infection brewing in the liquid trapped inside by my eardrum.
They thouroughly irrigated my nostrils with Afrin and sent me on my way with 2 prescriptions. The closest pharmacy turned out to be 8 blocks away, so we hoofed it there. After having the scripts filled, we opted to take the red trolly back to the downtown/riverwalk area.
By this time, we were both pretty hungry and we found a Fuddruckers. I know, I know, we can eat at a Fuddruckers anytime, but it sure was tasty! After lunch we finally made our way back to La Villita. Trisha enjoyed browsing through the shops, but felt things were a little too touristy, pricewise anyway. We again boarded the red trolly and headed to El Mercado, which is still pretty touristy, but better priced.
Trisha found some great turqouise jewelry and after some more shopping, we decided to walk back to our hotel and take it easy for a bit.
I should mention that Trisha is having some sinus difficulties, so we are a great pair this week with our ailments! We're feeling more like 60 than 40!
We'll check back in a little later...
Thursday, May 22, 2008
River Walk and The Crystal Skull...
In my opinion, the first order of business on any vacation should be rest and renewal. We managed to check that off our list by going to bed early Wednesday night, and sleeping in a bit on Thursday morning.
After we were ready to take on the day, we headed out to test out the public transportation in San Antonio. We found the fare to be very reasonable and the routes and buses easy to use. We took the 'Yellow' route all the way around just to see where it went and what we could see. Finally, we disembarked at a stop right by the River Walk.
The River Walk was just as I remembered it from my time here in 2006 with the National Lutheran Youth Gathering. If you have never seen it, I highly recommend making the trip to San Antonio, it really is worth it. After a short walk along the River Walk, we found ourselves at the River Center Mall, which is where we intended to go.
Our reason for going to the mall was to catch the 1:00 showing of Indiana Jones. The movie was great, and the popcorn was tasty.
After the movie we took a river boat tour of the entire River Walk area, which was very informative and gave us some good ideas of things to do later during the week. After walking for awhile, we found a great jazz bar and I took in some tequila and gin (not in the same drink) and we both listened to the jazz and enjoyed the general hub bub of the River Walk.
Growing hungry we headed out once more on foot and found a very reasonably priced dinner at the Lone Star Cafe. With full stomachs and tired feet, we decided to once again board the yellow route bus and head back to our hotel.
The day was great. The weather was sunny and hot at about 95 degrees. All in all, our first full day was really nice. We didn't over do it, and we figured out some things to do for tomorrow.
One funny story: One of the 'commercials' before the movie was an advertisement for joining the Marines. A young man was being interviewed on what he thought of being a Marine. During the interview, he stated that he was from a small town in South Dakota. It seems you're never very far from home in this small world of ours.
That's it for now! Hope everyone and everything is fine back home.
Kyle.
By the way, for those of you with FaceBook accounts, you can view our pictures from today on my FaceBook page. For those of you that don't have a FaceBook account, sign up already, would ya? It's free and all the cool kids are doing it.
KB.
After we were ready to take on the day, we headed out to test out the public transportation in San Antonio. We found the fare to be very reasonable and the routes and buses easy to use. We took the 'Yellow' route all the way around just to see where it went and what we could see. Finally, we disembarked at a stop right by the River Walk.
The River Walk was just as I remembered it from my time here in 2006 with the National Lutheran Youth Gathering. If you have never seen it, I highly recommend making the trip to San Antonio, it really is worth it. After a short walk along the River Walk, we found ourselves at the River Center Mall, which is where we intended to go.
Our reason for going to the mall was to catch the 1:00 showing of Indiana Jones. The movie was great, and the popcorn was tasty.
After the movie we took a river boat tour of the entire River Walk area, which was very informative and gave us some good ideas of things to do later during the week. After walking for awhile, we found a great jazz bar and I took in some tequila and gin (not in the same drink) and we both listened to the jazz and enjoyed the general hub bub of the River Walk.
Growing hungry we headed out once more on foot and found a very reasonably priced dinner at the Lone Star Cafe. With full stomachs and tired feet, we decided to once again board the yellow route bus and head back to our hotel.
The day was great. The weather was sunny and hot at about 95 degrees. All in all, our first full day was really nice. We didn't over do it, and we figured out some things to do for tomorrow.
One funny story: One of the 'commercials' before the movie was an advertisement for joining the Marines. A young man was being interviewed on what he thought of being a Marine. During the interview, he stated that he was from a small town in South Dakota. It seems you're never very far from home in this small world of ours.
That's it for now! Hope everyone and everything is fine back home.
Kyle.
By the way, for those of you with FaceBook accounts, you can view our pictures from today on my FaceBook page. For those of you that don't have a FaceBook account, sign up already, would ya? It's free and all the cool kids are doing it.
KB.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
We made it!
Not that it was too hard or anything. We got on the road a touch late, but weren't too worried about it until I realized I hadn't checked the map on exactly how to get to the airport in Omaha! Not to worry, I called mom and dad for directions. After their route fell through (Sorry mom & dad), I called Patrick and Matt at the good old ELBO office and they guided us in without any trouble.
Of course, this minor mishap did set us back a bit, but we had checked in online the night before and had our boarding passes in hand. The flights were both on time and uneventful. We did only have 10 minutes at Memphis to find our connector, but we managed to squeeze in a stop at Starbucks somehow.
I swear it took as long to get our baggage at San Antonio as the actual flight from Memphis! Once we had our belongings, we hailed a Prius cab with an awesome driver and managed to get to our hotel.
We ate at a great Mexican restaurant called Mi Tierra on our cabbie's recommendation. Trisha was serenaded by a wonderful marriachi band.
After our long day of travel, we decided to take it easy at our hotel after the short walk back.
Check back tomorrow for more updates!! Oh yeah, and hopefully they'll have my biking blog back up before too long!!
Love Kyle and Trisha!!
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