Another day in San Antonio

The other two couples left San Antonio on Friday and we devoted the day to another old friend. Arnie, who, along with his late wife Carol and their three daughters lived next door to us way back in the 70s and early 80s when we were all in Carmichael. Arnie retired from the Air Force and, after a second career, finally settled in San Antonio. The three of us did a tour of the fabulous hundred and fifty year old houses in the King William area followed by lunch on the river walk.
These are a few of the beautiful old houses in the King William area



Arnie took us to Felix’s, his favorite Mexican restaurant, where we enjoyed a great dinner seasoned with fond memories of times past.

The next morning, we finished our trip to San Antonio with a brisk paced River Walk. Without the crowds, we were able to enjoy the sights and see the art work of the Museum Reach area.

Leaving the hotel, we had made a cursory walk through the Mexican Market and were unimpressed so we decided to make a quick stop at La Villita. Unfortunately, this made us wish we didn’t have to hurry to catch our flight. The galleries were filled with excellent and, to us, unusual pieces, especially some wonderful copper and wood works. This photo is of the interior of the church at La Villita.

We look forward to having our old Texas friends come to see us in California so we can repay the great time we had in San Antonio.

Although this was the end of our short trip to Texas (go Giants), there is more to come. In a little over three weeks, we will embark on a much bigger trip that will finally carry us "around the world".

Fredericksburg

Our day in Fredericksburg was divided by gender. After a German lunch in this German-founded town, the men headed off to the Admiral Nimitz Pacific War Museum (Nimitz was born here.).
Being told to allow three to seven hours to see the museum and, honestly, the guys concluded that it would take at least two days to see it. On entering the museum, you start with an excellent history of the relationship between Japan and the USA from the time of Admiral Dewey to the embargo of Japan after their invasion of China. Jerry related the story of when he and Anna Lee were in Japan and their atomic bomb museum’s time line starts in 1943. The exhibit continues with the attack on Pearl Harbor of which this is a midget submarine that Japan sent into Pearl Harbor to do additional damage that their bombers missed.

Here is one of a bomber that is similar to the one the Doolittle Raiders used to bomb Tokyo. The guide gave an interesting history of how to take off from an aircraft carrier with one of these. Again, not an easy task.

After seeing this display, visitors follow the Pacific War until the final surrender of Japan.

A separate area is called the combat zone where visitors can see PT 309 (not JFK's boat) which is the only surviving PT boat that actually saw combat in WWII.

The boat was larger than I expected and they only went out at night because, being made of plywood, they were an easy target if the enemy could see them. Tough duty.

The women wandered the street going in and out of the varied shops, stopping occasionally to help the economy. To their delight, the shops were not typical tourist traps but, instead, filled with varying and quality inventory.

We returned to the River Walk seeking dinner and enjoyed good old Texas BBQ at the County Line.

MMMM good man food. We then joined the crowds on the River Walk for an after-dinner stroll.

Reunion in San Antonio

It all began decades ago at Lowell High School in San Francisco where four guys became great friends. Three had known each other as young lads, the fourth joined up later, and the bounds continue to this day.

In recent years, their occasional lunches in northern California changed when Bill and his wife Linda moved to San Antonio. This left the others, Jerry and Anna Lee, Harold and Coral, and Pete and Anne with no choice but to plan an invasion of Texas.

All visits to San Antonio are centered on the river. So, shortly after putting our luggage in our rooms, we were on the River Walk, first seeking dinner, a tough choice amidst so many wonderful restaurants. We chose the Iron Cactus and discovered they laid claim to really good margarita’s.


Our table on the river afforded us a beautiful view while we enjoyed a luscious Mexican dinner. We then took a river boat tour enjoying the spectacular beauty of the buildings and the glittering lights.





San Antonio is most famous for the Alamo which today is only the chapel and barracks of the original fort destroyed by Santa Ana. The museum displays memorabilia of the battle and from such famous defenders as Bowie, Travis and Crocket as well as items from the movies made depicting the battle. The docent’s history lecture reminded us of the battle’s place within the history of North America.


We met up with Bill and Linda at the Carriage House on the grounds of the Botanical Gardens. There over a very good lunch, the men updated each other on their lives and the women got better acquainted. Bill and Linda left us wandering through the Botanical Garden.


The gardens and conservatory were quite lovely and the collection of playhouses amusing. The shop also had some worthy offerings.

For dinner at Silo Elevated Cuisine, Bill had suggested mess dress attire (he is retired navy) but relented and permitted us to be more casual. Elevated is the word for this elegant upstairs restaurant as well as its cuisine which rivals in presentation and preparation that of any major city.

As soon as we saw the entry with its gleaming copper wall, we wondered if we should have heeded his advice, but our private room enabled everyone to relax. He and Linda hosted a fabulous dinner After our server offered us a tray filled with slices of oranges, lemons, limes, and cucumbers for our water, we toasted each other with some good Texas wine. Then came a large plate of appetizers that included fried oysters and beef lettuce wraps.


California wine accompanied dinners of seafood, steak or lamb, all outstanding.
This is the entire group.


Later, a visit to Bill and Linda’s home with a view of the lights of San Antonio included delicious desserts that we had little room for and after dinner drinks. Best of all was the conversation and chance to be together.