Walk with Susan, and then Fun and Confusion with Erin and Mui - Sat., Sep. 6

What a great day! To start, Susan and I met at 7:15 a.m. to do a 10K Volksmarch in Friedrich Wilderness Park. The morning was warm and humid, so humid I had to use my windshield wipers to clear my car windshield.

Friedrich Wilderness Park is a 600-acre park with rugged hiking trails. We wore our hiking boots and took our walking sticks; the paths are rocky with roots and some dirt and gravel.

Susan on top of a hill

Trails had changed since the Volksmarch instructions were written!

End of hike, sweaty and happy. We did all the Level 4 trails.

We hiked just about every trail in the park.

The first 3 miles of our walk was mostly level and covered the lower portion of the park. Trails in this part of the park had not changed so we found our way around without much problem.

It was when we started uphill we realized the trails had changed. Fences now closed off the previous trail stating the area was closed to facilitate wildlife rehabilitation. We continued up the hill. It became obvious the instructions for the walk were no longer correct. Luckily, I had been to the park a couple of times before so we found our way through and around the top part of the hills in the park. At times the trail felt like it was going down a stair-stepped rock waterfall. When there is a downpour, this part of the trail probably does become a waterway. More trails were closed in this portion of the park.

We found our way through and exited the park a little over two hours later, happy because we had a good workout. Our hiking boots and poles helped us navigate the steep, rocky and sometimes slippery trails.

Let's take a quick time out: I'm going to back up to Friday evening.

Bob and I went to dinner at Chaba Thai for a yummy dinner. I had Pad Thai and Bob ordered a chicken sweet and sour dish. On our drive home from the restaurant we were treated to dramatic thunderheads to the northeast.

Back to our Saturday shenanigans...

Erin (who writes Two to Travel's Phaeton Journeys) and Mui (who contributes travel videos to their blogs) were in San Antonio. We made arrangements to meet for dinner at Iron Cactus on the San Antonio River Walk.

Erin and Mui at Iron Cactus

Bob and I at Iron Cactus (photo by Erin)

As soon as they walked in, we chatted, ordered sangria, chatted, ordered dinner and had the most delightful conversations. Erin chose FishTacos, Mui had Chipotle Glazed Salmon, Bob tried the Chile Rellenos Rustico, and I had Steak Tournedos de Tejas. Dinner was beautifully arranged. 

Steak Tournedos de Tejas with green chile
mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus.

Chile Rellenos Rustico

I think all of us liked what we ordered. More sangria and more talk of travel, politics and what is happening all around the world kept us fully engaged for over two hours. We decided on dessert too. Bob and Mui liked their tres leches cake. Erin and I each had chocolate mousse served in a crispy cinnamon tortilla.

After dinner we walked over to the Main Plaza fronting San Fernando Cathedral. It was a beautiful evening and seeing the city at night gives us a new appreciation for the city.

Bexar County Courthouse, San Anotnio

San Fernando Cathedral from Main Plaza

Lady Justice Fountain at Bexar Co. Courthouse

We were hoping to see an art installation in the form of video, music and history of San Antonio projected onto the facade of San Fernando Cathedral. It was supposed to play at 9:00, 9:30 and 10:00 p.m. We arrived a little before 9 p.m., found a place to sit. A little before 9:00 p.m., all the lights on the front of the cathedral went off (dimming the house lights, so to speak). We expected the show to start. Nothing happened. Then we waited and waited until a little after 9:30 p.m.

Many people were there with their lawn chairs waiting for the show. We all left after 9:30 p.m. ... disappointed and confused. Why didn't the show come on?

We overheard a lady ask a worker at one of the food trucks about the show. He said it was very unusual. Usually the shows start on time like clockwork.

Needless to say, we will come back to see this unique art installation called San Antonio: The Saga. If you click on the link and look at the amazing photos, you may be inclined to go too if you're visiting San Antonio within the next ten years. (That's how long this art installation will be here.)

With that, we called it a night. Bob and I had a bus to catch back to the RV park. Unfortunately, we missed the last regular bus and had to wait for "The Lineup." The lineup buses come once an hour at 10:30, 11:30 and 12:30 p.m. Because we arrived a little after 9:30, we stood on the sidewalk in a seedy part of downtown for almost an hour. But we made it home safe and sound by 11:00 p.m.

Erin and Mui spent the night at a hotel in the city and will head back to Port Aransas on Sunday.

I'll say it again, with a grin on my face, "What a great day!"

Travel Bug out.