Historic Menger Hotel Luncheon - Tuesday, February 3, 2015

The ladies from our RV park decided to have lunch at the historic Menger Hotel in downtown San Antonio (next to The Alamo). Twenty-six ladies signed up. When the day turned out to be cold and rainy, only 14 hardy souls ventured out. Not only did we venture out, we took the city bus into downtown; that way we didn't have a bunch of cars paying for parking.

Here's our group waiting for the bus. We colorized the gray day.

The Menger is a beautiful hotel hiding lots of secrets in its rooms and hallways. The Menger Bar sports two bullet holes in the woodwork. A gentleman brought an alligator to the hotel, and left it. Teddy Roosevelt recruited Rough Riders for the Spanish-American War. This Victorian-era hotel hosted Sam Houston, Generals Lee and Grant, and Presidents McKinley, Taft and Eisenhower.

For lunch, we could opt for the Luncheon Buffet for $17.95 or order off the menu. Two ladies chose the buffet. The rest of us ordered off the menu. My Menger Club Sandwich was so-so. It had turkey as the main meat. I expected real turkey, not deli-meat turkey. The Reuben Sandwiches, however, looked excellent.

Our group at the Menger Dining Room

The Menger Hotel

Rare clock that shows time and date

Susan's and Peri's boots on the Menger welcome mat

In the photo below, we are listening to the history of the Menger. The painting in the background has been in the Menger for years. It showed up in the movie "Giant" with Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean, Sal Mineo, Dennis Hopper and Chill Wills.

Gathering to listen to info on the Menger's history

Our docent

The lobby at Menger Hotel

The Menger Bar

The pool area

The hotel docent talked to us for 15-20 minutes about the history of the hotel and bar. He showed us where the abandoned alligator once lived.

What a fun lunch and talk. When we were finished, we looked around the hotel and bar.

Since we were downtown, Peri walked with me to the Via bus office. I wanted to pick up my Senior Discount Bus Pass. The card lets me ride the bus on weekends for free and only 60 cents on weekdays. (Normal fare is $1.20.)

When we got to our bus stop for the ride back to the RV park, a number of the other ladies were there as well. We made it home safe and sound. So ended our rainy-day excursion into downtown San Antonio.

Travel Bug out.