A River Walk - Sun., Aug. 25

Time to re-do the Museum Reach/North Riverwalk Volksmarch in San Antonio. We have only done it once before and that was July 8, 2012. I think we'll be walking it more often because it's such a beautiful part of the city.

The north part of the Riverwalk is called Museum Reach because it passes directly next to the San Antonio Museum of Art. All along the path are different types of art: faux bois (false wood) grotto, art on bridges, art under bridges, sound art, and metal art.

Plus, the city does a wonderful job with landscaping, so there are small waterfalls, ponds, and lots of flowers along the San Antonio River. Employees are out working and cleaning up along the path every day of the week.

Water lily

Momma duck and ducklings

Part of San Antonio Museum of Art - reflected

More water lilies.

Some kind of wasp on the flowers?

Baby swallow under a bridge.

San Antonio River Tunnel Inlet Facilities

Bob getting totally tubular in San Antonio - watch out surfer dudes

Brackenridge Park Waterworks Trail

Turtle - dive, dive!

Stray lynx point Siamese. Isn't he handsome.

Petrified wood

Dad in front, two kids, then dog in the caboose.

Photos in her wedding dress at Pearl Brewery Complex.

Hibiscus on steroids!

What a gorgeous flower!

Purple water lily opening up for the day.

On our way back to the start, we ran into two people looking lost. I asked if we could help them. They wanted to know where the dam was. I asked if they meant dam or locks. "Oh, locks," they replied. We told them they were really close. I saw a map in her hand that looked just like mine and asked if they were Volksmarching. Yes, they were. In fact, they're in San Antonio for an American Volkssport Association National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting. He's Bob Morrison, treasurer of the national association, and she's Nancy Wittenberg, Northwest regional director. They're both from Washington state. Small world. You never know who you're going to bump into.

Nancy and Bob on North Riverwalk Volksmarch.

Bob Morrison and Nancy Wittenberg

Nancy, Bob and Bob at the end of the walk

What a nice finish to our walk this morning. Bob and Nancy, enjoy the rest of your time in San Antonio!

Travel Bug out.

Rising to New Heights -- Sun., Mar. 24

Off on our adventure at 10:30 a.m. First destination the Japanese Tea Garden at Brackenridge Park. But it wasn't always the Japanese Tea Garden. Here's the unfortunate history.

In the early 1900s the San Antonio City Parks Department wanted to beautify the old Portland Cement quarry. A Japanese Tea Garden was conceived to fill the space. Japanese artist Kimi Eizu Jingu was enlisted to assist in the design of an authentic Japanese Tea Garden. Numerous plants from gardens in Japan were imported to imbue authenticity. A house was constructed on the site using rocks from the old quarry and the Jingu family was moved in to become overseers of the facility. In 1926, the Jingus opened a tea house in the upper level of their home. Mr. Jingu became famous internationally for his knowledge of teas.

The Jingu family remained in their home in the garden until shortly after the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. The resulting general fear and resentment by the American public caused the Jingu family to be removed from the garden and the name was changed to the Chinese Tea Garden. It was at that time the Chinese-style entry was added bearing the inscription "Chinese Tea Garden." The name was not changed back to Japanese Tea Garden until the 1970s!

Trumpet flowers.

"Entrance to Chinese Tea Garden"

The Pavilion at Japanese Tea Garden

Koi polloi.

Texas Gold Columbine

Jerusalem sage (phlomis fruticosa)

Japanese Garden bridge and waterfall.

Jan, Bob, Mom--Looks warm, but it was COLD!!

Grasses and bridge.

Blue plumbago flowers (?)

Turtle swimming underwater.

Trail from Japanese Garden to San Antonio Zoo.

We took a 20-minute miniature railway ride through Brackenridge Park.

Brackenridge Park

Mom, me, Jan

Brackenridge Park

We wanted to show Mom and Jan another part of the Riverwalk so we parked at Pearl Brewery and walked to the San Antonio Art Museum. Along the way, we saw the artwork of Carlos Cortes (designer of The Grotto using Faux Bois [false wood] technique), and the fish sculptures hanging under the freeway.

Black-bellied whistling ducks.

Black-bellied whistling duck at Pearl Brewery Riverwalk.

American coot.

San Antonio Riverwalk at Pearl Brewery Complex.

Interesting grasses.

Concrete art of Carlos Cortes.

San Antonio Art Museum from Museum Reach on the Riverwalk.

Fish art under a freeway.

Ducklings with no momma duck. Awwww.

Carlos Cortes art at The Grotto.

What type of flower or bloom is this?

Upon finishing our loop walk, we stopped in downtown San Antonio to walk another part of the Riverwalk. We quickly visited The Alamo, watched the movie and walked the grounds. All of us were very hungry so we went back to our respective dwellings to eat and relax before Mom's birthday dinner tonight.

Explosive new growth on cacti at The Alamo.

For our evening entertainment, I had purchased a Groupon a couple of months ago for admission to Tower of the Americas Observation Deck and Skies Over Texas 4-D theater experience. Before dinner we watched Skies Over Texas. What a hoot that was! All of us enjoyed the experience.

Then we took the elevator to new (for us) heights--the Observation Deck of Tower of the Americas. Tower of the Americas at 750' tall was built in 1968.

It was a beautiful, clear afternoon and our 360-degree panorama was unobstructed by clouds, humidity or dust. The Observation Deck has photos around the inside identifying city landmarks we could see. Texas history write ups lined the walls. Mom was most amazed by camels in Texas. She had no idea camels had been imported for use in the hot, arid conditions. That idea did not work out in the long run because camels apparently smell horrible, have cantankerous personalities and the horses who had to work with the camels were terrified of them. Oops.

An outside observation area is available as well. However, howling, icy-cold winds kept us inside, except for a foray outside to take a couple of photos.

Looking south from Tower of the Americas.

Reading history of Texas.

The Alamodome as seen from the Tower.

Jan, Bob, Mom

Jan, me, Mom

Dinnertime...we took the elevator down two levels to the Chart House. Our reservation was just before sunset so we saw evening turn to night and watched the city lights come on. Truly beautiful.

Bob, Susan, Jan, Mom, and San Antonio at night.

So, after dinner we headed back to see Skies Over Texas. The show was so much fun we wanted to see it again.

Bob and Mom hamming it up in 3-D glasses.

The wind had died down so we walked a little on the Riverwalk. It certainly looks different at night! Fun to see it with all the people gone and the city lit up.

Waterfalls in Hemisfair Park outside Tower of the Americas.
We think there was a BASF convention in town.

Tower of the Americas at night with moon.

Part of the Convention Center.

Riverwalk Mall neon and lighted bridge--Riverwalk.

The end.

Travel Bug out.