Sequence of Events - Sunday, June 28, 2015

After vacation go, go, go in Oregon, then immediately working four, ten-hour days in San Antonio, I was ready for a break.

Sunday morning, I finally slept in without a deadline. What a treat.

As I slept, Bob was up bright and early (while it was still relatively cool) to run along the south River Walk in downtown. He achieved four miles. Currently, he is training for the San Antonio Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in December.

Our plan for the day included playing games with Peri and Jim, our good friends, who were staying at Travelers World for a couple of nights to attend a family wedding which was Saturday.

I spent the early afternoon cleaning the 5th wheel. They came over at 3:00 p.m. We played about three hours of the game Sequence, and snacked, and talked (except when we were concentrating on our next move). That game gets pretty intense when four highly competitive people play! We played for three hours, girls against guys, and were pretty evenly matched.

For dinner, Jim and Peri, took us to one of their favorite Mexican restaurants, Casa Sol. Oh, and on the way to the restaurant, we drove through the neighborhood where they used to live. We saw lots and lots of deer!

At Casa Sol, Jim and Peri recommended the chicken fajitas. So that's what all of us ordered. They were right, the food was excellent.

Jim & Peri at Casa Sol in San Antonio

Each of us had a plate of "fixin's" for the fajitas

Each couple got one huge sizzling plate of chicken to share.

We ate our fill and had plenty left over to take home.

Painting on the ceiling at Casa Sol.

After dinner, we needed to walk some of it off. We took Jim and Peri to The Pearl District where the old Pearl Brewery used to be. Even though they lived in San Antonio, they had never visited The Pearl. It is now home to unique shops, restaurants and the new Hotel Emma, built in the old Pearl Brewery building. We were there at twilight and snapped some pretty cool photos.

San Antonio River as it flows past The Pearl

Bob, Peri, Jim with Hotel Emma in the background

Hotel Emma

Pretty sunset

A lit wall with highlighted leaves, blue umbrellas behind

Rusted metal equipment taken from the old brewery
now makes an artistic wall in a courtyard

Cured restaurant at The Pearl

Iris??

The Pearl smokestack

Original stables, now an event center

CIA is at The Pearl

Impressive doors on the event center

Close-up of door handles

Night descended. We headed back to the RV park. Today was a great day spent with friends, relaxing and enjoying life.

Travel Bug out.

Whirlwind - Thursday, July 2, 2015

Being a bit behind in my blog, it's time for a whirlwind catch up...

Tuesday, June 23: Flying back to San Antonio, Texas this afternoon. Have to be at the airport around 2 p.m.

At 9:00 a.m. I returned my rental car to Enterprise and saved a day's rent on it by turning it in at that time. They were thankful I turned it in early. They were so short on cars, they had 10 cars being delivered to their location by Enterprise drivers.

I then had two packages to wrap and ship at the post office. Silly me, I put it off until my last morning here. Never a good idea. It went something like this:

1. Go to post office to pick out a suitably sized box to ship genealogy records to my cousin in Michigan. Spend 15 minutes in the post office trying to find the right box. Finally decide on one.
2. Take box back to Mom's house, pack genealogy books and paperwork, put on address label. 
3. Look through old boxes at Mom's house for a box big enough to hold clothes we had stored in Mom's closet and some of my belongings to lighten the load in my suitcase.  This box I would ship to San Antonio.
4. Mom says we should wrap brown paper around the boxes. 
5. I tell mom, "No, the post office doesn't need the boxes wrapped in brown paper."
6. Mom and I get the big box all taped up so it won't come apart while being shipped via U.S.P.S. (If you know mom and I, that box was taped so you'd have to have a utility knife to get into it.) Then I taped on a piece of cardboard with the address on it.
7. Mom said, "Are you sure you don't want to wrap it in brown paper."
8. "No, Mom, the post office doesn't need it wrapped in brown paper."
9. I take both boxes to the small post office inside a gift/pharmacy store, all ready to ship both packages and pay for them once with my debit card.
10. After lugging both boxes into the small counter at the back of the store, the clerk looks at my big box and says, "You can't ship items in a liquor box." "Are you kidding me?" I say. "I had no idea." "Nope, can't do it," she replied. I must have had a look of total defeat on my face. She took pity, saying, "But you can wrap it in brown paper. Be sure you cover the whole box!"
11. So I paid the book rate (in cash because it was only $6+) to ship the genealogy box to my cousin in Michigan, then took our clothes and stuff in the liquor box back to Mom's. I had to eat lots of crow on not wrapping a package in brown paper. Once my crow feast was over, Mom and I cut brown paper bags to fit the oblong box. I think we used four or five paper bags. Again, we taped those paper bags down so they wouldn't rip and show the liquor box. 3M, you can thank us later. I should buy stock in your company!
12. I lugged the box back to the post office in the back of the store. As I was waiting in line to pay with my debit card, I saw the sign on the cash register that said no debit/credit cards. Seriously? I lugged the box back out to the car planning to take it a few miles down the road to a bigger USPS Post Office.
13. When I got in the car, I opened my purse and counted my money. I had just enough to ship the package ($37). 
14. Lugged the box back into the small post office and finally got rid of the danged thing!
15. Went to the bank with my debit card and took out more money for my flight home.

Things went more smoothly after that, thank goodness! Mom and I had lunch, then I drove us to the airport in her car. The traffic was atrocious at 1:00 p.m., no accidents, just super crowded on the freeways for the middle of a workday afternoon. We said our good-byes, hugged and kissed, then I made my way into the line to check my bag on Southwest Airlines. Both my flights on the way home were on time. I made it into San Antonio about midnight. Bob met me at the airport and by the time we got home and I partially unpacked, I made it to bed by 1:00 a.m.

Bowie, our Siamese, was loving on my shoes I dropped by the door. He was so cute, he became my photo subject.

Bowie, happy as can be

Wednesday morning, I was at work at 8:00 a.m. to start my four 10-hour days. I was so tired at work all day.

On Saturday night, June 26, Bob took me out to dinner after work. I told him I would like fish for finner oops, typo, dinner. He researched online for a restaurant we hadn't been to. What a guy!

Exterior of the El Bucanero Mexican Seafood Restaurant

The murals on their walls were gorgeous. My man is gorgeous too, don't you think?

Bob at El Bucanero Mexican Seafood Restaurant

Seating at El Bucanero is casual

Walls full of murals

El Bucanero mural

This is the entryway mural.

After dinner, we headed home. I will finish up my whirlwind catch up tomorrow. Next up, a day with our friends, Jim and Peri.

Travel Bug out.