Riverwalk, San Antonio

Wow, I don't know where to start. After hearing how great the Riverwalk is, we had to find out for ourselves. Well, it lived up to its reputation and more. After a somewhat frustrating drive around downtown San Antonio looking for it, we finally found an excellent parking lot just across the street from one of many stairs leading down to the river. It was hard to see because the river is below street level and occasionally we would get a glimpse of it as we drove around. The weather, however, was perfect.

Once down on the Riverwalk, it was like a whole different world from up on the street. What a gorgeous place. There are shops, restaurants and boats taking tourists for rides up and down the river. Many trees and shady places to rest... and did I mention restaurants? There are many different cuisines, including Tex-Mex. We had lunch at Rita's (short for margaritas) and was serenaded by a mariachi band on our anniversary. Great food at quite reasonable prices. We visited an old part of town, La Villita (Little Village) up at street level where there are many old buildings and plenty of artsy type shops. We took the boat tour, which was neat and resting as well as informative. We wandered around on the other side of the river for a while, and before we knew it, it was time for dinner. We checked out several different resturants before deciding on Rita's again. This time we tried their chicken enchiladas, and they were delicious, not too hot.

After dinner, we headed back up on the street and walked a couple blocks to the Alamo. When we had passed it in the morning drive, there was a line for blocks waiting to get in. When we got there, it was closed, but there were still many people around it. We got some pictures and historical info from rangers/guides and managed to get pictures inside the compound. It is spring break, so the crowds are very big.

We then sat in the Alamo square a while and watched the horse and buggies go by. Barb had always wanted to go for a ride in one, soooo, since it was our anniversary, I gave in. $40 gets you a twenty minute ride around town with some interesting narrative by the driver. It was really neat.

Afterwards, we went back down to the Riverwalk for ice cream and just sat and watched the people and scenery as the sun set and the lights began to come on. Around 8:00 pm we decided to leave and head back to the campground. After eight or more hours of walking around the Riverwalk, (glad they don't call it the Riverrun) we were ready for bed. It was quite a memorable day.

This morning is a bit cloudy, and we've decide to head to Corpus Christi and the Texas Aquarium. We were going to go to Sea World about ten minutes from us, but the price is too high, because there is a waterpark and amusement park included in the ticket, which we would not use.

Anyway, we're slowly getting ready to leave, so talk to you soon.

Ron & Barb