traveling to texas part I: the river walk

Earlier this month we were able to accompany Clay on a business trip to San Antonio. We were thankful to be able to spend the time as a family, and it was a new part of the country for us to explore together. Clay and I love adventuring and seeing new scenery together, and to be able to share that with our kids is wonderful too. 

They did amazing on the long trek down there. Better than I envisioned. And though we were all thoroughly sick of being stuck in our van, it was a relatively easy trip and without any notable mishaps, for which we were quite thankful!

About halfway through the trip William noted:

"You could fit a trip to the St. Louis zoo in one corner of this trip."

 

 We passed over Muddy Boggy Creek and Woman Hollerin' Creek, among a variety of other curious landmarks, and pulled into San Antonio at bedtime. City driving is not ideal in a behemoth van, parking garages a bit of a nightmare (especially when someone carelessly smashes into the car next to you while you are parking.....and then zooms off, welcome to the big city!), but Clay successfully maneuvered us where we needed to be. 

A few hundred trips between the van and the hotel room later, we were cozily settled into the Omni La Mansión Del Rio, our home away from home. 

A lovely hotel in a lovely setting. Though space in our room was at a premium, the bathroom was just large enough to accommodate a pack-n-play for Hattie. Perfect. 

The next two days Clay was busy at conference meetings. The kids and I adjusted to city living and spent our time meandering around the River Walk, which was just out the back door of our hotel. 

It was a rough life, filled with idly strolling down curving sidewalks edged with lush landscapes and quaint shops, trying to decide which lovely little restaurant to eat food at, and gazing at the constant stream of river boats that passed us by. Somehow we managed. 

I was proud of the fact that I didn't lose a kid into the river. There were many places where fitting 5 exuberant kids & a stroller along a narrow sidewalk that had no railing at the river's edge was about as easy as it sounds.

The river walk was beautiful.

And it was hard to believe it was the middle of November. The weather was lovely and there were flowers everywhere.

 

 The flowers were a big hit with the girls.

Especially Amelia, who conveniently, expectantly, posed sweetly next to every flower she could find.

I think I have about 75 pictures of her with flowers on this trip. Just a rough estimate.

How can you resist this sweet face? And those red shoes?

(King) William was happy when he found this sign:

We found waterfalls, and colorful umbrellas, and diving cormorants under Alamo Street.
There was plenty to discover along the long, winding river walk, and we covered a lot of ground.

 

 

On the second day we grabbed a (cheaper) picnic lunch from the little local grocery store and picnicked by the river. And we managed to find some crumbs to share with the resident sparrows & ducks.

 

In the evenings, after spending nap time back in the hotel room, we would venture back out again with Clay. We shared with him our favorite spots that we discovered during the day, and ate dinner outside along the river. Our favorite restaurant was the Mexican Manhattan, which was recommended to us from some kindly locals who spotted us vaguely meandering along with hungry children.

 

 

 

The river walk really comes alive at night, and it becomes a bit more challenging to navigate through the crowds. But with the crowds of people (though not really our scene) comes enchanting bits of entertainment, like the mariachi band that serenaded the table next to us at the seafood restaurant. 

This is William's face when he is entranced, like when he is watching a mariachi guitarist, for example:

All in all we found the river walk a lovely spot. A bit of refreshing, verdant lushness in the midst of a bustling city. Stay tuned for further adventures in Texas!