San Antonio

 I wrote about our little trip to San Antonio

for our anniversary a couple of blogposts ago.

We hadn't been away from home in quite a while

and these carefree days were good for us!

We checked out the Alamo, of course.

We spent most of the time roaming the paths 

around the Riverwalk.

Many cities have underground malls and transportation,

but the Riverwalk here is unique in that, although it is below San Antonio's streets and buildings, it is open to them.

Most intersections above have stairways down to the underground world and its canal.

Shops, music and restaurants line the walks on both sides.

No cars or trucks, just the wide tourist boats.

It's darker, cooler and a bit musty down there.

A relief from the heat of the city street above.

While meandering on the Riverwalk

or eating at an outside cafe,

we noticed details of the buildings above us 

on the bustling city streets.

But, when walking the sidewalks above, we aren't even aware of the water world below us.

A strange phenomena.

(Oh, by the way, this building is the hospital 

where Carol Burnet was born. 

We heard the tour guide announce that on one of the many riverboats 

that continually sailed by us.)

 We paused to watch this wee duckling try to copy its mama and tuck its little head into the downy wing.

It was sitting a bit too near the edge of the water, though,

and almost toppled in at one point.

My heart jumped at this perilous wobble until Jack reminded me that it WAS a duckling, after all, and falling into water would not be fatal.  

Oh.  Right.  I KNEW that. 

There is just something fun and light about being in a place filled with tourists.

Even though we were only a couple of hours away from home, we were absorbed into the world of vacationers,

smiling easily and disregarding schedules.

 We met people from all over the world.

A couple from Ireland took our picture.

It was GOOD to be in San Antonio.

A lovely city, indeed.