San Antonio Stroll

When you board a hop-on-hop-off tour bus, the personality of the driver has a big impact on your experience.  Because we were using the buses as a source for information as well as a mode of transportation to get to specific locations, we got to see for ourselves what a chatty tour guide does versus one who only periodically interrupts the pre-recorded information.  We also got to listen to some music.  Most notably, the only female driver played disco-style songs and sang into the microphone.  One of the songs another driver played was called the San Antonio Stroll.  It was not all that great as songs go, but it was the theme for our day yesterday.  

We took the tour bus to a restaurant called Mi Tierra, where Cas wanted to try their chilaquiles.  I had no idea what those were- I would now describe them as nachos mixed with scrambled eggs.  Excellent breakfast.  I had eggs with chorizo and we both had the Mexican hot chocolate- if you’ve never had that and you see if on a menu, go for it.  Wow.  

After that, it was back on the bus to return to the hotel.  We’ve been starting the day in jeans and switching to shorts in midday as the weather warms, and yesterday, that turned out to be the best idea.  When we left the hotel the second time, we used our 24 hour bus tickets to get to the neighborhood where the old Pearl beer brewery now actually houses a high end shopping center and neighborhood.  Considering how I (and many others) regard Pearl beer, it is almost comical that their former brewery is a classy place these days.  Nevertheless, we started out there with a fancy iced coffee and San Antonio Strolled down the extended riverwalk to the touristy part.  The portion from the Pearl brewery to the tourist trap was pretty, calm and largely empty, compared to the rest of the city.  It was a lovely stroll and took about two hours.  

Once we got to the tourist part of the riverwalk, we stopped for a beverage, then left.  Too many humans, and we were a little spoiled from the serene, peaceful part.  

We came up for air at the Buckhorn Saloon and Museum, where we learned everything there is to know about the Texas Rangers and saw all manner of stuffed animal heads and chairs made from horns and antlers.  The bar there was far too busy, though, so we saw what we came to see, then kept on strolling.  

Since we had a late breakfast, we skipped lunch, leading us right to an early dinner.  For that, Cas had done some digging.  He wanted the very best Tex-Mex food in San Antonio.  Cue more strolling- we walked about a mile from the hotel to Tito’s, where we finally got Cas some fantastic tacos.  I got tacos, too, but he was a man on a mission.  

So here we are, on Tuesday, about to check out of the historic Menger Hotel- we’re set to check into another historic hotel later today in Austin, but we’ve got plans to hit the Natural Bridge Caverns on the way, as well as the New Braunfels Smokehouse, where we have been once or twice before.  First, though, we take one more San Antonio stroll and find a spot to eat breakfast.  See you in Austin!  

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Qd4HG7MEc8auwHvF6