John and I had an amazing habitat tour on Friday. We had boxed lunches and received a habitat tour to a new community that is being built in north San Antonio (not in one of John's sampling neighborhoods). We heard some really touching stories about families who have been given a "hand up" from Habitat. Their motto is that they strive to help families that want to help themselves. Anyway...I was teary eyed through the stories!
San Antonio was the first affiliate for Habitat for Humanity (which started in Georgia) and now has more than 800+ habitat homes. This particular affiliate builds about 50 per year. It was really amazing to see large blocks of cute colorful homes that owners are especially proud of.
I got to sit in with John on his interview with Stefanie, the Vice President of Development and Communications. I learned a lot about the organization which was fun! Stefanie also gave us some information about great places to eat while we were in San Antonio which was my interview question!
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| Riverwalk |
We ate at Boudro's on the Riverwalk (a nice steak house) on Friday night. Stefanie told us we had to go there! We had about an hour wait for the food but it was worth it, John and I both had some amazing steaks! In the morning we traveled back to downtown to the Guenther house for Saturday morning breakfast. It is in the old historic district of San Antonio surrounded by beautiful old homes. The restaurant is in the home of the founding family of Pioneer Flour so they had plenty of delicious baked goods to choose from. We started with a large cinnamon roll (recommended) and ended with biscuits and gravy and fruit. We were stuffed! Lesson learned...Listen to locals and Urbanspoon for good restaurants...not the Visitors Bureau page!
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| another yummy cinnamon roll |
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| Guenther flour mill |
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| restaurant and mill |
After the Guenther house we visited the Alamo. John and I decided that it would be a really neat way to honor my Dad by visiting different historical sites on our trip. I would have loved to have visited the Alamo with him. He loved history, especially military history! So it was nice to read the placards and take the tour and think about my dad standing there in his polo and khakis in deep concentration reading all of the information! If I had been a little girl I would have been waiting impatiently as my father read everything! I am truly thankful that he took me on all of those history trips now because I really enjoy going these places!
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| Alamo |
The Alamo was also quite fun for John to see as Davy Crockett was one of his boyhood heroes. He apparently wore out his copy of Disney's Davy Crockett movie as a boy. He also had the coon skinned cap to prove it!
Boy, was it crowded! I had no idea that the Alamo was right smack in the middle of downtown! It was pretty funny to see all of these hotels and large buildings surrounding it.
In the afternoon we visited Sea World. It was fun and hot! John and I were not prepared for the day. I had not realized there were water rides ... unfortunately we were not dressed for any of those! However, we saw two shows. We saw Oceans with Shamu and a cute show called the Cannery Caper with sea lions, a walrus, and a Japanese otter (our favorite!). We walked around and saw all the neat animals and of course had plenty of "snacks." We successfully, had a lunch that consisted of dip'n'dots, popcorn, a churro, and 2 powerades...healthy I know!
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| Shamu! |
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| A well fed sea lion! |
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| Sea World! |
On Sunday Morning we visited Oak Hills Church. Max Lucado preaches here so it was kind of cool to get to hear him speak. It is the first church that we have ever attended where the worship team or choir sings a capella so that was a little different. The sermon was really good. He taught on praying for those that have hurt us. It's always good to understand the importance of forgiveness :) Anyway, John and I enjoyed it!
Sunday, is always a great time for naps and reading at the pool! So that is what I did the rest of my day!
Last night we met John's family friends Brooke and Richard Peacock and their two sons Harrison and Cardo for dinner. We ate at Richard's restaurant Paloma Blanca. It was wonderful Mexican food! John and I both had enchilada's and ended with a tres leche's cake (which Francisco our server said was " San Antonio renowned"). It was amazing! This restaurant I think has been the best of our trip! It was really wonderful getting to meet with Brooke, Richard, and the boys. We had some great conversation and enjoyed wonderful food! I really wish I had gotten a picture of all of us! We even heard Magic Johnson was headed to the restaurant after the Spurs vs. Grizzlies game but didn't wait long enough to see him!
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| Entrance at Paloma Blanca |
Hope all is well with everyone!
C+J & 4 sleepy pups
Escapes
0 (too tired!---thankfully ;)
Wildlife
1 yellow-crowned night-heron
1 green heron
4 barred owls
Lessons learned
1. Be thankful for the housing you have even if it is a 17ft trailer!
2. Let a local or Urbanspoon tell you about good eats
2. Let a local or Urbanspoon tell you about good eats
3. Be prepared when heading out on a hot day to an amusement park
4. Always have camera ready...you never know when you need to snap a pic!
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| See you soon! |
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