Monday morning we got a late start, planned on catching a bus, missed that, tried the shuttle, then got a taxi that went the long way (but admitted it and charged us less) on our way to rent a car. But the drive to San Antonio was fine, just had to change our reservation at Boudro’s twice. But it all worked out ok, and it was a better time to meet up with our friend Kat. Lunch was tasty, I had the Texas Tapas (including some smoked duck chili) and a lobster empanada while Jill had the duck and sausage gumbo and the grilled salmon salad. We had a good time catching up, but soon it was time to go, Kat went back to work, and we strolled down the River Walk, taking a cross street over to the Alamo.
We toured inside and the disturbingly gory dioramas in the gift shop, then headed to the mall across the street and back on the River Walk. We left when we were near the garage we’d parked in. We started driving back, wanting to avoid rush hour. We stopped at Half Price Books where I sold a couple of books I’d finished and picked up some new ones (Jill made out ok as well). We stopped on South Congress Street so she could get a frozen yogurt and I could get a smoothie from Amy’s Ice Creams, then a little shopping (she bought a dress at Goodie Two Shoes).
When we got back to the hotel the sun was still out and Jill hadn’t been to the pool, so we headed down there for a bit. After we returned to the room and cleaned up, we headed to the Iron Works BBQ to get some takeout for dinner. We both wanted the sampler plate (slices of beef brisket, smoked sausage, and one beef rib), so that’s what we got, along with splitting a salad. We got back to the room and watched Castle while we enjoyed the best barbecue of the trip, tender meat and a tangy sauce. Clearly we agree with the opinion of the current and previous president.
Tuesday morning we were up somewhat early, had to gas up and return the car and make it back to the hotel, check out and catch the shuttle to the airport. Of course we did all that only to find our flight had been delayed by 30 minutes. Having some time to kill, we had an early lunch in the food court. I had a hot dog from Earl Campbell’s Sports Bar, very tasty. Other than the delay, our flight went off without a hitch, although that meant we picked up Illa later into rush hour, but we were soon home safe and sound, ready to do it all over again.