4th Anniversary Trip to Texas: May 2011

Wed. May 11th

Well, it’s been several months since our trip, so let’s see how much of it I can remember! I flew into San Antonio from Chicago and arrived minutes before Nate. I had flown in on American, seated next to a British transplant currently living in Bloomington, IL of all places. Nate flew on Southwest, and we arrived in separate terminals. Luckily there were only two terminals in the San Antonio Airport, so he hastened over to find me and we took a shuttle to the car rental facility. It was already well after 10, so as soon as we got our car, we drove to our hotel, excitedly discussing the plans for the week. We’d wanted to do a trip to San Antonio and environs for some time, and there was so much to see! On the way to the hotel, we glimpsed a spectacle of a restaurant: The Magic Time Machine. We weren’t sure what it was, but it caught our eye enough to make us look into it…we even got a brochure for the place at the motel, but it really didn’t do much to help us understand just what the place was about. Still, we were to remain intrigued. Anyway, it turned out that the motel we reserved was the same one I’d stayed at with a high school friend back in 2001, situated classily between x-rated shops and strip clubs. Keep it classy, San Antonio! Regardless, it was a decent place to get some sleep.

Thurs. May 12th

Our anniversary!! And what better way to celebrate than road tripping, the thing we do best? We had a busy day ahead of us, so we got an early start and hit I-35, heading north toward Waco. On the way, we encountered an extremely threatening thunderstorm. We attempted to listen to the radio to try to avoid any tornadoes or other dangers, but of course no warnings came through. We stopped for gas, and when I ran in to get some candy, the TV’s were warning about tornadoes in the area. I couldn’t really tell if we were in the line of trouble, but I could see that Waco seemed to be in the clear, so we pressed on, hoping for the best.

We made it to Waco that morning, after battling waves of storm alternating with calm hurricanic eyes. Our arrival found us within another calm eye, but we could see the clouds roiling on the horizon. The wind was picking up and got very nasty, as well. We grabbed our things and ran from the car to our first stop: the Dr. Pepper Museum.

Now let me just say, I can’t stand Dr. P. I think it’s the vilest concoction known to man, but Nate loves the stuff, and far be it from me to miss seeing a themed museum. This particular museum just happened to be in the exact location that the drink was created. We perused multiple floors of history and kitsch, and despite it all, I still had absolutely no desire for the stuff. Once we finished our tour, we wound up downstairs at the old fashioned soda fountain where Nate could quench his cravings with a fountain-drawn Dr. P. I had a scoop of ice cream, as none of the other sodas on tap were at all appealing, particularly Big Red, which I imagine tastes much like cough medicine. Gag. I was hoping the soda fountain would be more akin to the one found at World of Coke in Atlanta. That place is incredible, offering up drinks (probably at least 50) from all over the world, and they’re all free to sample. Sure, you leave feeling sick, but I can argue I left feeling sick merely from being in the presence of so much Dr. P. Still, I had a good time, and I know Nate did, too. Now he’s intrigued to try hot Dr. Pepper, which apparently is a thing. Who knew?

By the time we’d finished touring the museum, the storms had blown by and the weather was perfect for tooling around town. Since we were in Waco, I really wanted to see the one thing that I think of when I hear Waco, TX: the Branch Davidian Compound. I’d found directions online, so we went in search of this newsworthy location. Driving through central TX, I found it to be much more lush and pleasant than I’d expected. For some reason, I’d envisioned Waco and its surroundings to be bleak and barren, but it was actually relatively rich farmland. After several twists and turns, we found the compound which is still run by “The Branch,” and has the sign to prove it. From what I understand, the current sect was at odds with the teachings of the Davidians, so I guess the former’s beliefs aren’t entirely practiced there. The land wasn’t anything special. I was hoping for some sort of commemorative plaque or memorial of some sort (which I understand existed back in the 90’s). It looked like they were trying to remain low key, though. We drove by a second time so I could snap some pictures, but we hurried off when one of the members who was walking across a field looked suspiciously at us. While it wasn’t much, it was interesting to see such an infamous locale, and the one that defined Waco in the news.

Once we’d had our fill of history, we headed back toward inner Waco, tooling around town a bit. We admired Baylor University’s campus from afar. We also were desperately hungry for lunch, but I swear there isn't a single place to eat in town! Even downtown! We resorted to eating at a nearly impossible to find restaurant inside a gift shop complex, which was alright. We were just happy to find something to eat! Then we got serious and started geocaching. I think we found every cache we sought, which is always satisfying. We also got up close and personal with some fantastic and old live oak trees. What character! Truly splendid! After caching, we checked out the zoo, but we decided not to go in because it seemed pretty expensive for what we imagined it was, and we only had an hour before it closed, so we headed out.

Now we were faced with a decision: originally we were going to haul butt out to Houston to get a ride on the new (to us) wooden coaster at Kemah Boardwalk, but based on the bad weather and the distance, not to mention the fact that there were a few more things in the area that would have been just as good to stick around and see, we decided on plan B – head back down and see the sights of Austin.

Now, I’d visited Austin (and San Antonio) back in 2001, and I remember absolutely not understanding why so many people love Austin so much. It was crowded, dirty, loud, and didn’t have much to offer unless you like night life, which I can do without. I’m always ready to offer a second chance, and went with an open mind, hoping to change my opinion.

When we got to town, we headed toward the capitol building. There were homeless people everywhere, but I was heartened to see a van going around feeding people. We stopped at a park and walked down to the river, which proved to be an oasis of wildlife in the midst of the urban sprawl. I even spotted a gorgeous yellow crowned night heron, though I had no idea what it was at the time. After exploring the river a bit, we surfaced to street level and headed over to the capitol building.

Situated amongst more of the most impressive live oaks, the stately building stood much as it did the last time I’d visited. We went through security and wandered the halls, looking down every corridor. Eventually we happened upon a session of the house, on which we decided to sit for a while. It was amazing how little got done in the time we were there: mostly it was congressmen milling about chinning with each other, if they weren’t just blatantly lounging in their chairs with their feet up on their desks. I also heard people making animal noises…I heard a rooster and a cat, specifically. It’s nice to know that our government officials are taking their jobs seriously. After about 20 minutes, we tired of it all and left.

From there, Nathan and I pressed on in search of one of the 3 brew pubs in town. In a city like Austin, known for its night life and party atmosphere, you’d think a brew pub would do well. Unfortunately, the first one we located was now some sort of banquet or rental venue. The second one we located appeared to have promise, but it had apparently recently converted into a mere bar that no longer brews. We decided to get a drink and assess the situation. We sat in the rooftop beer garden and gazed out at the scene around us. It was a madhouse below, dirty, crowded, and loud. There were a few restaurants that looked interesting – a seafood place in particular, but Nathan really wanted to try the sausage house across the street from the bar, which is kind of funny, coming from a man who doesn’t usually like meat. So we headed over (giving up on finding the last brew pub…I think there was a third).

Well, it was actually a decent restaurant, such as it was. I had the combination elk/antelope/wild boar (I think) sausage, and Nate had something with sauerkraut. We drank water out of jars and admired the giant Frankenmuth doxie that adorned the wall (since Nate loves doxies, and I used to visit Frankenmuth, MI quite often as a child). Dusk was just rolling in when we finished. I really wanted to get back to the car before dark because of all the unsavory characters milling around. Austin does not send out a feeling of welcome or safety. We hastened back and made it safely to our parking garage just as nightfall took over. There was still one more place we wanted to try: Austin’s resident tiki bar (at least the one that wasn’t rated completely awfully).

Driving out to the more bearable (read: less downtowny) part of Austin, we found ourselves at a gift shop/resort type area that was surrounded by trees. There, amongst it all, was the Hula Hut! Even more exciting, it appeared this place was actually situated on a pier! It overlooked a very large lake that turned out to be Lake Austin. We got a table outside on the pier, with the lovely night breeze caressing the water as it lapped at the stilts below us. The waitress seemed surprised that we were only there for drinks, but after all the food from the sausage place, I can’t imagine how we could have eaten another bite!

We sat outside, enjoying the atmosphere and sipping our fancy island drinks. They had a decent selection of at least 15 drinks. They weren’t Hala Kahiki quality, but they were still good, and the setting more than made up for it. It was a wonderful end to an exciting day. After Hula Hut, we headed further south. I made reservations at a Motel 6 in New Braunfels for the next two nights, as that would be the most convenient place for us. It turned out to be one of the nicer, upgraded ones in which you enter your room from a hallway, not from the outside. Plus, it had internet! And it was clean! What luck! We made a good choice.

Fri. May 13th

Friday was a jumble of a day, and I’ll do my best to recall what we did and when. We got a relatively early start (for us) and headed down to Texas Tubes, one of the river tubing outfitters on the Comal River. Back in 2001, I’d remembered seeing tubers floating down the river from Schlitterbahn and really wanting to give it a try. For years, Nate and I had discussed coming to New Braunfels so he could finally experience Schlitterbahn, and so we both could tube down the river. Now, the last time I was there, I asked one of the ride operators where people picked up tubes, and she claimed most people floated between two state parks, but it turned out going through an outfitter would be more convenient for us.

Once at Texas Tubes, we rented our tubes and headed down to the river. If we’d had a cooler, we could have gotten a tube for that as well (nothing like tubing and beer, as was evidenced by a few other tubers around us), but we opted for just us. Luckily, it was a pretty hot morning, so the cool river was more of a relief than a shock. We awkwardly flung ourselves into our tubes and slowly drifted down the river. And by slowly, I mean that we hardly moved. We seriously had to paddle ourselves to get very far. Once we found a bit of a current, we just floated, side-by-side, amongst the low hanging trees, behind resort properties, and past city parks that hosted fishermen. We mostly wanted to get a good distance ahead of the other couple that entered the river almost at the same time as us.

Once we made it to the first park, a family of 5 joined us. We got a good laugh because they were the typical Texas rednecks you think of. The dad was so vulgar, I was almost embarrassed for him, but I dunno why, as he wasn’t at all embarrassed for himself. Haha! Anyway, shortly after they joined the current, we came upon a fork in the river. Which way to go? Luckily we were nudged in the right direction…right toward the waterfall?!!!! There were signs all around saying “Weak swimmers exit now!” and “Keep right!!!” So we paddled like mad toward the right, not having any idea what to expect. I did get out and walk down the river briefly to see what the big deal was and discovered that, unless you wanted to portage your tube downstream a bit, your other option was a wickedly awesome tube chute! So I hopped back in and down the chute we went!! It was like a mini waterslide right there in the river! What fun! We were spat out at the bottom of the waterfall, amid roiling rapids. I was stuck in a loop of water for a little while, but once I was able to break free, I rejoined Nate, who didn’t get caught in the loop, and we continued on down the river at a pleasant pace.

As we continued, we paid more attention to the river itself. The Comal claims to be the shortest navigable river in the state of Texas, existing entirely within the city limits of New Braunfels. A tributary to the Guadalupe River, much of it seems to be manipulated by man with a cement riverbed (in sections) and two more tube chutes along the way. Despite this, we did come across some large turtles, one of which was basking within a foot of my tube and didn’t even flinch as I floated past. One of the kids from the family floating near us seemed to be a herpetology enthusiast, and I chuckled as I heard him yammer excitedly about the turtles and other sorts of reptiles and amphibians he’s encountered. We also saw a few yellow crowned night herons, which appeared to be quite common in central Texas, but are still very stunning, nonetheless. On top of that, a number of damselflies took it upon themselves to hitch a ride on our knees as we moseyed along the river. It was quite peaceful and serene.

One of the highlights of the trip was also one of the most anticipated: floating right past the newest section of Schlitterbahn Waterpark. It was neat to be the ones being watched from the park, as opposed to vice-versa. I pointed out a number of my old favorites like the Master Blaster: the world’s first uphill waterslide. We also admired the new additions like the sky coaster. It all just whetted our appetite for tomorrow’s adventures at the park.

After a little over an hour, we made it to the final landing, just as a number of loud twenty-somethings with boom boxes on their tubes entered the river. We exited the river and climbed a huge number of steps to reach street-level, where we caught our bus back to the outfitters. What a great way to start the morning!
On our way back through New Braunfels, we decided to try to grab lunch at the brew pub located within the Faust Hotel. Sadly, they wouldn’t be open for several more hours, so to kill time, we decided to head down to Natural Bridge Caverns, a tourist trap of sorts. We got our tickets and walked around the visitor center for a bit waiting for our tour time. Finally our group was called and we congregated outside to hear the instructions from our guide. Then we headed down, under the natural bridge, into the mouth of the cave. As a cave goes, it really wasn’t anything outstanding. It had all the famous features like cave bacon and stalactites and mites. There was a section full of centuries of bat guano that was quite impressive. Once we emerged, Nate and I headed over to see the large dinosaur statues. We were even able to climb up to the back of one to take a picture.

After the cave experience, we headed back to the Faust Hotel and had a late lunch. We tried their beers which were bad, in Nate’s opinion. The food was ok, though. We were glad to check another brew pub off our list, regardless.

From New Braunfels, we decided to head toward San Antonio for a bit. One of the quirky things I wanted to do was see the town of China Grove, the namesake of the song by the Doobie Brothers. I wanted to see if it was all that the song made it out to be. So after some crazy driving through rush hour, and struggling on both our parts to stay awake, we finally found the exit we needed which didn’t even make mention of the town. We drove several miles until we saw the population sign, and we decided to stop at the Dairy Queen, which appeared to be the only business of any note. We got some ice cream, and I asked the girl at the counter if she knew of anything commemorating the song within the town. She just looked at me blankly like she had no idea what I was talking about. Then I asked if there was a main street, or maybe a post office she could direct us to (I mean, this is a teeny tiny town – I’m sure the post office is probably the biggest landmark you could find). Again, a blank stare. I thought about asking her manager, who seemed on the ball, but thought better of it. After eating our ice cream, we proceeded on toward the village hall, thanks to our Garmin. We drove down a rural highway with sparse houses and farms. Once at the hall, we took pictures with Nate making fun of me for being such a music nerd. Then we drove back toward San Antonio, slightly bummed that there was no musical pride, nor parallel other than name between the town and the song.

Our drive to the city was mostly uneventful, save for a turtle crossing the highway. Once we made it to San Antonio, our destination was the Riverwalk. Last time I’d been here, I remember absolutely loving it, and finding it one of the most unique attractions anywhere. I was so excited to spend time along its banks with Nathan, taking in its romantic charm. We parked at the mall’s parking structure and headed through the shopping area and out onto the riverside. We walked around, watching the tour boats and looking at all the shops and restaurants. Our main objective, however, was to do some geocaching in the area. We made our way past the main touristy area with shops and such, and out into the more parklike district with the large dam and plenty of trees and serenity. Our first cache was a success, though we had to wait around trying not to look suspicious as a duo in front of us also made the find. From then on out, none of the caches were found, but we still had a great time taking in the sights of the riverfront.

It was starting to get dark, and we had to decide on dinner. Then it occurred to us: we would be passing that strange restaurant, the Magic Time Machine (which we jokingly referred to as the Magical Mystery Tour, having forgotten the name) on our way back to New Braunfels. Why not see what exactly it was all about? So that’s exactly where we set out.

The parking lot of the Magic Time Machine was nondescript with nothing to really indicate what this place would be like. Once we entered, though, it was loud both audibly and visually. We were greeted by the hostess and some wait staff, more accurately referred to as the cast. Acknowledging us amongst statues of the Simpsons and Captain Morgan, we had the likes of Tinkerbell, Velma from Scooby Doo, and Barbie. We were brought to our table, situated right across from the Salad Car – a salad bar in a car. Our booth was akin to a tacky throne, and we sat across from an amusing family of 6: mom, 4 kids, and a step dad to whom the kids did everything to make him aware he wasn’t REALLY family. Whenever a waiter would ask about their dad, they’d chime in, “He’s just our step dad.” It must have been really awkward for him.

So anyway, this place was a madhouse. I guess one pastime the kids in this place (and it is essentially a kid’s place, with alcohol to help the parents get through it) is getting a balloon and trying to have all the characters sign it. So basically there were children running everywhere, underfoot at every turn. It was loud, there was much screaming, and I really don’t know why anyone would want to work here, nor how they could without getting totally frazzled. Despite it all, Nate and I had a really great time and found it extremely amusing. Our primary waiter was Indiana Jones himself, with the help of the Cheshire Cat. I ordered a decent prime rib and an “ugly” colored bubbling drink, which was pretty good despite being pea green. We watched the kids at the table next to us accost the Riddler, Captain Jack Sparrow, Zorro, and various other characters. At one point, the whole cast got together to sing happy birthday to someone. It was like an acid trip on crack, I would imagine. Kind of like Eddie being dropped into Toon Town…that’s actually pretty accurate. Well, we were immensely amused by the place, though I don’t know that we would recommend it to most adults our age. It’s definitely a unique experience, though!

Once we had finished our meal, it was getting pretty late, so we headed back to New Braunfels so we could be fresh for the big day ahead of us tomorrow.

Sat. May 14th

Ahh, this was the day to which we were looking most forward…Schlitterbahn! Back when I first visited, this park was the largest waterpark in the world. I’d still say it technically should lay claim to that because it definitely packs way more into its acreage than Noah’s Ark in Wisconsin Dells, the current holder of that record. On top of that, Schlitterbahn is so huge that it’s actually broken into two parts between which you need to take a shuttle. Show me a shuttle, Noah’s Ark, and then we’ll talk.

Schlitterbahn is also what I would call the Cedar Point of waterparks, in that they are innovators of new types of rides, and lots of them. They were the first park to introduce an uphill waterslide, and to install special effects on slides, too. They have a number of lazy rivers, some of which are super fast and far from lazy. One of the neatest innovations is the river-slide. They have lazy rivers of sorts that incorporate a number of slide chutes as you move downhill. And most of the water used in the park comes straight from the Comal River. In fact, the largest river-slide they have actually dumps you right in the river!

Once we arrived at the park, our first task was to find tubes, which was easier said than done. They really do a nice job of hiding the stash! Once we found our tubes, we rode a few normal slides, some speed slides, did some lazy rivers, and explored most of old Schlitterbahn, the original half of the park (whose mascot is incidentally Schatze, a daschund, much to Nate’s appreciation). It was great to look at the river this time and be able to see! Last time I was there, my friend kept talking about turtles in the river, and being legally blind, I missed them. It had been such a pain navigating without my glasses, or struggling with them when I did have them. Some of the rides had multiple exits, so if I’d lost track of my friend, I’d never find her again and found myself wandering around asking anyone in a black bathing suit, “Are you my friend?” Haha, well, not really, but almost. Now I could fully enjoy the park, and it made a huge difference. Another thing I’d learned from last time is you NEED water shoes. Half the park is black top, and getting around barefoot is nothing less than torture. Needless to say, this was a much better experience.

Once we’d seen most of old Schlitterbahn, we decided to catch the shuttle over to the new section: home of Blastenhoff and Surfenburg. We opted against doing the surf machine because the lines were too long (and I really didn’t fancy the world watching me wipe out) and instead opted for what looked like a tame, short slide into a lazy river. That turned out to be one of the wildest rides we experienced, and I nearly inhaled a lungful of water upon impact with the river. From that point, the water in the river was going at a ridiculous clip, and it was awesome! We circled around that lazy river a number of times, just to experience the intensity of the speed.

Next, we went to try out the special effect-ridden Dragon’s Revenge: a water coaster with 8 uphill sections! The best part was that it was actually dedicated to my old organization: American Coaster Enthusiasts! How funny! From there, we motored over to Blastenhoff where we rode the three largest slides: the original Master Blaster, and its two smaller companions: the Wolfpack and Black Knight. We also stood under the torrents of water that rushed down: the only thing that could keep you cool after standing in line for more than an hour apiece. This was also the place that I’d lost my bathing suit to the horror of all the little children watching, the last time I was there. I made sure to wear a super snug suit this time…that’s not something you want to relive!

Once we’d had our fill of thrills (and ridiculously long lines), we headed back to Schlitterbahn West, the original part of the park, we hit the few rides we’d missed and re-rode a few of our favorites. Then, about an hour before closing, we decided we’d had our fill and headed off before the mass exodus.

We found our car and drove back to San Antonio. Nathan made a reservation at the Valencia Hotel, right along the Riverwalk. It was a really posh hotel, and our room had a view of the river (if you looked out at just the right angle). It was a challenge to find, but once we did, I ran out to see where the nearest parking was. Many of these hotels have their own parking garage, but sadly ours didn’t, though they offered valet service for an exorbitant fee. We wound up parking at the lot a few blocks away and lugging our stuff, but it wasn’t bad at all. We checked into our room and de-waterparked ourselves, getting ready for a night on the town. We decided to celebrate our anniversary at a nice restaurant this night, as we really didn’t have a chance two nights prior. Once we were presentable, we headed down to the Riverwalk.

I, of course, have such a hard time walking in heels that I just shouldn’t wear them, especially on a cobblestone walkway with a body of water at my side, but I somehow managed to make my way, slowly but surely. We were vigilant for a nice restaurant as we walked along, and eventually we came across the Ostra which looked unique and fancy, and had outdoor seating that was far enough away from the walkway that we wouldn’t risk having passers-by grab food as they passed, yet still afforded great views of the river. We had about an hour before our reservation, so we headed over to a bar at street level, still overlooking the water, and had a drink. Then we headed back to Ostra for a lovely dinner. Nathan had the lobster omelet, which I also had considered and probably should have also gotten. It was beyond fabulous. I would highly recommend it. I had seafood stew which had a little bit of everything. It, too, was fantastic, but I still say the omelet was even better. Between the romantic atmosphere and the terrific food and the splendid company, this was a wonderful belated anniversary dinner. I couldn’t be happier.

Nathan wanted to walk along the river more that evening, and as much as I wanted to, I really needed to get out of those heels. We attempted to get a drink back at our hotel, but there was absolutely no seating left anywhere, so we just called it a night. It had been another splendidly busy day!

Sun. May 15th

Again we arose early and hit the road – we needed to be out of the parking garage by 11 to avoid being charged ridiculously. Our main destination was Six Flags Fiesta Texas, unique because it’s situated in an old quarry. This was really intriguing to Nate, but I don’t think he was as impressed by it as he’d hoped. The quarry is cool, but it only skirts a couple rides, so most of the park doesn’t really feel that quarryish. I’d been to this park before, and while it’s ok, it’s not my favorite. Most Six Flags parks tend to feel the same after a while.

Luckily I had recently bought my first Six Flags season pass in years at Great America, so not only was I able to get in for free, I also had a coupon to get Nate in for half price! While waiting in line to get in, we were approached by an employee who wanted to do a survey, and I’m always happy to oblige, park fan that I am. He was impressed by all the parks we’d visited and had a wealth of his own questions about them. He asked what our favorite Six Flags were, and I think he was rather bummed that I didn’t say Fiesta Texas. Oh well!

Once we entered the park, we made a mad dash for Goliath, the new (to me) inverted roller coaster. Luckily it was just inside the gate, and we nearly walked on. I’m not sure how the height compares, but the elements were identical to the original Batman, and in exactly the same order. This is interesting because Great White at Sea World San Antonio is a perfect clone of the original Batman. Oh well, I’m probably the only person who notices these things! It’s still a solid, fun ride, and another credit in my book! Woo hoo!

From Goliath, we ran over to the resident Boomerang. I’m not a big fan of Boomerangs, and I almost sat this one out, but then I figured it’d be a waste not to ride it, so I joined Nate in line. Boomerangs are built by Vekoma, a manufacturer notorious for making painful rides, but if you pay attention, you can find a seat that is less unpleasant. As a rule, the front seat of any car isn’t too bad, and just our luck, there was a seat available! So Nate and I ran over and grabbed it for our second walk-on of the day. We sat there as the lift chain pulled us backwards, up, higher and higher, until the mechanism released us and sent us careening through the cobra roll, and then through a vertical loop before being pulled up the second incline and being released to experience it all again backwards. To my joy, the ride was actually bearable and even, might I say, enjoyable!

We pulled back into the station and they buzzed the harnesses to release us. Everyone around us exited, and we were still struggling with our harnesses. They kept buzzing us, and eventually the ride ops came over to try to get us out. It was all for naught. They told us they’d send us through again, and hopefully whatever was wrong would work itself out on the next ride. So off we went again, looping and swirling. Upon our return, the same thing happened. Despite this, they opted to send us through yet again, heads swimming through the inversions. Upon this third ride, Nate and I both had about had it. I was starting to feel the panic of claustrophobia setting in as the harness sat snugly against me. I was having visions of having to spend the rest of the day, or longer, stuck inside these restraints. It was getting hard to breathe. Panic. Panic!! And Nate certainly didn’t want to be tossed through the ride again. Luckily this time they shut the ride down and called maintenance. They were there within 10 minutes and had to open the backs of our seats to release us. Fortunately, when the harnesses fail on these rides, they tend to fail in a closed mode, rather than tossing a rider (which could have happened had they not planned for such – thank you, engineers!). In a few more minutes, we were free, and everyone who remained in the station cheered and applauded. I felt like it was for us, even though it was probably for the fact that they could ride the damn thing, finally…crazy people. Hehe.

From then on, we made our way around the park, hitting the excellent mine train: the Road Runner Express, and the enormous wooden Rattler which was much less painful than I remembered from last time. It actually went through a hole in the wall of the quarry, and its intensity made it seem like it could fall apart at any moment. It was quite fun, but definitely a one-time ride due to the long lines.
We also did the water raft ride on which we got soaked, and the train which also went through a tunnel in the quarry. Then we did Superman Krypton Coaster, a solid floorless coaster that skirted the edge of the quarry. We worked our way over to Pandemonium, the spinning coaster that was also new to me. We did the Ferris wheel, a good Scooby Doo themed dark ride that involved shooting targets, the flume, the old fashioned cars, and Poltergeist – a launched roller coaster that looks like an incomprehensible bowl of spaghetti. Nate also noticed that there were kiddy teacups that were themed around beer. Teach ‘em young, Texas! Too funny.

With the long lines and very few inspiring rides, we took off once we’d had our fill of everything. On our way out, I’d remembered that we passed a brew pub right at the entrance to the park, so we headed over to check that out. BJ’s Brewhouse is apparently a chain out of California, but it was new to us, and it appeared they brewed their beer on-site. So we had dinner and sampled all their brews. It was all pretty good, and I’m glad we stopped. Then we headed back up to the Motel 6 we stayed at the first night, reserved a room, and Nate took a long nap due to a migraine. I think we actually just called it an early night. It had been a crazy amount of adventuring, considering we hadn’t done a big trip in a long while, and it was finally starting to take its toll.

Mon. May 16th

This was our last day in lovely San Antonio, and we still had a lot we wanted to do. Luckily, Nate was feeling considerably better, so we headed back out to the Riverwalk. We made a mad dash to the ticket booth for boat tours. We only had a smidgeon of time before we had to be back at the airport, so we were really lucky to catch the boat that was sitting there before it took off. The half hour tour was absolutely worth the $8. We floated along the canals, and our guide pointed out things we never would have noticed merely walking along, from architectural tidbits, to historical ones. We even floated right past the hotel at which Carol Burnett was born! It was fascinating, and extremely informative, not to mention brilliantly relaxing. I would highly recommend making a point to ride the boats while in San Antonio.

After the cruise, we had a bit more time to spare, so we headed up to street level to check out the Alamo, since that’s basically the thing you HAVE to do when you visit San Antonio. Now, both Nate and I had been here before, but we still thought we should check it out. Last time I was here, my friend had been told to ask to see the basement of the Alamo. I was sure that was a joke of some sort, and I told her so, but she still asked our guide about it and nearly got laughed out of the place. Then I saw “PeeWee’s Big Adventure.” Yeah, there’s not basement to the Alamo…no bike, either! Hehe. Anyway, Nate and I did a whirlwind foot tour of the place, got a quick bite to eat at the food court on the Riverwalk, and then retreated back to the car. I noted how safe I felt in San Antonio. It was probably the most comfortable American city I’ve had the pleasure of exploring. I guess it’s also touted as one of the safest cities in America. You can really feel it, and it was a huge contrast to the much smaller city of Austin. I absolutely love everything about San Antonio. If it would snow there, it’d be my favorite city! (Though I’m not really sure which city would be, even with snow, so perhaps San Antonio gets that honor.)

We dropped off our rental car and headed back to the airport to go our separate ways. It was a fantastic trip, and already we’re excitedly planning our next one. It was a perfect anniversary week.