Gayle and I wanted to enjoy the Riverwalk today. We were confused about how to get the boat shuttle but after some research we thought we finally understood. We parked the car across from one of the ticket booths for Go Rio. We moseyed past the sculptures at the Briscoe Western Art Museum before we got to the booth.
We learned to our dismay that the river shuttles don't begin until noon. We were 90 minutes too early. After some discussion we got tickets for the guided cruise that was leaving immediately and also got one day shuttle passes we would use tonight. We hopped on and headed out for our 30 minute ride with our Australian guide, Stew.
It was lovely and we learned some things....mostly what restaurants are along the river edge. We returned where we began and paid the $20 to get our car out of parking. I know who is making money in San Antonio! By then we were hungry and grumpy. We headed to Guenther House because it had good reviews and is right next to the river. We were informed that we would be seated in just under two hours. We couldn't wait that long. We got back in the car and started calling restaurants to find our their wait times. We settled on Halcyon Southtown Cafe because they promised us we wouldn't have to wait.
After a parallel parking situation that included a "helpful" woman barking directions at us, we entered the restaurant to discover that while we would be seated immediately the downside was that they had a DJ spinning records. It was so loud it was almost unbearable....but we were hungry. We got a flight of mimosas and ordered food to share. The food was meh and our ears felt assaulted. We were definitely the oldest people in the restaurant.
We returned to our guest house to rest a bit before heading to the Dia de los Muertos parade near the Tower of the Americas. Gayle opted to stay behind and rest her back. I took her car and headed for the park. It was traffic mayhem. The parking lot I thought I would use was housing the event. I drove around through heavy traffic for 30 minutes looking for a place to park before I returned to our rental feeling defeated and disappointed. I asked myself, "When will you be in San Antonio for Dia de los Muertos again?" So I decided to take a Lyft over. I was there in minutes.
I missed the beginning of the parade but I got to see enough of it to make it worth the trouble.
Some people were carrying ofrendas and some were simply carrying photos of their lost loved ones.
When the parade ended I enjoyed all the sights and sounds. Many of the local schools and organizations had created stationary ofrendas for the festival. Pee-wee Herman (Paul Reubens) was the focus of several of the ofrendas.
Most people were dressed up....some more than others.
They had two music stages. One had a large mariachi band and the other one had a proud Chicana woman singing in honor of her Mexican ancestors.
Instead of taking a Lyft home I decided to get in some exercise and walked back. Wind and rain are headed to San Antonio. I could see the weather changing and I could feel it coming. It was a lovely Fall walk with leaves blowing around me, an experience I don't get to have in Southern California.
When I got back Gayle was rested and watching her beloved Kansas City Chiefs lose to the Denver Broncos. Our plan was to take the Go Rio shuttle to the Pearl for our dinner reservation at the Arrosta Restaurant. But when I looked up where we could catch the shuttle, I learned that they stop operating at 8 p.m. We wouldn't be done in time. We hashed out the options and decided just to drive. The food was fine and we got home in time for a game of Scrabble. I won't tell you who won....okay, I will. I won.
We decided that since the weather tomorrow will be rainy with a high of 47 we will go see a movie instead of freeze on the Riverwalk.
No comments:
Post a Comment