In March/April 2019, Debra and I spent 13 days sightseeing south central Texas. We visited San Antonio, Houston, and Austin, as well as places in between. Click HERE to read a short introduction about this memorable trip.
This story, which is part of a series, is about our first day of sightseeing in San Antonio.
This story, which is part of a series, is about our first day of sightseeing in San Antonio.
San Antonio, Texas (March 27, 2019) Debra and I left Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport mid-morning, after a short delay to resolve a “mechanical problem” on a 2-hour direct flight to San Antonio. Flying southeast, we jumped forward two time zones, so it was about two o’clock local time when we landed. No worries – we’ll make up this “lost time” on our return flight!
One of the nice things about the San Antonio airport was that the rental car center was located on the airport property, so we wasted no time on a shuttle to some off-site location – just a short walk across a pedestrian bridge from the terminal to the rental car counter. We completed the paperwork, selected a car, and quickly made our way to the downtown La Quinta Inn on Cesar Chavez Boulevard. I booked this hotel because of its location – its proximity to downtown San Antonio and ready access to the I35 – and reasonable price.
The weather was beautiful. The sky was partly sunny and the temperature was in the upper-70s. Despite the mechanical delay in Phoenix, we were off to a good start.
The weather was beautiful. The sky was partly sunny and the temperature was in the upper-70s. Despite the mechanical delay in Phoenix, we were off to a good start.
San Antonio, named for Saint Anthony of Padua, was founded as a Spanish mission in 1718, making it the oldest municipality in Texas. You might recognize that mission from the inset photo. It's name was Mission San Antonio de Valero, better known as the Alamo. San Antonio is also the second most-populated city in Texas (pop. 1.5 million).
They say that “everything is bigger in Texas” but you won’t see many tall buildings in San Antonio. The tallest structure is the Tower of the Americas (750 feet), an observation tower-restaurant that was designed and constructed for HemisFair ’68, while the tallest building is the 38-floor Marriott Rivercenter (546 feet).
Every large city has a nickname – The Big Apple, Sin City, Mile High City, and City of Brotherly Love, to name a few. Well, San Antonio was no exception and, in fact, had several nicknames, including Alamo City and Missions City. But the nickname I liked best was Countdown City, because its area code is 2-1-0!
The City's Most Popular Attraction
There were many things to do and see in and around San Antonio, so it was no surprise to learn that it was the most-visited city in Texas. And of all the city’s attractions, the most popular was the downtown Riverwalk, a tree-lined pedestrian walkway along the urban-portion of the San Antonio River. That was our destination.
We parked near the intersection of Crockett and Navarro, walked across the street to a flight of stone-stairs, and descended one story below the streets of San Antonio to begin our “adventure” along the 3½ mile downtown loop. It didn’t matter where we started from, as the pedestrian walkway runs along both sides of the river and there were several pedestrian bridges that spanned the river to allow us easy access from one side to the other.
They say that “everything is bigger in Texas” but you won’t see many tall buildings in San Antonio. The tallest structure is the Tower of the Americas (750 feet), an observation tower-restaurant that was designed and constructed for HemisFair ’68, while the tallest building is the 38-floor Marriott Rivercenter (546 feet).
Every large city has a nickname – The Big Apple, Sin City, Mile High City, and City of Brotherly Love, to name a few. Well, San Antonio was no exception and, in fact, had several nicknames, including Alamo City and Missions City. But the nickname I liked best was Countdown City, because its area code is 2-1-0!
The City's Most Popular Attraction
There were many things to do and see in and around San Antonio, so it was no surprise to learn that it was the most-visited city in Texas. And of all the city’s attractions, the most popular was the downtown Riverwalk, a tree-lined pedestrian walkway along the urban-portion of the San Antonio River. That was our destination.
We parked near the intersection of Crockett and Navarro, walked across the street to a flight of stone-stairs, and descended one story below the streets of San Antonio to begin our “adventure” along the 3½ mile downtown loop. It didn’t matter where we started from, as the pedestrian walkway runs along both sides of the river and there were several pedestrian bridges that spanned the river to allow us easy access from one side to the other.
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The history of Riverwalk dates to the late 1920s, when architect and San Antonio native Robert Hugman came up with a plan to improve the aesthetics of this portion of the San Antonio River. It took another decade to get the funding to develop his plan. While Hugman was a visionary, I’m not sure he envisioned what Riverwalk would become, attracting an estimated 10+ million visitors each year!
Even on this Wednesday afternoon when Riverwalk was bustling with people, there was plenty of room on the well-designed pedestrian walkway. We navigated along the river at a leisurely pace and frequently stopped to take in the sights, sounds and smells from some of the more than 30 restaurants along Riverwalk. The scenery was beautiful!
Even on this Wednesday afternoon when Riverwalk was bustling with people, there was plenty of room on the well-designed pedestrian walkway. We navigated along the river at a leisurely pace and frequently stopped to take in the sights, sounds and smells from some of the more than 30 restaurants along Riverwalk. The scenery was beautiful!
We made our way to the Iron Cactus Restaurant, one of several starting points for the 35-minute narrated boat ride on the San Antonio River. No need for Dramamine on this cruise, because the river was the epitome of calm...and in most places, only a few feet deep!
Our cruise guide, Ray, was quick (sometimes too quick, we thought!) with well-practiced and corny jokes, but he also shared a lot of information about the city’s history, architecture, and points of interest along Riverwalk. We quickly gained an appreciation for all there was to do – stores, restaurants, breweries, hotels, and more lined both sides of the river.
Our cruise guide, Ray, was quick (sometimes too quick, we thought!) with well-practiced and corny jokes, but he also shared a lot of information about the city’s history, architecture, and points of interest along Riverwalk. We quickly gained an appreciation for all there was to do – stores, restaurants, breweries, hotels, and more lined both sides of the river.
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We loved coming to the bends in the river, where we tried to anticipate what might be around the next corner. And we appreciated the areas where the trees seem to bow to the river, creating a green canopy as we slowly made our way around Riverwalk.
Tex-Mex? Uhh...no!
Our tour ended where it began, and as we stepped off the boat, our first thought was…FOOD! Our last “meal,” you see, was a sandwich and bag of chips that Debra and I shared many hours ago on the flight from Phoenix. Being in the land of Tex-Mex and BBQ, I looked for one or the other as we strolled along the walkway. But truth-be-told, Debra was not a fan of either, so we had to find another option. Soon we were standing in front of a restaurant that seemed out of place in Texas. It was Waxy O’Connor’s, an Irish-themed pub of all things! We thought "why not," and were quickly seated at a patio table where we could enjoy dinner and people-watch at the same time.
Here’s a bit of trivia about Waxy’s. The pub bar was built at a joinery shop in the county of Monaghan, Ireland. it was crated and shipped to the port of Galveston in 2005, where it had to wait out Hurricane Rita, stowed hundreds of miles offshore on a container ship. When the hurricane passed, the crates were brought to port, trucked to San Antonio, and assembled by a team of Irish carpenters. Now, back to the food and our dining experience.
Debra and I ordered Shepard’s Pie. I was committed to trying as many locally brewed beers as I could on this trip, so I ordered a glass of Busted Saddle, brewed in San Antonio. The pie was not quite Irish-quality (and I would know, having just returned from a 10-day tour of Ireland with our daughter Jill), but it was good, the beer was cold, and we had a lot of fun watching people stroll by. We also listened to mariachi music played and sung by roving mariachi players. I struck up a conversation with a fellow at a nearby table, as Debra thought she detected an Irish accent. Close. It turned out that he was from Scotland and was at Waxy’s to celebrate his birthday with a couple of beers and the mariachi band playing an Irish tune.
Our tour ended where it began, and as we stepped off the boat, our first thought was…FOOD! Our last “meal,” you see, was a sandwich and bag of chips that Debra and I shared many hours ago on the flight from Phoenix. Being in the land of Tex-Mex and BBQ, I looked for one or the other as we strolled along the walkway. But truth-be-told, Debra was not a fan of either, so we had to find another option. Soon we were standing in front of a restaurant that seemed out of place in Texas. It was Waxy O’Connor’s, an Irish-themed pub of all things! We thought "why not," and were quickly seated at a patio table where we could enjoy dinner and people-watch at the same time.
Here’s a bit of trivia about Waxy’s. The pub bar was built at a joinery shop in the county of Monaghan, Ireland. it was crated and shipped to the port of Galveston in 2005, where it had to wait out Hurricane Rita, stowed hundreds of miles offshore on a container ship. When the hurricane passed, the crates were brought to port, trucked to San Antonio, and assembled by a team of Irish carpenters. Now, back to the food and our dining experience.
Debra and I ordered Shepard’s Pie. I was committed to trying as many locally brewed beers as I could on this trip, so I ordered a glass of Busted Saddle, brewed in San Antonio. The pie was not quite Irish-quality (and I would know, having just returned from a 10-day tour of Ireland with our daughter Jill), but it was good, the beer was cold, and we had a lot of fun watching people stroll by. We also listened to mariachi music played and sung by roving mariachi players. I struck up a conversation with a fellow at a nearby table, as Debra thought she detected an Irish accent. Close. It turned out that he was from Scotland and was at Waxy’s to celebrate his birthday with a couple of beers and the mariachi band playing an Irish tune.
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It was now early evening, and a beautiful evening it was. We left Waxy’s and walked to a point along the river we had seen on our earlier boat ride. Here we went into several of the shops that sold all sorts of “must-haves” for tourists, because, you see, I was on a mission to find “the perfect” ball cap to add to my collection from the countries and cities we’ve visited. And, as you can see, I found that cap!
Debra and I had a fun first day in the "Little Venice of Texas," and a great start to our Texas holiday.
Debra and I had a fun first day in the "Little Venice of Texas," and a great start to our Texas holiday.