Spring Break Day 3 - Ft. Sam and Casa Rio

Amazingly, 5 posts after starting this project we're only up to day 3 of our Spring Break.  Until I started going through pictures (no, I'm didn't count them) and writing blog posts, I didn't realize just how much Randy, Daniel, and I were doing.  We had a great time and stayed incredibly busy.

On Tuesday of Spring Break, we checked out of the hotel and set out on a couple more adventures before heading to Houston for Randy's work.

We started off the day in search of Fort Sam Houston.  Eli will be doing her combat medic training there this fall.  In January she joined the Army National Guard to aid in her goal of becoming a doctor.  She goes to basic in June and will go to Fort Sam in San Antonio after that for AIT (Advanced Individual Training).

1. Finding the base turned out to be an adventure in itself.  We followed the insane GPS on my phone and ended up at some remote part of the base that still remains unidentified.  From there we were directed to a location down the street still in search of the illusive Fort Sam Visitor Center.

2. Our second stop turned out to be the Fort Sam Houston Memorial Cemetery.  A man at the office sent us a mile through the cemetery to the office on the other side.  A man working there said the cemetery was not related to the base and directed us back through the cemetery to the first entrance we had come through.

3. From there we turned the opposite direction from what the GPS had said and finally found Fort Sam Houston.  The guard at the gate wasn't what I'd call friendly and sent us to the MEPS (Military Enrollment Processing Service).  After establishing with that employee that I wasn't joining ANY branch of the military he sent us down the street to the Welcome Center.

4. The Welcome Center turned out to be the intake center for military personnel new to Fort Sam!  A helpful soldier in the lobby told us there used to be a visitor center, but it was moved due to remodeling.  She suggested we try the ID desk around the corner.  We found two employees there who actually had some positive instructions.

5. We went to the Community Service Building.  Randy and Daniel were tired of going in and out of buildings by this time and opted to stay in the car.  I went in and actually found the Community Service office.  Success!  Jai was very friendly and gave me all kinds of printed information and base tour schedules.  I passed all that information on to Eli when we returned home.

It only took a mere 5 stops to find the community service office.  By that time we had seen the base, which was why we went there to start with!!

After that success, we headed downtown for a delicious lunch at Casa Rio Mexican Restaurant on the river before heading for Houston.  Casa Rio has some of the best Mexican food in Texas.  Our table was right on the water front.  We watched the river barges, ducks, pigeons, and mariachi band while we ate.

Ducks in the water directly below our table

My veggie enchilada dinner

Randy and Daniel had a mixture Mexican deliciousness

After lunch, we headed to our second final destination, Houston.  We arrived just in time for Randy to go to dinner with a business associate.  Daniel and I had dinner at the hotel restaurant.

Black bean veggie burger looked better than it tasted.

Daniel's turkey club

Our adventures continue in the next post.