Spring Break Day 5 - Pamper Me Day

Thursday was Sarah's birthday.  In celebration of that occasion 23 years ago, I had a Pamper Me day.  Daniel and I started the morning doing laundry and going shopping for jeans for him.  Being the good son that he is, he drove me around all day.

I got my nails done at Prestige Nails.  Yelp came in handy in finding good places to go.

From Prestige, Daniel drove me to Massage Envy for a facial and Swedish massage.  While I was being pampered he went to the Dollar Store and read a book.  I'm very blessed to have such good children.

Needless to say, my Pamper Me Day was pretty awesome.  We ended it with dinner at Stalla's Greek Grill and Deli.

We planned to get a head start on packing when we got back to the hotel.  I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone reading this that all three of us just kicked back and chilled until bedtime.  One more post and you're at the end of our Spring Break vacation.  

Spring Break Day 4 - Galleria

Randy had to work Wednesday and Thursday. The Sheraton in Houston was built to cater to the business working class.  Daniel and I did not fall into that category, so had to look for our own entertainment.

Wednesday we decided to explore Galleria.  It was funny hearing Daniel try to pronounce the upscale courtier names of the stores.  Ralph Lauren, Valentino, Versace, and Yves Saint Laurent are not places we regularly visit.  In fact, they're not places we EVER visit.  :)

We did enjoy watching the skaters and had lunch at the food court.

When Randy got off work we went to dinner at Olive Garden with his co-worker.  It was a nice visit and good food.

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.

Spring Break Day 2 Part 4 - The Alamo

When Randy, Daniel, and I got downtown we had planned to see the Alamo first then get on the trolley tour.  The line to get in the Alamo was 1/4 of the way around the block.  We didn't want to wait in line, so we went around the block to the park section of the Alamo.  We walked around and saw the outer part of the Alamo.  It was pretty, we were satisfied, and went back to the tour.

After the trolley tour and Market Square, we stopped by the Alamo after dark.  This was the first time I've seen the Alamo after dark.  It was awesome.

Carriage rides at the Alamo.  We didn't go, but they looked fun.

Part of the Alamo out buildings

Everything's bigger in Texas.... giant koi at the Alamo

"Look!  The Alamo!"

Randy and Daniel in front of the Alamo

So much history, so small a space

Lots of carriages lined up waiting for riders

 As part of our trolley tour we got to see a 45-minute Alamo movie at the I-Max.  The film photographed pretty well.  :) :)

Travis in the Alamo movie

More of the movie

Daniel and his bird whistle

Popular tourist spot after dark

Captivating beauty

Spring Break Day 2 Part 3 - Market Square

OK, so forget what I said about dividing our San Antonio adventures into two parts.  That's not enough.  That said, here is part 3 - Market Square.  One of the stops on our trolley tour was Market Square.  It's a Mexican flea market area.  We saw market booths, food stands, live music, and lots of shopping.  We got in some souvenir purchases at the little shops.  :)

Experience the market......

Lots of street vendors

More street vendors

Fruit cup from a market stand

Yummy!

Singing on the street for donations

We waited a while for the Trolley to pick us up.  Finally, Daniel went across the street so the bus would come while he was away from the bus stop.  Haha!  It didn't work.  We still had to wait a while longer.  It was worth it, though.  The market was fun, like going to Mexico without going to Mexico.

Spring Break Day 2 Part 2 - River

Our sightseeing in San Antonio was so packed with fantastic things the post had to be put up in two parts.  Proceed to Part 2, and thanks for reading.  :) :)

 After the Trolley Tour we took a ride around the San Antonio River on the Miss Marcie.  Randy and I have fond memories of a previous trip down this same river.  The river boat ride started through the lagoon in front of River Center Mall.  For ten years now, the group, Andean Fusion, has played on the steps of the mall.  If you ever go to San Antonio, you have to experience this unique flute-percussion band. Randy, Daniel, and I heard them from the river cruise and went back to sit by the river for lunch with Andean Fusion serenading.  The experience is indescribably peaceful and relaxing.

Andean Fusion filmed from the river cruise as we went around the River Center Mall lagoon

The tour guide pointed out lots of interesting things along the river.

our river boat guide

River Center Mall Lagoon

Restaurants along the river

Interesting architecture

Steak house on the river

Stage where Sandra Bullock filed "Miss Congeniality"

hospital along river with ornate architecture

river barges pull up to restaurants

beautiful foliage along the river

mosaic with several hundred thousand tiles

passing another barge

Lunch by the River listening to Andean Fusion music.  Notice about halfway through the video the percussionist dropped a mallet.  A good samaritan from the audience picked it up for him.