Day 4

Day 4 (June 9, 2013)

It sure was a challenge to get everyone up and ready for the day! This KOA ended up having many amenities (like the laundry room and dishwashing station I mentioned in the last post). It also has a Chuckwagon café service they offer for breakfast (and, I think for dinner, too). While I was showering, (Did I mentioned the beautiful facilities they have? Tiled throughout and clean.) Ed and Ian ate there and brought back some chocolate chip pancakes for the rest of us. No cooking or cleaning necessary. J

It was only a five minute drive to downtown San Antonio. We found a lot after following the street signs pointing toward The Alamo. After analyzing a map on the sidewalk beside where we parked we discovered that The Alamo was literally right beside us. The kids grumbled the whole way to the complex and during the entire 15 minutes we stayed. It probably didn’t help that they saw all of the tourist attractions advertised directly across the street. What a contrast between old and new.

Ed and I left the kids with Guinness Triple Passes (Ripley's Haunted Adventure, Guinness World Records Museum &. Tomb Rider 3D Adventure Ride) and we headed off to our own entertainment at the Riverwalk, only one block away and one level below the street.

We were delighted to find endless walkways along the banks of the San Antonio River that wind and loop under bridges, lined with restaurants and shops, with river boats and ducks on the water. We had so much fun walking the paths and exploring, then finally decided to sit along the water’s edge at Rio Rio to have an appetizer (veggie quesadilla) and cold drinks.  More than an hour later, the kids were done with their amusement and joined us to have a Tex-Mex meal at Rita’s on the River.

On the way back to our campground, we stopped at the grocery store (I had never heard of H.E.B. before!) and got a few necessities for our dinner and tomorrow’s car trip. We just relaxed (without electronics!) for quite some time; the kids even played Frisbee together.  Maybe they do like each other. We even played Last Word  (a board game) together. It was a fun family game.

Before it got dark, we made/ate spaghetti and tried the Mexican pastry that tasted like a flat, crispy churro. It was pretty good. There wasn’t much to clean up, so I got it taken care of in no time. I finally able to sit down and work on this blog. I’m afraid that if I don’t write it daily, I’m going to forget the details. This happens to me more and more frequently.

So, here it is after 1 am and everyone else is asleep. We’re going to have another busy day tomorrow and I better head to bed in our last day(hopefully) of leaning Pisa. Instead of shouting, “Remember the Alamo,” we’ll most likely be saying, “Remember the Riverwalk.” Adios, San Antonio.