Remembering the Alamo and the Esquire...again

With a full day in San Antonio we slept in a little then hit the street level part of the city. The Alamo is a must-see, just like the River Walk, for all tourists in San Antonio. Jon is a big history fan so he reminded us why we were supposed to "Remember the Alamo". We toured the buildings and the grounds and the sketchy bathrooms...I've had to visit bathrooms in every place I go since I was a child. 

We wandered around the Alamo Plaza and found the San Antonio Visitor Center where we bought cute Texas Christmas ornaments. The clerk gave us a funny look when we asked him for sushi restaurant recommendations. He asked "Are you sure you don't want Mexican food?". We had our fill of Mexican food Thursday so we were on a mission to find  sushi and a steakhouse for Friday! 

Our waiter at The Esquire had told us about The Menger Hotel near the Alamo that had the oldest bar in all of South Texas so while we were close we had to go see it. The bar was on the side of the hotel and had pictures of Teddy Roosevelt and Babe Ruth who were both frequent visitors of the hotel and bar. The boys explored the bar while the girls ventured to the hall with the museum for the hotel. 

Sushi Zushi was our restaurant of choice for lunch...and apparently everyone else in towns. We lucked out and there were 5 seats at the bar. The sushi was well worth the wait! After lunch we wandered around more of the street level part of town then walked back along the river to La Villita, a small village style area with a theatre that was used for scenes of Miss Congeniality. We had to stop for an ice cream break since Katie insisted it was homemade. It kind of was...it was Blue Bell ice cream...which was originally made in Texas...so it was homemade! 

The Texas sun was brutal mid-afternoon so we went back to our favorite spot of the trip, The Esquire, to escape the heat for a while. It was great knowing we had nothing but time to sit around and talk and laugh for a few days. It's different when you live in the same city and just have a couple hours at a time together, but to actually spend 4 days with friends is special. 

We had a little siesta at the hotel before dinner at Saltgrass Steakhouse. Katie could not have picked a more perfect spot to have out last dinner in San Antonio. We had made reservations when we walked past earlier so we bypassed the long line and had a large table on the 2nd story balcony waiting on us. The sun was setting and the breeze was blowing as we ordered Texas steaks. The food and atmosphere were exceptional. Our table was on the far end of the balcony so it felt like we had the place to ourself. We loved our leisure dinner and even enjoyed the mariachi band since it was across the river playing in someone else's ear. 

Mari set her timer and we did a little bar hopping...30 minutes and 1 drink at each place! Katie had to show us Coyote Ugly but as soon as we walked in the door and the scantily clad "coyote" made obscene comments to the boys we knew we weren't staying long. We lasted less than 30 minutes and can now say "been there...done that...don't wanna go back". We hoped Mad Dogs would be better and the atmosphere wasn't as trashy but the music was ridiculously loud! We found a hidden booth and last a little longer before we felt like our hearing aids might burst. We considered another bar but then Billy made the brilliant suggestion of going back to the hotel and sitting on the patio outside. Perfect! By the end of the night, Katie's Up Band said we had walked over 17,500 steps so it felt great to put on comfy clothes and sit outside in the cooler than daytime Texas night.