San Antonio and Austin

We arrived in San Antonio in the late afternoon Tuesday after a tedious drive from Houston punctuated with flying tires and a semi swerving off the road. All of this happening in front of us, of course.

We chose our hotel on price but it turned out to be an excellent location bordering the King William and Southtown neighborhoods. That translates to Candler Park/Inman Park/Oakhurst in Atlantan. We walked to dinner at Feast, a small-plates neighborhood spot with great outoor seating. Food and service perfect.
Wedensday morning, we biked south on the riverwalk to Mission San Jose.

What is this riverwalk you say? No, it's not like the Savannah riverwalk or Baltimore or Jacksonville. It's more like the Boise greenway. Or Rock Creek Park in DC. Or maybe the Highline in NYC, with water. Really, it's a linear version of what Atlanta hopes the Beltline will be. With water. While the downtown segment is fairly touristy, the outer reaches are almost rural and connect with 3 Spanish missions on the southside. 

You can walk, run, bike and even paddle in some sections. It connects with other trails as wells as business districts and parks. You can see the change that the effort has had on the city. Wildlife is everywhere, too and don't seem to be bothered by humans.

After lunch we drove to Austin and met up with our friends Alan and Julie at Swift's Attic for dinner. We'll be here for 3 days. Expect some tales: Music! Bats! New camera!

Today's surprising sights: Snake swimming in the river. Tesla on the highway. 14% beer at lunch. Why was the Tesla surprising? Because we've seen only ONE hybrid in the entire state of Texas.

Silly side trip: The Cabela's store south of Austin. It's like Bass Pro on steroids.