Austin to San Antonio

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Gabe got up early and headed over to do the client work while Rece, Samantha and I got the car packed up. We'd picked up frozen breakfast sandwiches which we microwaved into barely edible form. We giggled a lot when the directions were completely unhelpful. I'd never seen an analog microwave either - it had dials for the time. Those, plus some soy milk, and we were on our way.

As I'd claimed "brownie points" for being so understanding about stopping for a work-related event in Austin, the original meaning of "brownie points" was questioned: According to wikipedia, Brownie points are a hypothetical social currency, which can be accrued by doing good deeds or earning favour in the eyes of another. The origin of the term is uncertain.

We only had a short drive, about 175 miles, so we kept our eyes out for unsual sites. We started seeing billboards for a snake farm, and seeing how much I hate snakes, I figured it'd be a good thing to go to. It was surprisingly large with all kinds of different animals. Interestingly, it was featured on "Dirty Jobs" last season and we watch that once in a while. We then decided to check out either the Natural Bridge Cavern or the drive through animal park. Since it was really hot, and the animal park allowed us to stay in the air conditioning, we did that. It was animal day in Texas.

After that, we headed into San Antonio, checked into our hotel and braved the heat to walk over the Alamo. We spent a bit of time wandering around. It was interesting to read the history. Admittedly, I don't know much about Texas history. I'd forgotten it used to be it's own country. It explains the attitude a bit, i think, to remember the history. When we got back to the hotel, we sent the kids to the pool for a while but it was too hot for them to stay long.

We ordered pizza for the kids and then Gabe and I went over to the Riverwalk. We walked part of it and found a steakhouse where we had a great steak dinner and a couple of beers. It was nice to be out among the grownups a bit. The Riverwalk was fascinating for people watching so we had a really nice evening.

Who wrote the country song "Rabbit"? This one remains a mystery.

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Photos

No snake pictures
But the peacocks were showing off for the ladies the whole time we were there.

Tortoise
I liked this tortoise - it's a reptile so it should count.

At the animal park
This zebra came right up into the car.

Ham!
This guy just posed until we took his picture.

The Alamo
The front of the Alamo. It's hard to imagine the number of people who died here. I wish I remembered more the of the Davy Crockett story!

Right in the middle of the city
It seems so small for the historical burden it carries.