San Antonio Adventures - Part 1

The family and I have been in San Antonio for a month now and boy has it been amazing! We have seen and done so much in this one month alone and still have so much more planned for the rest of the time we are here. So here I begin a little summary of the adventures we have experienced lately...

Mommy and Daddy Time

     When we first arrived, it was just Brian and me. Michael is lucky enough to spend a few weeks each summer with both of his grandparents for a little vacation. Time Brian and I surely don't complain about! It just so happened that we were able to get a little "mommy - daddy" time in San Antonio while he was away. So what did we do you ask?? Well...we slept in for starters. And you thought I was going to be nasty! But seriously... we decided to take our valuable alone time and do things we thought Michael wouldn't enjoy: The Alamo, the Riverwalk, and the Riverboat Cruise. We also enjoyed a couple of breweries, trips to the San Marcos Outlets (my favorite) and experienced our first trip to IKEA (we come from a small town, folks).
     The Alamo was definitely a highlight! Brian and I are both history lovers so we enjoyed the history that surrounds that place, not to mention the beautiful gardens behind it. It's definitely a place to check out if you are ever in San Antonio.

The Alamo

After the Alamo, we moved on to the Riverwalk...

The Texas-sized Margarita

Luckily he shared with me

    

 I love all the unique shops along the Riverwalk! There is so much to see, do, and EAT! We enjoyed a nice dinner at Rita's on the River! We shared a Texas sized (that's what they call it) margarita and some delicious Mexican food, something we don't get too often back in Mississippi.

     We also enjoyed a nice ride on the Riverboat Cruise. It was actually quite cheap for military, which was a huge plus! Fun Fact #1: did you know you can reserve dinner for two on one of the riverboats? Maybe I can convince Brian to do that? Probably not, haha! There is actually a lot of history built into the river area. Did you know that the World's Fair was held in San Antonio in 1968? It was named the HemisFair of '68. Many of the buildings along the end of the cruise were built specifically for the fair. The Tower of the America's was as well. There is a very beautiful mosaic mural along the top of one of the buildings. Fun Fact #2: Dozens of hotels, businesses, and restaurants line the Riverwalk, including one very strange building that looks like it is falling over. Because of the sharp angles of the sides, the building is quite an optical illusion. The Riverwalk has to be one of my favorites so far!

The "Falling Building"
Crazy, huh?

     Along with the Riverwalk, we have ventured to a couple of local breweries and of course many, many shopping areas. I'm loving the San Marcos outlets! Pretty much every store possible has a place there. Our bank account may not like it, but its vacation, right?

SeaWorld

     Once Michael returned, we decided to start his adventure off with a bang! So what better way to do it then by going to SeaWorld?

The family at SeaWorld

     Let me just start by saying, Michael absolutely loved it! His favorite part was the star himself, Shamu. And the Steel Eel! We decided that our trip to SeaWorld was going to be more about the shows than the waterpark or the rides. We didn't even buy tickets to the waterpark because 1) our SeaWorld tickets were free thanks to Waves of Freedom, and 2) we have plans to possibly take him to Schlitterbahn for an entire day of waterpark fun!



     Anyhoo, we began the day with the belugas and dolphins. We sat in the "splash zone" of almost every show but this one did not get us wet. However, when we moved on to The Shamu Story, we got wet. VERY WET!! I mean SOAKED!! Poor Michael did not like the salt water taste either. But he soon changed his mind when we moved onto another show. I have to say that my favorite was the Sea lion and Walrus show. Watching that walrus do crunches was just too funny! As I said though, Michael loved Shamu! He didn't know there would be so many whales. The little baby whale, or baby Shamu as Michael called him, was by far the one he liked most. It was such a good show!

     After a couple of shows we made our way to the Steel Eel, a good-sized roller coaster with some fun drops and turns. This was the first major roller coaster Michael had ever ridden. And he is IN LOVE with roller coasters now!! We rode this probably 5 times. This definitely was a highlight for all of us. Brian and I LOVE roller coasters and now Michael does too. By the way, I have to say that the food at SeaWorld is absolutely delicious! We ate some fantastic BBQ and delicious burgers! Totally worth the money we paid for that.

 



Michael loved riding the Steel Eel



     Overall, SeaWorld was definitely a win! A good experience for all of us and a great way to start this fun family adventure in San Antonio. And what would a trip to SeaWorld be without an a giant stuffed toy of Shamu? I have to correct myself and say that was probably Michael's favorite. He has slept with it every night since.

 

So long for now! Look for San Antonio Part 2 coming soon!