This morning, we woke up to grab one last coffee in San Antonio, where I got an iced americano, and mom got the same latte. Then, off to the San Antonio airport! Mom headed off to TSA, and I went off to Fort Sam. I checked into my hotel room and in-processed. We made it! Stay tuned for continued updates!
Mom started off the day with a 5 mile run along the Riverwalk toward the dam and lock while I slept in. Then, when she returned, we went to Commonwealth Coffee. I got a nitro cold brew, and mom got a danish and a flavored latte. We walked to THE ALAMO! We went into the Church and watched a cool video on Texas history. REMEMBER THE ALAMO! Then we stopped for lunch at Boudro’s Bistro, where we had table side guacamole and a grilled salmon salad, yummy! When we were at lunch, I saw a friend from my BOLC class there; what are the chances! After lunch, went on a walk all the way to the end of the Riverwalk, enjoying the beautiful flora along the way. It was another hot day with 100+ degree heat. What does that feel like, you might wonder? Well you ever open the oven while something is roasting and feel the blast of heat hitting you in the face? Needless to say, we were spent and we ran out of water, so we made a quick stop for drinks and calamari on the way back to the hotel. Mom passed out for 3 hours, while I blogged and watched tv in the nice AC. Finally, we went out for late dinner at Acenar’s, where we split table side guacamole and enchilada trio, SO GOOD. We are now certified guacamole experts! – Kristen with edits from Mom
Haelie here, filling in for Kristen, who apparently needed a blog day off. Today we started at the crack of dawn because we had an ambitious agenda. Starting with 9 am mass at St.Maria Goretti and then the 10:30am tour of AT&T Stadium (you know, the home of America’s team). Because mass conveniently ended 5 minutes early, we were able to squeeze in a quick local coffee stop at Dutch Bros. – the must try southwestern joe joint. The stop took longer than expected which made our drive to the stadium a bit more stressful than necessary. We parked and got to the tour start JIT. We pulled up right to lot 1 right by the entrance- so unlike going to a football game. Ironically no drinks other than water were allowed on the tour so we chugged our gourmet bougie drinks and joined this exclusive group of 35. Our guide Phil was very knowledgeable and his enthusiasm was infectious. Later we found out he used to be the team pilot for the Cowboys away games and he has been a tour guide for 14 years. We ended the tour with some much required merchandise.
After the tour we found a local Tex mex bbq joint called Hurtado’s Barbecue which was absolutely outstanding! This is what Texas is all about.
We embarked on our 4-5 hour trek to San Antonio with Kristen driving- which is one of the reasons she needed the night off. She learned right quick that in Texas, the left lane is not exclusively for passing, but can be use by drivers that should be in the far right lane. Our 4 hour drive turned quickly into 5 because Texans also like to stow furniture and boxes of clothes on their trucks which are not tightly secured. Needless to say, lots of rubbernecking going on as bags of clothes are blown of said trucks.
Well you know it is very hot when the AC in the car is in full blast, and I’m still not cold. We thought it was hot in Dallas when the temperature hit 104 degrees. Today we saw 107!
We finally made it to our hotel after battling the highway and the heat. We are right on the Riverwalk and a sangria was much needed. As always, Kristen found an excellent Tex Mex restaurant and we split a chicken enchilada with chilies and chips and guacamole. We trudged back to the hotel and decided to call it an early night.
I started off the day with a nice cup of coffee while Anna and Mom went on a morning walk. Then at 9:10, we were on the road to Dallas! Mom started off driving. All was good until we hit Little Rock and were abruptly greeted by a thunderstorm. The roads flooded, we could hardly see, and we could feel the thunder cause the ground to vibrate. The conditions were treacherous, but at least we weren’t riding a motorcycle. With a quick break between thunderstorms and one gas stop later, we stopped for lunch in Texarkana at McAlister’s Deli. It was very good, like a better Panera. I got the jalapeño turkey melt with chicken tortilla soup, and Mom had the spicy turkey sandwich with a Caesar salad. I started my leg of the drive, which began with a trip to Starbucks. I got a trenta Oleato cold brew (cold brew with olive oil in it), and Mom got a decaf latte. Needless to say, it will be the last time I get olive oil in my coffee. I continued to drive through the thunderstorm until we reached the hotel, woohoo! Then we went to pick up Aunt Therese at her hotel, and went to dinner at Velvet Taco! It was SO FUN catching up with Aunt Therese and learning all about her Flight Attendant school. Boy am I glad that it’s not me doing it, it sounds so stressful! We walked around Dallas and finished the night at a bar before dropping Aunt Therese off and driving back to the hotel. – Kristen
I started the day at Anna’s house with a cup of coffee, and Mom and Anna had tea. We went on a walk around the neighborhood park with Leila and Taylor and saw a bunch of ducks hanging out by the pond. Then we headed over the Elvis’ Graceland. We visited the location of the old Guiney apartment, replaced by the Graceland visitor center. We started off with seeing Elvis’s airplanes, which look even more luxurious than any plane I’ve ever ridden. We toured the entirety of the different Elvis museums, to include his car collection, outfit collection, record collection, and the new Elvis movie. We also got a tour of Elvis’ mansion, which included his gravesite along with those of his twin, his parents, and grandmother. We stopped for lunch at Vernon’s BBQ and had the BBQ nachos and BBQ platter, both tasty. We continued to walk around and finished up with some ice cream. I got banana caramel! We stopped by the old Guiney home, only 5 min away from Elvis! We returned home, where we were greeted by Rose, Anna’s granddaughter! We also met Anna’s daughters, Tia and Misha. We ate tortellini, chicken, and bruschetta for dinner. We finished the night relaxing. – Kristen
I woke abruptly to the intruder alarm going off. Later, it was discovered that it was set off by Mom going outside to look at the garden (thanks). We had coffee and started our sightseeing in downtown Nashville. We walked across the pedestrian bridge and through the downtown area—Nashville is much smaller than I had expected. We stopped for lunch at Ole Red bbq. The brisket was mid but the views were very nice! We went to the Belmont Mansion next, guarded by the fiercest of lions. Then we packed up our stuff and set off to Memphis. Mom was super motivated to drive and ended up driving the whole way. Three hours later we were greeted by Mom’s friend, Anna, as well as her two dogs, Leila and Taylor. Both dogs LOVE to lick and had a feast on my legs- Mom was NOT going to let that happen!We settled in and went to the Germantown Commissary for BBQ (yes, it’s a restaurant). We finished up the night hanging with the dogs and looking over old photos. – Kristen
We left at 8:11 am yesterday for the 9 hour drive from Haymarket to Nashville. Mom drove the first half until the first stop at Bojangles in Bristol at the Virginia/Tennessee border. We both ordered Bo’s chicken sandwich; Mom got green beans, and I got fries. I drove the second half until we reached Mom’s friend, Tatiana. We were greeted by the dog, Mocha, jumping up and giving us a hug (which Mom LOVED!). We had hummus, chicken tacos, and tabbouleh for dinner, yum! We went on a local walk, where we saw the Parthenon and finished the night with a belated birthday cheesecake for Mom. —Kristen
KC2SA