We recently took a trip to San Antonio, Texas. My husband had a conference there and he also has family there, so the boys and I decided to tag along. It was a lot of fun! San Antonio is a great place to visit. Above is a picture of the space needle, which has a restaurant on top. My mother-in-law told me that she and my father-in-law went to eat there to celebrate their engagement. This was right by our hotel.
I had never been to San Antonio before and I was dreading the Texas heat in July. Little did I know that when we returned to the midwest, we would experience worse heat then we had in Texas! I actually didn't find the weather to be too bad in San Antonio while we were there.
Below are some pictures from our trip. Here we are on our layover in the Dallas airport. They have a very nice play area, which Andrew really enjoyed.
We stayed at the La Quinta, right by the river walk. We had a beautiful suite, which gave us more room for the boys. We found that it pays to spend a little more for more space for napping, etc. And really, we got a great deal on it through AAA since we booked early, so it was about the same price as a regular room would have been. The service there was great.
Our hotel had a wonderful breakfast that was included with our stay. The boys really enjoyed it. Here is Benjamin in his favorite pose, enjoying some cheerios at breakfast:)
One of our favorite parts were the Texas shaped waffles! There was usually a line to make one of these but they were well worth it:)
Andrew loved the breakfast too (although you can't tell from this picture. He is going through a refusal to smile for any picture phase lately. lol) He especially loved the sausage, which we had to limit or he would have eaten every one you see here! :)
We stayed in room 1001. This is actually a very significant number to me because there are 1001 uses for my all time favorite cleaning product Basic H2 super organic concentrate. This isn't a Shaklee post, but if you are curious as to why I love this so much, you can Click Here.
The day after we arrived, my mother-in-law arranged a wonderful lunch for us at a Mexican restaurant for her relatives to come and meet us. We had a great time! It was the first time that I got to meet a lot of his family, including his grandma, and the first time for the boys too. It was so nice that everyone could come and join us.
Here is Andrew with his second cousins, Brandi, Brianna and Brittany. Andrew is playing with the CAT trucks that great-grandma gave to him. He hasn't stopped playing with them since:)
This is Brittany, Aunt Letty, Uncle Randy, and my in-laws Godson, Jason, who also lives in San Antonio. It was great that he could join us too. As a side note, Jason's parents are the Godparents of my husband! We saw them recently too at my brother-in-law's wedding.
Aunt Betty, Uncle Mike and cousin Nicole. They drove 2 hours from Corpus Christi to be there.
And here is my husband's grandmother, Mary (our kids great-grandma or "great Nona" as Andrew calls her), my mother-in-law, Sylvia holding Benjamin, and Uncle Oscar.
Aunt Betty with Benjamin (sorry this one is blurry!)
Benjamin and David with Uncle Frank
Oscar and Benjamin
Great Grandma and Benjamin
After lunch, many of us were able to go to Randy and Letty's beautiful home in San Antonio. Here are some pictures of everyone visiting there.
One of the nice perks to our hotel was the great location. It was right next to the river walk, which is a big attraction in San Antonio. David was busy with conference stuff one day, so the boys and I got up early and went walking along the river before it got too hot. It was so peaceful at that time of day, with hardly anyone around.
There were lots of boats taking people for rides along the river. We didn't have time for that but plan to on a future visit.
It was so pretty there!
a church near the river walk
Later that day, we walked to the mall, which was across the street, to play in the play area.
The boys loved it and it was a nice way to spend some time without David in a cool area.
Where do you find The Alamo in a play area? In San Antonio of course!
A hint of a smile!! I couldn't believe it:) I think it was because he had to wait several minutes for his turn to "drive" this car. There were two sisters who kept him waiting, which he did so patiently. I was impressed.
The baby had fun too! He's not opposed to smiling for a picture as you can tell. I think he may become the ham of the family:)
We couldn't visit San Antonio without stopping at the Alamo. It was nice because it was only a few blocks from our hotel. My in-laws met us there, which was fun. Below are some pictures from our visit there.
This is San Antonio, which I learned is also St. Anthony! I never knew that before. St. Anthony is the patron saint of lost things and of miracles and is a very special saint in my family. My youngest son's middle name is Anthony after him. I took this picture inside the Alamo before I realized that no pictures were allowed. oops!
Here are my in-laws, Don and Sylvia with the boys.
I really admired this tour guide, who got up to give a good 10 minute presentation on the Alamo's history. She did it all from memory and with the heat rising as she spoke. It was interesting to hear the history that took place there as Mexico invaded Texas. The Alamo was an old Mission at the time that wasn't being used. It made for a fort for the Texans.
The Texas flag
Later that day, we enjoyed lunch with my in-laws. Here is Andrew with a hint of a smile as he enjoys a yummy dessert with his grandma
A walk by the river walk after lunch. There were some musicians getting ready to play
back in the hotel. The baby loved this doggie that his great-grandma gave him. He loves to cuddle it. So cute!
We had some time to enjoy the wonderful pool at our hotel.
The boys loved the water
I never found out what this was, but I liked the building so I took a picture. It was near the San Fernando Cathedral.
The San Fernando Cathedral is the oldest Cathedral in the US, built in the 1700s. It was beautiful inside. We made a quick stop to see. Can you find me in this picture? :)
Inside the Cathedral, they have a tomb of the heros of the Alamo.
The Blessed Mother. Beautiful!
One of the golden alters from Spain. Even better in person!
St. Anthony
Randy and Letty invited us back to their house for lunch later in the week. Here is Benjamin with his second cousin Brianna
and with Aunt Letty. He loved this Apple that she had.
the boys with Letty in their backyard. It was so nice.
All good things must come to an end as they say. Here is a picture from the airport on our way home. Andrew was in heaven watching all of the construction taking place as we waited for our plane.
Everyone was exhausted from the trip:)
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this post and seeing a little of San Antonio. I would highly recommend it for your family's vacation. Have a good and healthy week ahead and stay cool and hydrated!
Rebecca
