Exploring on My Own

So Thursday, while relaxing was going great, I needed to get out of the house and embrace what this journey is all about -- exploring...

So Thursday morning I got in my car... which I hadn't done since Sunday - what a weird concept. I was going to head north and check out the Hill Country, but I remembered I hadn't seen the River Walk yet, and I knew that would be the touristy thing that I should probably check out.

So farther into San Antonio I went. I was slightly interrupted when the HR lady from my last job finally called me back; poor thing got an ear full!  I finally found some street parking which most would probably advise against, but the lots were expensive and wanted me to pay for all day... I only wanted to be there a couple hours - I had grand adventures planned haha.

 First up in my travels I stopped at some restaurant with a variety of little trinkets you could purchase and I picked up some post cards, laughed at the guy at the door in complete cowboy gear and continued on my way.

Next up was the Alamo. It was beautiful outside so I enjoyed a little walk around the inside of the Alamo. There were a lot of people (school tours and what not) around so I didn't do too much reading or what not. I got some nice pictures and decided to keep it moving. There was a nice horse carriage driver that gave me directions on how to get to the River Walk. On the way I had to walk through a hotel lobby, which was very pretty with its many waterfalls and flowing water and there was a store with hand blown glass and lights that really blew me away.

The River Walk is nice enough. I was not really looking to stay too long so I walked around for a bit - did not want to do one of the duck tours, I was hungry and they seemed like they might take a long time. However, while walking around I was able to listen in on some of the tours and picked up some fun little fact -- like Selena had a big kiss scene on one of the bridges in the walk. Eventually, after looking around for something that really grabbed my eye for food, I ended up stopping at the one place that advertised their margaritas - which the margarita was definitely the best part of the lunch! A little more walking around, enjoying the sun and I was back to the car and off again.

While traveling on the highway I saw the sign for the caverns so I thought I would stop and check them out... but it was going to be at least 20 minutes, and I figured I could always come back... Besides it was way too nice to spend over and hour and a half underground in some caves! ha I had already started turning a little pink...

Back on the highway I decided to get off when I saw signs for something having to do with water and ended up driving around the Texas State San Marcos campus. IT IS HUGE!! It's so funny how different things are down there. It was a really pretty campus, but the traffic was driving me insane! So I took as many turns as I could in the opposite direction I had just came and ended up on this beautiful drive. I guess I had made it to the hill country, strolling along was great. Thankfully, I even found some sunblock in the car, which was very much over due at that point.

In my driving around signs for a vineyard grabbed my attention and next thing I know I am in this cute looking house with a nice ranch off to the side and pretty fabulous decor. The house made wines were all very sweet wines, which are not my thing, but they offered a nice list of imported wines of the dryer nature that were included options for their tasting. I tried one of the house wines because it just felt wrong not to, and they did not lie... SUPER SWEET. But it was not as bad as I had expected it to be, but I was very happy that is what I started with. I got to try a cab, chard, sav and a sparkling all of which were pretty great. I made sure to keep my tasting card so I could look for some of the ones I enjoyed in the future. I stuck around for a glass, which I greatly enjoyed -- the break from the sun too.

Heading back toward San Antonio I happened across a little Bonsai exhibit, which I had passed early during the day, and decided to stop. It was just about closing time, but the guy was very nice, explained about the trees to me and let me explore a bit. It was interesting enough for me to take a ridiculous amount of pictures... lots based on the names of the trees; some were just plain silly!

Heading back to Amber and Jimmy's that night was what really blew me away... THE SUNSETS!! I love, love, love the Texas sunsets. I have never seen such vibrant colors and the way they change, it is literally a sight to see!

Stay tuned for more - *Star*