San Antonio Trip: Day Two

After a lovely breakfast courtesy of the Whartons, Adam and I headed out to explore San Antonio! We drove around some of his old haunts....and even drove to the more ritzy areas of San Antonio to see the fancy houses. Fun, fun! Sadly, we didn't see any famous houses because all of those are (wisely) in gated communities.

Then we went to the Alamo Cafe to meet Maynard Leese, a friend of Adam's from Northside, for lunch. It was a beautiful place, and it had delicious food! Conversation with Maynard was absolutely delightful.

Copelands at Alamo Cafe!

My man with the Texas flag

Maynard, Adam, and I outside the Alamo Cafe

The back area of the Alamo Cafe...great landscaping,
especially the preservation of the live oaks all around the restaurant.

After that, Adam and I took a quick jaunt into Breckenridge Park. It was a sunny, clear day, so the parking lot was crowded, but we took a few far-away shots of the San Antonio zoo and spent the rest of our time exploring the Japanese Tea Gardens.

I liked this pic of the San Antonio Zoo (even though we didn't visit)

ohhh, spiky plants! yucca, yucca!

Outside the tea gardens, this is the one of the main quarry buildings--the circular one is a kiln.

The Japanese Tea Gardens were created from a man-made quarry that was bought by the city to be converted into parkland. Although a Japanese gardener created the space in the early 1900s, it has undergone several reconstructions and redesigns. Most notably, the gardens were renamed the Chinese Sunken Gardens during WWII and some of the years thereafter. Luckily, their original name and original design has been restored and updated smartly. If you're in San Antonio for only 2 hours, spend ALL your time here! I LOVED it!! The stonework, the design (it's a big, empty hole in the ground, but they put in ponds, waterfalls, plants, bridges, cozy stonework, etc to make it feel like a bit of paradise!), everything was excellent!

Sign about the gardens! I like to read everything in sight!

At the entrance of the tea garden, there is a huge stone temple structure.
It's breathtaking, and made entirely of old stone from the quarry.

In the center of the temple

The roof was very Polynesian in style--but the beams and the stones were just remarkable.

Look at all that gorgeous stonework!

A view from the back of the quarry looking toward the front.

All the bridges in the quarry had the same fantastic stonework--and the bridges were so whimsical!

This waterfall cascaded along the back of the quarry,
helping to supply the water features of the place.

I'm on a bridge that's covered in ivy! (Anyone catch the Timberlake joke there?)

There were lots of coy in the ground ponds--and they were MONSTER coy! Huge!

Adam, relaxing by the waterfall

A good view of the quarry basin...and of us smooching! :)

So picturesque! (View from top of stone temple)

We were there just as spring was starting, so here's some look at some of the blooms that were a-budding!






After the gardens, Adam and I spent some time with the Utleys, a family that went to Brasil with his family in 1998. We had a couple of hours chatting with them, and then we headed back to the Whartons. A whole clan of Whartons, significant others, and Adam and I went to Cris Madrid's for dinner. It's one of San Antonio's most famous hamburger joints, and it was DELICIOUS! The surrounding area was a little sketchy (and hard to find...go there with native San Antonions!), but the hamburgers were worth it!

After dinner, we played a tough game of Pictionary (girls vs. boys). Although the girls lost, we made a valiant attempt. But I'm sure that my horrible pictures contributed to the loss. (How do you draw Rodeo Drive or Out of Luck?) Anyway, it was a ton of fun, but I was ready for bed at the end of the night!