visitors and some Badger table tennis

This weekend two of my college roommates came to visit. Beth from Milwaukee and Aliza from Santa Barbara. As the temperatures dipped below 0 in Wisconsin, Beth made her way to sunny San Antonio on Thursday. That night I whipped up some baked mac & cheese with broccoli as we got ready to go to a local Playhouse, where it was their Annual Playwright Festival. We experienced seven unique 10 minute shows and then headed to the Riverwalk. Stefan and I had never really explored the Riverwalk at night- it was gorgeous, but a little chilly out with the temperature being only 55 degrees. We tried to find some ice cream, but everyone had closed for the night, so we headed back home to relax and enjoy some chocolate instead. When we got home, we planned out our weekend with a Top10 San Antonio book Stefan's mom gave us.

The next morning I had to wake up early and drive Stefan to work so that he could go on the Friday morning run. After I got back, I did a little bit of work and made some coffee. Beth and I caught up over coffee and then realized it was almost noon and we had lots to see. First, we headed to the McNay Art Museum- a gorgeous estate with Picasso's and Georgia O'Keefe's and much more. The art work, the building, and especially the courtyard were really enjoyable. The special exhibit though was ridiculous. Canvas painted each a different color. Beth and I clearly don't have the eye for that kind of art. After spending a couple hours there, we walked around the property, snapped some pictures, and headed downtown to grab a quick bite to eat. We ate at a little place recommended by our Top10 book and then headed towards LaVillita- a Historic village full of local shops and vendors. The buildings and the appearance of the village were both fantastic, but the shops were not! From Bonsai trees, to Jewelry shops, to local artist shops- none of it was our taste. We then headed towards the Rivercenter Mall, where we figured we could find some items more to our liking. Boy, were we right! We found a bunch of items- Beth especially! We had had enough shopping and headed home to get ready for dinner and Al's arrival. When we got home we chopped up some peppers, onions, and chicken for fajitas and Stefan and I made our famous guacamole. Then, Beth and I headed to the airport to pick up Al.

After we grabbed her, and ate dinner, we made some pitchers of margaritas. Stefan's friend Andrew, from the AF, came over too. We all drank some margaritas and played Catch Phrase and then some card games. Since all of us went to UW, except Andrew, we decided to wear our Badger gear out to the bars across the street. We made up a story that we were a Table Tennis team from Wisconsin and everyone at the bars loved it. We quickly made friends and headed to a different bar where we played some darts and then headed home.

The next morning, we slept late, got ready and went to Lunch at the Guenther House- one of our favorite places in San Antonio. The Guenther House is a historic flour mill that is still in operation. The old house next to it serves as a bakery and restaurant. After a yummy Lunch, we headed towards the San Antonio missions. (When Nate and Katie visited we rode our bikes through this 18-20 mile journey, but given that there wasn't actually a bike path per say, we opted to drive it this time). We explored the first two fully and even took a guided tour for a bit through the large one named San Jose. After seeing these we headed downtown to see the Alamo, which is actually one of the missions as well. Beth and Al were shocked at the lack of tumbleweeds around as they pictured it just as the movie Peewee Herman's Big Adventure depicts- in the middle of the desert. In fact, the Alamo is very much in the middle of downtown and could easily be missed, but you'll all have to visit to see! :)

After exploring the Alamo, we went down to the Riverwalk to explore. We sat at the Republic of Texas restaurant, enjoyed some margaritas and appetizers, as well as some good people watching! After that, we grabbed some Blue Bell Ice Cream- a staple in Texas- and went on a boat tour along the Riverwalk. Beth, Al, and I were sitting next to each other and Stefan was across from us a little further down. This older lady by him took it upon herself to start hitting on Stefan- I guess she couldn't resist that smile either! She proceeds to ask him all of the questions, realizes he's married, and at the end of the tour says that we should make sure that we have lots and lots of babies! Stefan was pretty proud of himself because, as he put it, he's "still got it"!

Next we headed home to relax and decompress from our busy day. We watched some episodes of Curb your Enthusiasm and Saturday Night Live and headed to bed to get ready for the next day. On Sunday, we had brunch at home and then explored the Air Force Base. After a quick tour and some grocery shopping, we headed north to the quaint little town called Gruene. We had fun listening to a local band- The Hudson's- and doing a little antique shopping. After that, we went to a vineyard in the Hill Country nearby. Dry Comal Creek produces only one kind of grape, but the mix many different grapes and wines from other vineyards to make delicious varieties of wine. We went on a tour of the property and then did a tasting. It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. After the tasting we headed back home to make two delicious varieties of homemade pizzas (recipes to come later). We chowed down and then decked out in our best cowboy gear. We wanted to go to the Buckhorn Saloon, which is a crazy bar/restaurant that has antlers everywhere. Once we arrived, though, it was closed for the night. We decided to walk over to the Riverwalk and find somewhere else to enjoy a beer or two. Eventually we found a place, had a few drinks and headed home. We ended the night, headed home and went to sleep, as Beth was leaving early the next morning and Al and I were both traveling that afternoon.

The next morning we packed up Beth and I took her to the airport. We said farewell and she kissed the sunshine and 70 degree weather goodbye as she headed back to Milwaukee. I headed back home, did some work, packed up, cut Stefan's hair (which I'm much better at now, thank you!) and headed to a final lunch with Al and Stefan. After that Stefan dropped us both off at the airport as I am working in Chicago this week. It was a fantastic weekend before a monumental day in history! We had a wonderful weekend with some good weather and good friends. Hopefully we'll have many more visitors in the future!