Alamo or Bust!

The long-awaited trip Hannah, Andrea and I had planned six months ago finally happened....without Andrea. Unfortunately, Andy has been called to service in Iraq and is currently training at Camp Dodge. Hannah and I were both so sad she couldn't come, but Hannah's sister ended up joining us which was nice.

We chose San Antonio because Andrea had heard great things about the shopping and Riverwalk, which made it even more sad she couldn't come! We all arrived late Thursday afternoon. Northwest managed to lose my luggage despite the fact that I never checked it- it was checked at the gate. We're not sure what happened- I saw it go on and it didn't come back. Thomas, the NW rep, was less than helpful, and eventually my husband got a hold of airport security who helped me. Apparently, NW doesn't feel the need to have a baggage office, like all the other airlines had. So, if you lose your luggage in San Antonio with Northwest, you're just supposed to walk around the airport looking for the NW guy in the blue shirt. And, when you find him, this is how he responds, "Um, I don't know where it is." VERY helpful.

Once Hannah and Senta got in though, we put those stresses aside and went to pick up our rental car. We then drove to the Holiday Inn Express. We walked down to the Riverwalk and had Mexican and some great margaritas. It was fun because we had so much to catch up on that we couldn't stop talking! We stayed up late talking and got up early the next morning. It was after my morning shower that I informed the girls that the hotel was most definitely in the ghetto and we needed to move on to our next hotel as soon as possible.

Hannah had scored a sweet hotel- The Emily Morgan Hotel- by winning some golf tournament. So, we made our way. It was a slight step-up from the Holiday Inn Express (sarcasm). Senta and I knew we were in for a treat when we saw Aveda products in the bathroom. On Friday, we spent the day at the mall (getting me some clean underwear and pants/t-shirt), at the Alamo, shopping local, walking the Riverwalk, going to the Market, and going to another small market- La Vallita or something like that. Overall, we were kind of disappointed with the shopping. But, we all got a few little things- t-shirts, momentos, etc. The weather was amazing and it was nice to be out in the sun. The Alamo was not what we expected either. Maybe we would have been more intrigued with it had we sat through the 15-minute history movie that Hannah wanted us to. Instead, Senta and I wanted to spend our time staring at a huge bull. By huge, I mean HUGE!

When we got back to the hotel room, my luggage was there! Yippee! It made our day! This meant that "Andy on a Stick" could finally make an appearance. I had brought Andy's photo on a stick so she could feel like she was part of the trip! On Friday night, we (meaning the four of us now) went to an awesome piano bar - "Howl at the Moon." The performers were so talented. They had 6-10 different piano players/singers who took turns at the piano. They also played the drums and the guitars. They played every song you could imagine and they knew all the words. As Hannah said, Brooke White from AI would have loved it. Or, we would have loved her. Anyway, after quite a few buckets of beers and nearly 4 hours at the bar, we headed to find food. As a last resort, we ended up at Hard Rock cafe for a bite before turning in.

Saturday morning, we had made plans to go to the Natural Bridge Caverns. We had heard a lot about these and had convinced ourselves that we should go. I mean we were in San Antonio, we should take advantage of the local tourist spots, right? We got in the car to go and started visiting about the Prime and Tanger Outlets nearby. Then, I took out the pamphlet and read the names of the stores aloud. The Natural Bridge Caverns seemed less and less enticing and the Outlet malls were calling our name. So, we made a deal to do outlets first, caves second.

Turned out to be the best decision of our lives. Yep, it was that huge.

The outlet malls were amazing- Victorias Secret, White House/Black Market, Pottery Barn, Clarks Shoes, Aldo Shoes, Benneton, Michael Kors, Esprit....anything we could have dreamt of, we found! Yes, we were literally floating from store to store. Only thing that ruined it was Senta insisting on a coke product!

After about 7 hours of shopping, we returned to the Riverwalk for some fine dining with the high school prommers. We then went on a Riverwalk boat ride that was worth every penny of $7.75. It was great. We turned in fairly early because we had an early morning departure back home.

All and all, it was a great trip but we missed Andy! Senta was a nice fill-in and Hannah and I decided that we may just let her talk next trip - she kind of earned it! Mostly, it made me miss Hannah and the good ol' days at Simpson College. Friends like her don't come along everyday and I'm lucky to have her. I miss all the laughing and joking around on a daily basis, too. Her and Andy are both the kind of friends who will show up to Joey's graduation and say, "Remember when you missed your graduation Holly because you drank too much in Brazil?" And, on Maddox's 21st birthday, they'll call and say, "Let's hope he didn't have spaghetti the night before!" I'm a lucky gal to have friends like them!

In closing, I thought I'd post my Top Ten Quotes of the Trip.

10. "Shut up, Senta. We'll let you know when you can talk. Until then, just listen." - Holly

9. "I really want to know the history of the Alamo. Let's sit in on the 15-minute history lesson. I love knowing the history of places. What's the history of the Riverwalk? I wonder what the history is behind the Emily Morgan." - Hannah

8. "North, south, east west. I mean, who uses those today?" - Hannah

7. "Just how big are his balls?" - Holly, in reference to the bull.

6. "Um, I don't know where it is. I haven't checked the gate. Where do you think it is?" - Thomas, NW Airlines

5. "I feel like I'm having the high of my life!" - Hannah in reference to the outlet malls.

4. "Andy- are you having a good time?" - Any of us talking to Andy on a Stick throughout the trip.

3. "Yes, you can have a shopping bag but you have to give me that one back." - The Gap sales clerk concerned someone was going to get away with more than one bag. One bag per person limit at the Outlets.

2. "Do you think I can talk on the next trip we go on?" - Senta

1. "No way! Esprit!" or "NO Way! Victorias Secret!" or "No Way, Benneton" (all Holly) or "Who the hell is Michael Kors?" (Hannah)

Here's to our next trip...with Andy....and sisters will always be invited!