December 2011 - to Texas

Friday Dec 9 to Wednesday Dec 13/2011
Time to pack up and head south. We left Lakefield at 9 AM and headed south. Lunch at Don's parents in Toronto and then to London for dinner and spending the night at our friend Susan Reid's new home. Susan had just retired from a 35 year career at Bell.
Saturday we drove south to Louisville, Kentucky and stayed in the Marriott Springhill Suites - thanks to Tom's points. We had a nice dinner at the Cardinal Hall of Fame Cafe - showcased all the Louisville sports teams. Sunday's drive took us to Tunica, Mississippi to stay in a Harrah Casino there and indulged in a Paula Dean dinner - Southern Home Cooking. Up early on Monday morning, we drove 13 hours - through Arkansas and into Texas - past Dallas and Austin - to San Antonio. That evening, Don relaxed from the long drive and I explored the San Antonio Riverwalk - to enjoy the lights and took a boat tour to know the landmarks for touring the next day.
Tuesday was spent enjoying the sights of San Antonio. We started out on the Riverwalk and decided that we would each do what we wanted - Don didn't want to keep up with Mary the Tourist. I spent the morning learning all about the Alamo. The Alamo is known as "the cradle of Texas Liberty" where Davey Crockett, Jim Bowie and William Barrett Travis and 186 men sacrificed their lives for Texas independence. I did the audio tour - 33 stops, saw the 20 minute film, had a private 11 AM tour of the Alamo grounds - no one else signed up? and checked out the model of the Alamo - housed in a history shop across from the actual Alamo - this model is owned by Phil Collins and he does a narrative of the battle of the Alamo - he is a collector of Alamo relics.
From the Alamo I stopped in at the Menger Hotel - where Roosevelt recruited his Roughriders in the Bar there. On to the RiverCenter Mall for lunch in the Food Court - they had about 6 dental chairs in the open area of the mall - for teeth whitening (first time I have seen this anywhere and I wanted to mention it to Katie). I wandered around all afternoon - learning more about the Riverwalk and visited La Villita - site of the first neighbourhood dating back to the 1750s and now has artisan shops in the old houses. I returned to the hotel after 4 PM and relaxed before returning to the Riverwalk for a lovely 3 course dinner at the Ibiza Restaurant at the Hilton Hotel. Back to the hotel for a swim and a hot tub on the 3rd floor rooftop of the hotel. (Forgot the camera today - will try to put in a few pictures later.)
Wednesday - 4 hour drive to Alamo Trophy Gardens.

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