Wonderland in San Antonio -- Sat., Sep. 15

"You'll be like Alice. That's a clue," quips Bob, as he kidnaps* me for the day. 

           Hmmmm...Alice? 

"Does that mean we're going to Wonderland?" I ask. 

Bob is silent. Clues are over.

I puzzle over his meaning. But I don't know where he's taking me.

[*Kidnaps = "Kidnap" is written on the calendar by one of us. To us, it means "Save the day because I'm taking you somewhere but not telling you where." The fun begins when the kidnapee tries to figure out where we're going. We've been doing this for years. Sometimes a kidnap is a whole weekend trip.]

So, back to today. We drive west on I-10 and exit the freeway on the west side of San Antonio and end up at...

Wonderland of the Americas is a mall with Ross Dress for Less, Super Target, Cowtown Boots, Stein Mart, a hobby store, Bijou Theater and some other shops. "What on earth is he bringing me here for?" I wonder. We enter and start wandering the mall. Not much to see at first. Up the escalator we went and stumbled into this HO train exhibition. 

San Antonio Model Railroad Association

Bob looking over the layout.

Diorama.

Oh, look, an RVer. Their awning has been hit by something.

 

Pretty cool display with lots of humor in the dioramas. But this wasn't the reason Bob brought me here. Bob was searching for something. What could it be? So we wandered the mall. 

I saw a hobby store and asked to stop in to buy two peacock feathers to use as cat toys. Of course, there were a couple of photo-worthy displays in the store. 

I could have spent a long time in there on photography, but we were on a mission. So with two peacock feathers in tow, we continued our search.

Next we found the Bijou Theater. The movies advertised did not sound familiar to us. We thought maybe they were classics; however, upon reading the movie posters, these were art house movies. Some had won prizes at Sundance 2012. Definitely not classics. We saw the poster for "Arbitrage" with Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon. There was a write up by Rolling Stone magazine which gave it 4-1/2 stars. The movie sounded pretty darned good. 

While at the Bijou, we saw a flyer for a Rock Art Show & Sale. Aha! I bet that's what we're here for!

Sure enough. We found the empty storefront in the mall that had been converted into the Rock Art Show. The show wasn't huge, but it was interesting. Ron Campbell, who animated 12 minutes of The Beatles' Yellow Submarine movie, was in the art show doing some painting. He was the guy who animated the Blue Meanies in the movie. I LOVE that movie! He also animated the Saturday Morning Beatles Cartoons.

Here's some other art from the show... (Sorry for all the reflections. Lighting wasn't the best in the space.)

Poster for a Grateful Dead concert.

 

Lyrics to Aerosmith's "Living on the Edge."

Dave Matthews Band Summer Tour poster

From Jon Anderson of Yes.  He started out to paint flowers, but said hummingbirds kept showing up. My favorite piece in the show.

Jon Anderson of Yes painted this watercolor.

Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top created this for a Rock 'n' Roll cookbook.

Hand bill for a U2 concert in Dallas, Texas

What a fun show! Most of this art had little notes attached explaining what the artist intended or giving the inspiration for the piece. 

After we finished looking around at the Rock Art Show & Sale, we decided to have dinner in the food court after we dropped the peacock feathers off at the car. We shared a grilled chicken salad. While we were eating, Mariachi Alma del Sol serenaded everyone in the food court. They were excellent. Not only did they play, they sang and did little choreographed routines. If you are ever in need of a Mariachi band in San Antonio, you can call them at 210-378-9424. We can vouch for them. Superb!

The movie Arbitrage sounded so good, we decided to see it. The Bijou Theater is an upscale theater that sells food at the beginning of the movie. Each row has a large aisle with a table down the middle of it for your food and servers deliver the food to your seat. They also serve alcohol. The Bijou is a definite find. We'll be going back to have dinner with our movie.

Arbitrage was very well done. The movie followed billionaire Robert Miller (Richard Gere) and his wife (Susan Sarandon) through his life as an investment banker. Richard Gere does not play an ethical man. If you prefer light drama or comedy, this movie would not be for you. Bob and I give it two thumbs up. Beware because there is swearing, and there are decidedly adult themes, so no young kids to see this one. 

Bob, you da man! Today was awesome. Thank you, honey. Let's do it again soon.

Here's a couple of pics of the fur kids from this morning.

Bowie

Bowie and Sunnie.

Travel Bug out.