Walk with Hill Country Hikers - Fri., May 3

Such an exciting day today! And it's all good.

Bob is interviewing for a controller (accounting) position next week. I have a lead on a job for one to two days per week (more on that next week).

Yesterday I joined four meetup.com groups and this evening Bob and I went on our first walk with Hill Country Hikers. We met at Robert Tobin Park where we started our four-mile round trip at a moderate-fast pace. We walked 15-minute miles, so we finished in one hour! Fourteen walkers showed up. What a nice group of people. One lady, Vanessa, brought her Husky, Amanda.

The park sign behind me is faux bois. See
explanation below.

At exactly 6:45 p.m. we started south on the trail through the Salado Creek Greenway. This is a beautiful trail with lots of trees and the wildflowers are still blooming. Because of the recent rain, everything was green and growing. Paul, our leader, told us the south trail from the main parking area is excellent for summer hiking because the trail is shaded...a very good thing when temperatures hover around 100 degrees F.

Paul, our walk leader.

Before we started the walk we had time to read the plaques. Robert L.B. Tobin, after whom the park is named, was born in 1934, educated in the Alamo Heights (San Antonio) School District and attended the University of Texas. His father died in an air crash in 1954. Robert took over leadership of the family business, Tobin Surveys, Inc. He built the business into the nation's largest mapmaker for the oil industry.

Also on the park entry signboard was information about faux bois (false wood) or "trabejo rustico." At the parking picnic area all the tables, benches, the park entry sign, and support for the signs are faux bois. What is faux bois? It is a craft that was popular in the late 19th century to the 1940s which is experiencing a resurgence. Natural elements such as wood, thatch, vines and branches are recreated in concrete. The faux bois pieces in Tobin Park are the work of Carlos Cortes, a third-generation artisan whose great uncle Domingo Rodriguez brought the skill to Texas from Mexico in the 1920s. Other Cortes family creations around San Antonio can be seen along the Riverwalk (especially The Grotto on the north Riverwalk), at Brackenridge Park, and some bus stops.

Faux bois picnic table.

Faux bois bench.

Here are photos. I took only a few because if I stopped, I had to run to catch up. Some photos were taken while walking.

Salado Creek Greenway trail.

Mexican hat wildflowers.

Walkers on the trail.

Coming up to our turn-around point with Paul in the lead.

Great egret in Salado Creek.

Salado Creek Falls (ha ha)

Salado Creek

A very large, old pecan tree.

Honeysuckle growing along the trail. Smelled wonderful!

Rain lily. Only bloom for three to four days after rainstorms.

Bluebonnets - some going to seed.

The sun was out, birds were active, the air was fresh and clean after our recent rains. The temperature this afternoon was perfect at 72 and very low humidity. At the end of our walk we felt great.

For dinner, we went to Taqueria Guadalajara across the street from the RV park. A good end to a wonderful day.

Travel Bug out.

Rising to New Heights -- Sun., Mar. 24

Off on our adventure at 10:30 a.m. First destination the Japanese Tea Garden at Brackenridge Park. But it wasn't always the Japanese Tea Garden. Here's the unfortunate history.

In the early 1900s the San Antonio City Parks Department wanted to beautify the old Portland Cement quarry. A Japanese Tea Garden was conceived to fill the space. Japanese artist Kimi Eizu Jingu was enlisted to assist in the design of an authentic Japanese Tea Garden. Numerous plants from gardens in Japan were imported to imbue authenticity. A house was constructed on the site using rocks from the old quarry and the Jingu family was moved in to become overseers of the facility. In 1926, the Jingus opened a tea house in the upper level of their home. Mr. Jingu became famous internationally for his knowledge of teas.

The Jingu family remained in their home in the garden until shortly after the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. The resulting general fear and resentment by the American public caused the Jingu family to be removed from the garden and the name was changed to the Chinese Tea Garden. It was at that time the Chinese-style entry was added bearing the inscription "Chinese Tea Garden." The name was not changed back to Japanese Tea Garden until the 1970s!

Trumpet flowers.

"Entrance to Chinese Tea Garden"

The Pavilion at Japanese Tea Garden

Koi polloi.

Texas Gold Columbine

Jerusalem sage (phlomis fruticosa)

Japanese Garden bridge and waterfall.

Jan, Bob, Mom--Looks warm, but it was COLD!!

Grasses and bridge.

Blue plumbago flowers (?)

Turtle swimming underwater.

Trail from Japanese Garden to San Antonio Zoo.

We took a 20-minute miniature railway ride through Brackenridge Park.

Brackenridge Park

Mom, me, Jan

Brackenridge Park

We wanted to show Mom and Jan another part of the Riverwalk so we parked at Pearl Brewery and walked to the San Antonio Art Museum. Along the way, we saw the artwork of Carlos Cortes (designer of The Grotto using Faux Bois [false wood] technique), and the fish sculptures hanging under the freeway.

Black-bellied whistling ducks.

Black-bellied whistling duck at Pearl Brewery Riverwalk.

American coot.

San Antonio Riverwalk at Pearl Brewery Complex.

Interesting grasses.

Concrete art of Carlos Cortes.

San Antonio Art Museum from Museum Reach on the Riverwalk.

Fish art under a freeway.

Ducklings with no momma duck. Awwww.

Carlos Cortes art at The Grotto.

What type of flower or bloom is this?

Upon finishing our loop walk, we stopped in downtown San Antonio to walk another part of the Riverwalk. We quickly visited The Alamo, watched the movie and walked the grounds. All of us were very hungry so we went back to our respective dwellings to eat and relax before Mom's birthday dinner tonight.

Explosive new growth on cacti at The Alamo.

For our evening entertainment, I had purchased a Groupon a couple of months ago for admission to Tower of the Americas Observation Deck and Skies Over Texas 4-D theater experience. Before dinner we watched Skies Over Texas. What a hoot that was! All of us enjoyed the experience.

Then we took the elevator to new (for us) heights--the Observation Deck of Tower of the Americas. Tower of the Americas at 750' tall was built in 1968.

It was a beautiful, clear afternoon and our 360-degree panorama was unobstructed by clouds, humidity or dust. The Observation Deck has photos around the inside identifying city landmarks we could see. Texas history write ups lined the walls. Mom was most amazed by camels in Texas. She had no idea camels had been imported for use in the hot, arid conditions. That idea did not work out in the long run because camels apparently smell horrible, have cantankerous personalities and the horses who had to work with the camels were terrified of them. Oops.

An outside observation area is available as well. However, howling, icy-cold winds kept us inside, except for a foray outside to take a couple of photos.

Looking south from Tower of the Americas.

Reading history of Texas.

The Alamodome as seen from the Tower.

Jan, Bob, Mom

Jan, me, Mom

Dinnertime...we took the elevator down two levels to the Chart House. Our reservation was just before sunset so we saw evening turn to night and watched the city lights come on. Truly beautiful.

Bob, Susan, Jan, Mom, and San Antonio at night.

So, after dinner we headed back to see Skies Over Texas. The show was so much fun we wanted to see it again.

Bob and Mom hamming it up in 3-D glasses.

The wind had died down so we walked a little on the Riverwalk. It certainly looks different at night! Fun to see it with all the people gone and the city lit up.

Waterfalls in Hemisfair Park outside Tower of the Americas.
We think there was a BASF convention in town.

Tower of the Americas at night with moon.

Part of the Convention Center.

Riverwalk Mall neon and lighted bridge--Riverwalk.

The end.

Travel Bug out.