Home of the Alamo

Last month I got the opportunity to go to San Antonio, Texas for work.  As I had never been to Texas for anything other than a layover, I was pretty excited!

And as usual for a work trip, there was quite a lot of excitement during my travels to Texas. For some crazy reason, I got to the airport super early and that turned into a huge blessing. While I was on the phone sitting near the ticket desk, I got a text from the airline saying my connecting flight from Houston to San Antonio was canceled due to weather. I had seen on the news that morning that huge storms were flowing through Texas, so I wasn't shocked by the news. When I walked up to the ticket counter to see about getting rebooked, I heard them say all flights out of Houston that night were being canceled. So, I called my office and had them book me a hotel room in Houston because I knew between the storm and flights getting canceled rooms would be going quickly (and sure enough they did - I got the last room at the Holiday Inn Express by the airport and I ran into a lady the next morning who said they had to stay at the airport!).  Once I knew I had a hotel room, I got a flight for 9 am the next morning. My first meeting was at 11:30 am and it was a 55-minute flight so that was perfect - or so I thought!

My initial flight into Houston was delayed by about an hour, so I got into town at 10 pm CT (11 ET). The first part of the storm rolled in around 2 am or so - the electricity must have gone out because the clock on the nightstand had one time, my phone had another time, and my watch had another! However, the real debacle started on my 9 am flight. We didn't even start boarding the plane until 9 am, and then as soon as we pulled away from the gate, a storm rolled in. The plane parked and the captain came on and said we would wait the storm out as it was directly between us and San Antonio and according to the radar, should only last about 20 - 30 minutes. Ha. Fast forward 2 hours later and we were finally cleared for takeoff. During that time the entire airport 'shut down' to all incoming and outgoing flights, and about an hour in they starting letting West-bound flights go (I was headed East). Once we took off, it was smooth sailing and I finally made it to San Antonio.

View from my room. The red arrow is pointing to the Alamo.

I checked into my room, where I had almost a direct view to the Alamo (a tree blocked my direct view) and grabbed a late lunch before heading to a meeting.  When I called my mom to let her know that I finally made it, she let me know that my hometown high school was competing in the National Robotics competition in San Antonio - just a few blocks from where I was staying - and was coached by a family friend!  I had some spare time the next day so I walked over and got to learn about robotics (fascinating, by the way), as well as even see them compete! It was really cool!

When worked wrapped up on Friday, it finally stopped raining and I was able to tour The Alamo, walk along the riverwalk and take a riverboat cruise before I met with some colleagues for an authentic Mexican dinner at a restaurant called La Tierra - about 10 blocks from our hotel, away from the main tourist areas. Along my walk, I passed a church that was doing a light show about the history of Texas. Someone had told me about it at dinner the night before, so I was excited to know where it was. After dinner at La Tierra, my friends and I walked up to the church right as the Light/Laser Show was starting. It was utterly fascinating- no words, just lights and sounds!

I love the sky in this picture!

San Antonio the Saga at the San Fernando Cathedral

Even though this was a work trip, I'm glad I got to have a little fun and explore San Antonio. I can't wait to go back to Texas again!