Part 3: Going Down Memory Lane

    Part 1 here! Part 2 here!  Our trip to Florida had ended and we made our way to San Antonio, Texas. We all have never been and our son, Tev was there! So we got up for an early flight to catch it. The flight was an uneventful one into Texas and we were safely on the ground!

Over San Antonio, TX

    We made it into San Antonio that afternoon and my son was there to pick us up. We went straight to his apartment put our luggage, washed up and went to dinner. He took us to a place called, "Bubba's 33". No, not Bubba Gump, just "Bubba's". I ordered a lasagna dish, Sara a burger, and Sam tried something new with tatter tots! The food was really good. We all enjoyed it!

    Afterwards, my son took us to a grocery store called, H.E.B. or "Here Everything is Better". He said it was a Texas brand store like Walmart, but even cheaper because most of the items that sell there are made right here in Texas! Nice! It was huge and reminded me of a Walmart and Costco rolled up into one. We got some groceries for our stay with Tev. Then headed home for the night. The next day, we had planned to go to The Riverwalk. But first, Monica a friend of my son wanted to do our nails... I opted out, but thanked her for the lovely thought. Sara got hers done! The process was quite long. So I stayed home whilst Sam, Sara and Tev went to the nail salon. Monica did such a wonderful job. She is a very experienced nail tech and does lovely work. You can contact her if you are in San Antonio via IG at memonicaelaine.

    Sara chose the style and Monica created it with such an amazing look! Even the stars glow, shimmer and shine when you move left to right, how cool!! Does it remind you of any stop motion movie?! If you answered, "Coraline"?! You are right! Sara was very happy with the results. We then made our way to The Riverwalk and had to find parking first. Lots of people all over too. The Rivercenter mall in the same area was also crowded. We walked around and checked out the shops and saw some familiar ones. We did stop by an Anime shop and Sara tried her hand at a Crane game. No luck though. Darn. It was quite hot, whew! So we mostly stayed indoors. There was an adventure center with a fun rope course and zip lines, an IMAX movie theater, and restaurants.

A huge chair outside of the Rivercenter mall.

Inside the Rivercenter looking out towards the Riverwalk.

Sara looking on at the kids on zip lines, etc.

    Afterwards, we headed outdoors to check out the river. Lots of people walking too! Sadly, my feet couldn't handle too far a walk so we headed back into the mall side and looked out for a place to have dinner. We found a place called, 'The Yard House'. Sam and I ordered ourselves an alcoholic beverage for a change, also because we weren't driving. Haha! It was good food, good company and a great way to end the day! Thank you Tev and Monica!

Anime store.

Tev and Monica by Riverwalk.

    The next day, we decided to make plans for our travel back to Guam. But, on Saturday, July 20th, while we were up early and I was making breakfast, I was watching the news and they mentioned a glitch in the computer systems for the airlines. Something about an update to the system, had caused a shutdown of computers being used. So of course we were a bit panicked, because that caused system shutdowns for the airlines, we saw bags being sent to one place and stuck there. I also heard banks were shut down as well. Sam watched his chat group for work and luckily Guam was not affected too badly. In fact, while in the states the airlines canceled, but on Guam it was minor. Sadly, that basically meant we could not leave out as planned on Sunday. Ugh.

My Coconut drink at the Yard House!

    So, we decided to just keep an eye on flights for now, and instead made a plan to go to The Pearl in downtown San Antonio. By the time we got there it was mid day. The early morning markets had closed and finding a parking was not as easy as we had hoped. Sam also wanted to go check out The Alamo as well. We found a street parking which was a lot cheaper and walked to The Pearl. Lots of shops and a park surrounding the area. It was sunny and hot. Most of the shops are outdoors, so it was lovely to see. We got ice cream and took a break from walking to decide what the plan was next. Way too hot to be outdoors, so next we went to the North Star Mall for lunch and a bit of shopping. I did not take any photos or videos while there. It was so crowded and so we just ate at the food court and then went home. Sadly, parking for the Alamo was way too expensive so we decided not to go there either.

Blueberry ice cream break!

Beautiful outdoor shopping at The Pearl!!

We rested a bit and just looked at the sights around the area.

We even saw some girls dressed in gowns!

    On Sunday, flights were still a bit chaotic so we decided not to leave until maybe Monday or Tuesday depending on how well the backup cleared from those canceled flights. Luckily, no report of an major cancellations for United. So for Sunday, Tev decided to take us Antiquing. We found parking right across the street from the antique shop which boasted 3 floors of vintage downtown!! And parking was not like the other day, it was cheaper! Yippee! So we headed towards the antique store and went in...

3 floors of vintage!!

Lovely Japan lipstick holder.

     

    We saw a lot of interesting things, but nothing that I wanted to take home, sadly. It was still lovely to see though and boy was that a lot of walking as well. When we were about to leave, we decided to go into this coffee shop for a break and decide what we would do next. At Archie's Coffee shop, we enjoyed an ice coffee or two. I told Sam and Tev that they could go ahead and walk further down the street, Sara and I would stay in the coffee shop to relax and wait for them. Not even 5 minutes passed after they walked out, that they came back in saying, we were just a block away from The Alamo!! Yup, the place Sam wanted to see yesterday but we couldn't because of parking. Yay! So we left immediately towards The Alamo!

Silly Clown satin carnival plush.

An adorable High Chair w bear planter!

    We walked about half a block or so and sure enough as we turned the corner, and around the building there was The Alamo! Lots of people walking around or sitting. There was ticket booth for the Church tour, and vendors. It was just as I pictured after looking it up online. Haha! Sam just took off and started taking photos. Sara and I searched for a spot to sit and relax while Sam ventured around. Tev and Monica stayed close by us. After about 45 minutes, we decided to walk around a bit, especially after we saw a sign that said "Ripley's Believe It or Not!"

My coffee at Archies!

Sara unwillingly taking a photo! LOL

Sam and Tev enjoying the sights.

The church at The Alamo, crowded with visitors.

The Fortress wall by the Church.

Monica and Tevin by the Church/Alamo.

    We made our way into Ripley's. The first side we had entered was for a paid ride through and expensive. So we went into the other side. That side was for a walk through for Louis Tussaud's Waxworks. At first, we just sat and enjoyed the a/c. But then Sara and Sam decided to go in and do the wax museum tour. The rest of us sat and waited. Sam said it was okay and was not happy that most of it was like a haunted house and very claustrophobic. They both enjoyed only the first half of it. Sara was traumatized by it. Oh my... We made our way back to the car and back to Tev's apartment for the night. It was a long day with lots of walking.

Entrance into Louis T's wax museum.

A coin game beside where we were sitting.

    By Monday, we decided not to leave until Wednesday. So Monday we stayed in and just relaxed enjoyed Tev's apartment and played games. We even had lunch delivered, and on the last evening ate at Bubba's 33 for the last time. It was just a day of vegging out. LOL We tried to leave Tuesday morning, even set our alarms for it and when I opened the app for United, the flight out of San Antonio for Houston, was canceled due to weather. We only saw that a Cold Front was coming. So that was a bit of a downer. By Wednesday, the flight out of San Antonio was looking way better. Tevin dropped us at the airport we all hugged and said our goodbyes and thank yous. We made it to our gate and sat. Then when we were boarding, they had us leave back out the jetway because the airplane tire needed to be changed out. We got worried thinking we may not leave. But after about 45 mins. We were allowed to board again. We landed into San Francisco, and then made it on that flight Polaris style into Narita, Japan! Yippee! Almost home!! Our last leg into Guam was uneventful and we arrived safely onto Guam at about 10pm on Thursday night. 

Vtg rattles, Doll, and wood Kitty paper doll.

    Taby picked us up from the airport and we were glad to be home. Our summer adventures came to an end. It was an awesome walk down memory lane for Sam, thrifting for me and shopping for Sara! LOL Thanks to our children and grandson, Max, Kalani and also Tevin and friend Monica for making our summer trip the most enjoyable time this year. We already miss you all!! Above, are just a few items I brought home. Some keepers, some for the shop!

Thank you for reading! ~ ggsdolls