Day 3: Riverwalk, Alamo, Japanese Tea Garden

Day 3 started out a little rough. When we got home from Sea World, we figured out why Birdy had been stopping us to itch her feet and legs all day. She had what looked like the same rash she got when she took penicillin. We assumed it was a reaction to the pool (which was really chlorine-y) and gave her some benadryl and hydrocortozone.  We now know that it was probably strep since our adventure in Urgent Care with Bear the day after we got home.  Poor kid was a trooper, even though she wasn't feeling well! 

 Anway, on Day 2 we made our way to the famous San Antonio Riverwalk. I liked it a lot more than I expected to.  It is down below street level and full of all these lovely bridges and picturesque nooks, fountains and statues.  There are also lots of bars and restaurants all along with patios to eat outside. It made me want to go back and wander for a couple hours (without kids of course!).  Since we did have kids who were sick/tired of walking from the day before, we just wandered a little and road a river boat (you can see them in the first picture.

Not far away from the river walk was the Alamo. Mom warned me that it was smack in the middle of downtown, but I was still surprised to find it there nestled amongst the high-rise offices and hotels.  Just like everything else on this trip, it was jam-packed with people on Spring Break.  We didn't go into the Alamo church itself (called the Shrine- no really) because there was a huge line that wound around the block. It was hot and we were hungry so we decided against it. Next time Alamo!  There are other buildings and things to see on the grounds, though, as well as some interpretive museum stuff that was really neat.

The Alamo is a pretty building with some nice carving and stuff on the outside. It was surprisingly small, though.  If you aren't familiar with the Alamo (and I wasn't before the State Texas History Museum) the basic story is that when Texans were fighting for their freedom from Mexico, there was a point in the battles that the Texans were getting their butts kicked a lot. It was a cold winter and many men were concerned with their families and leaving the army to go home and take care of them. The Alamo was attacked by a giant Mexican force and the defenders knew they were outnumbered and that relief wasn't likely to get there in time, but they still stood up and defended the Alamo anyway. Their bravery became a rallying cry that helped re-inspire the Texans to eventually win their freedom. 

The boy proved that all boys love big guns. This was his favorite thing about the whole property. That and the carp living in an irrigation ditch.   The grand Texas history is lost on this one :).   Below is just a picture of the girls by a pretty and peaceful fountain.

After the Alamo, we had a late lunch and went back to the hotel.  DMP, Birdy and Bear took a rest (well, Birdy rested, Bear played and kept Daddy awake).  EJ and I went and got a treat, and then she got to swim in the pool while I read. After dinner, we decided to go to the Japanese Tea Garden I'd read about.

Not only was it beautiful, but it had a really interesting story, too. It was an old quarry used for making cement. In the early 1900's, a man decided it should be a Japanese garden and had a Japanese man and another architect design it.  The Japanese man and his family lived on the site in a house and ran a tea room and took care of the garden for something like 25 years. Then, during World War 2, they were kicked out and the garden was renamed the "Chinese Tea Garden" (see the sign above) until the mid 80's.  It is so sad that the man who designed and took care of the garden lost his home because of the anti-Japanese sentiment. We also thought it was funny that they were like, "We'll just call it a Chinese Garden- it's kind of the same..."

 The boy was happy with the giant Koi in the pond.

 This girl was getting photos taken for her quince.  The girls were in LOVE with her crown and big, pouffy dress. Bear loved her, too, but only from afar.  Now EJ wants a quince party when she turns 15.

Pretty Birdy with some of the garden in the background. The bridges and walls around the paths and the big pagoda thing are all made out of rocks that look like they were part of the quarry leftovers- very jagged and narrow.  They were very cool-looking!

The garden was so nice and peaceful. It was the perfect sunset-y time of day and everyone had just had a good rest. A great break from the crowds and walking from the morning and the day before at Sea World.

The girls were pretty cooperative about getting their annoying Mom stopping them every 10 feet to take their picture. The boy loved running around and climbing up jagged, dangerous steps too much to stop and have his picture taken!

On the way home from the garden we passed this restaurant and sign.  It was like a gauntlet was thrown down for this burger-loving girl. We had to check it out for ourselves.  It wasn't too far from the hotel, so DMP dropped the kids and me off and went to get "the best burger in San Antonio and the state".

The verdict?  Definitely the best burger we've had in TX so far (and we've had a fair amount looking for a new "best burger" near our house).  I'd say it is definitely in the top 8 burgers I've ever eaten. It had a good burger-bun-veggie ratio and the meat was well-seasoned and had that nice crispy edge that they get sometimes.  There was a bit too much French's mustard for me, but I'm finding I'm really not liking that at all most of the time lately, so that could just be me :)  So it could very well be the best burger in Texas, but for now, I'll accept "Best burger in town"!