A Week In San Antonio Texas

I spent last week in San Antonio Texas. I had to be in Texas for a work trip. Our National Caves Association was meeting with the International Show Caves Association for the first time that I can ever remember. It was a big deal. This is a chance for show caves to come together and visit different caves and learn things about each cave that might be helpful for their own caves. So last week we met in San Antonio, home of The Natural Bridge Caverns in Texas, to visit and share ideas with each other.

Me and a couple of my co workers left on Sunday morning. We flew through Atlanta and arrived in San Antonio about 2:30 PM. We rented a car and headed to the hotel. The hotel was only about eight miles from the airport but we always like to have a car in case we want to see other things not on our meeting agenda.

We stayed at The Westin Riverwalk, San Antonio Let me just say this is a beautiful hotel. Every single person I encountered at this hotel was super nice and friendly. We were able to walk outside the back of the hotel and be directly on the Riverwalk. Each room had a small balcony. I was on the fourteenth floor so I had quite a view of the city. Especially at night. When we arrived at the hotel we checked into our rooms and took a short walk on the Riverwalk. We had a welcoming dinner that night and we wanted to get back to freshen up for that.

It was so nice catching up with people we had not seen in a few years. We hadn’t attended since 1999 because of Covid and some work issues last year. We had not seen some of our friends for a long time. This is a wonderful group of people and it is always nice getting together with them. I even got to see my sweet friend Kay who follows my blog, we have become such good friends even though we don’t see each other often.

***My sweet friend Ann, She is from Pennsylvania. I don’t get to see her often but when I do it is like we were never apart.***

Monday morning we started early with a buffet breakfast and a warm welcome from the Mayor of San Antonio, Ron Nuremberg, and our hosts from Natural Bridge Caverns the Wuest Family.

***We had a light lunch and then spent the rest of the afternoon watching around the world cave videos from around the world. there were 47 caves represented and It was amazing.***

On Monday night we had a special dinner at The Buckhorn Saloon & Museum in downtown San Antonio. Great food and drinks were plentiful and just what everyone needed after a long day of sitting and listening. Check out the museum and saloon here

On Tuesday we visited the Natural Bridge Caverns and spent most of the day touring the cave. I added a lot of pictures to my Wordless Wednesday post last night and you can check it out here: Cave Photos

***The hidden wonders Tour was the second tour we did that day at the caverns. It is not open commercially yet but we got a sneak peek and it is truly a wonder!!!!***

***This was one of my favorite formations in the cave. It’s beautiful.***

***The grounds at the cave were beautiful with several gift shops and places to get something to eat. There was also a climbing tower but I was too chicken to do that.***

We were even treated to a horse show by The Diaz Family. It was great!!! Such talent and beauty.

On Wednesday afternoon we took a boat ride down the Riverwalk. It was hot the temps were mid 90’s F but there was a wonderful breeze and it was just beautiful.

***You know how I love church steeples. This one is amazing!!!!***

After we finished the boat ride we took a tour of The Alamo. There is so much history here. Even though it is a fairly small structure, compared to what I had in mind from the movies, it is steeped in history. The names listed below are not all of the names on display. I picked some pictures of those because they were from Tennessee.

After our tour of the Alamo we were on our own for the rest of the evening. We split into smaller groups and headed out for drinks and dinner and a little shopping.

Some of my favorite cave friends, Kara and Ann.

On Thursday we had meetings and individual group sessions and then we had Western night. We put on our boots and cowboy hats and walked to the Briscoe Western Art Museum and had a tour and dinner. I didn’t stay out too late because we had an early flight.

A wonderful time and such a learning experience. The week seemed to fly by like it always does. Friday morning came early and we left for the airport at 3:30 AM. We had a very early flight. It was so good to get back home to hubs and the kitties. And to be able to sleep in my own bed.

I loved San Antonio. I had never been in this part of Texas before. I will go back.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!!

Wordless Wednesday 10-5-2022 Natural Bridge Caverns, Texas

I hope you enjoyed the tour.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!!!

A Quick Trip To Bristol TN/VA

Hello friends a recap of last week’s trip to Bristol TN/VA. I had hoped to get a post out during the week about my trip but it just didn’t happen.

First of all I hope everyone had a happy Mother’s Day. I have no human children but I have definitely mothered many through the years. I think mothers come in many different forms. I received a precious message yesterday from a former employee that I still keep in touch with after many years. He wished me a Happy Mother’s Day and said he always thought of me as someone he respected and could come to for guidance and that I was a mom in his life. That truly made my day. It is amazing how just a few words can mean so much. My own mama has been gone for nineteen years and I have to tell you she was the best Mama in the world!!!!! We were best friends and I miss her every single day.

Last week I spent a few days at a meeting in the Bristol Tennessee & Bristol Virginia area with our Southern Highlands Attraction group. The two states are very close and there is a spot on the street where you can stand in both states at the same time. I did however almost get run over doing this once so if you try that be very careful. I am sure the locals hate this area. My meeting was actually in Johnson City but we spent the entire day Tuesday in Bristol.

We started the meeting Monday in Johnson City about a two and a half hour drive for me. I left early Monday morning so I wouldn’t have too many nights away from hubs and the fur babies. We met at the beautiful Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site. If you missed my Wordless Wednesday post I posted a lot of pictures of the site it is beautiful with so much history. You can check out the post here.

***Just look at these beautiful yellow Irises***

Our meeting ended about 4:00 and I headed to the hotel where we were staying. It was only a couple of miles from Tipton-Haynes. The Carnegie Hotel is a beautiful historic hotel. It is located in the heart of Johnson City with lots of things to see and do around it. We had a little time before dinner. I actually took a small nap.

Dinner was so delicious We went to Southern Craft Barbecue. It was only about a mile from the hotel. The food was amazing. This was probably some of the best barbecue I have ever had.

***A deviled egg, cornbread and sugar bacon, this was the appetizer***

***Salmon, Barbecue pulled pork, okra and sweet potato souffle. We had so much food, we had to do a lot of sharing.***

We started Tuesday morning with meetings. And then at 11:00 we took a bus to Bristol which is about twenty miles from Johnson City. We started out with lunch at The Burger Bar. This is supposedly the last place Hank Williams was seen alive. Not from eating there but it was a favorite of his. And that is where he ate his last meal. Just a little local history for you. There you will find the best burgers and milkshakes ever. Just a few of the burger selections: Hey good lookin, cold cold heart Hawaii 5-0, Howlin at the moon. I didn’t get a milkshake but the list to choose from is unbelievable. Check out their website here and plan to eat there if you go and get a burger and milkshake. It is such a sweet place with lots of memorabilia on the walls and just plain old southern hospitality.

Next we went to The Birthplace Of Country Music Museum. This place is amazing and I love it. I have been several times. It is so much more than a museum. A lot of people think that Nashville is the birthplace of country music but actually it was in the small homes and store fronts in Bristol where the very first country music was recorded. We didn’t tour this time but met with some of their staff and board members.

***We stopped in at The Southern Churn Ice Cream & Candy Shop and we just had to try this Mountain Dew Fudge. It was actually very good.***

Next stop we visited Benjamin Walls’ gallery for a wine reception and some chill time enjoying the beautiful photos of Benjamin Walls and we were actually treated to an unveiling of a couple of his new photos.

Benjamin is an internationally acclaimed artist, avid environmentalist, and successful entrepreneur. I am taking all of this from his website but go and check it out for yourself. His artwork has received seven international awards and has been displayed in dozens of museums, including five exhibits at the Smithsonian and twice at the Natural History Museum of London. It is almost unbelievable some of the photos that he has captured. Check out his website here

A few other places that we visited: The Paramount Theatre
and Lost State Distilling

After the wine reception at the gallery we went to eat at 620 State Restaurant for dinner. Another amazing meal. I had the chicken and rice and a sushi roll, and a margarita. It was yummy. We were exhausted from the day and being on the hot street. It was good to relax and enjoy our meal.

***This Margarita really hit the spot after a long hot day.***

Our bus picked us up to take us back to the hotel. I think I napped on the way back. The next morning we had meetings until noon and then I headed for home. Although I was only gone for two days I was so glad to get back home to my hubby and the babies.

If you live near this area or if you are just passing through don’t forget to check out some or all of the things I mentioned. It really is a great trip. Bristol Tennessee or Bristol Virginia is a beautiful area. You won’t be disappointed.

I hope you enjoyed your short trip to Johnson City and the Bristol TN/VA area let me know how you liked it.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!!

Sister Trip to Gatlinburg TN, 2021

Happy Monday. Another Sister Trip in the books. We had a really good time. It rained quite a bit but it was not a total washout.

Gatlinburg Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains in the fall is such a beautiful place. But let me tell you the traffic there is terrible. Add in Fall Break for a lot of schools around the area and it was crazy. We didn’t spend a lot of time on the roads. We stayed at the condo a lot of the time. We did venture into nearby Pigeon Forge a couple of days.

There’s four of us that goes every year. We left on Wednesday this year. And came back on Saturday. The sisters picked me up last. It took a few extra minutes to get out of the house because all of the babies got excited over different people being in the house. Molly and Scruffy kept running in and out of the doors. It is about an hour and a half drive for us but we always stop for lunch and to do a little shopping.

We stopped in Pigeon Forge for groceries on the way to the condo. We always swear we can’t get another thing in the car and there will not be a spot of room left for the groceries but there always is.

As soon as we get to the condo we unload. Usually we have already done a little shopping on the way up so it is late afternoon and we just get everything into the condo and chill out. The next few days are fun fun fun. We just like to be together and watch movies. I took the production of CATS for the sisters to watch. They were not too crazy about it. My sister Sandy and I always work a jigsaw puzzle. This one with the Christmas cookies was really hard. We eat out a lot at our favorite restaurants. I of course did have an opportunity to buy a little yarn. I also took a bunch of knitting but I didn’t really knit a lot on this trip.