In the morning, we had a nice breakfast and D manned the Mazda table. 

In the afternoon, we took a short narrated cruise on the Riverwalk.  This is a must do when visiting San Antonio!  Well worth the $8.25 admission.

One interesting tidbit is that the river is only 3-4 feet deep in most parts.  Also, the majority of the river is natural, with just one bend being manmade!

There are some intricate mosaics integrated into the architecture. 

There were some Christmas decorations up, but we missed the lights on the trees along the Riverwalk.  I bet that looks spectacular!

Gargoyles!

We were also able to visit the Alamo during our first afternoon.  It was nice being able to walk everywhere.

The garden of the Alamo has koi fish!

We caught a short recitation by a school group in front of the Alamo.

However, the real crowd started gathering to see this guy:

Ozzy Osbourne!  Apparently, he was making a public apology for urinating on the Alamo a while back.  Classy.

At the beginning of this month, I tagged along with D on his business trip to San Antonio.  We left on a Wednesday morning and returned Saturday evening.  The kids were happy to have an extended sleepover at Baba and Zaza’s house. 

D and I took separate flights from John Wayne airport.  Using his American Airline points, D was able to get me a free flight, but I had to take a circuitous route through Chicago!

One perk of stopping in Chicago was being able to taste this glorious torta from Rick Bayless’ Tortas Frontera.  It had pork and bacon and cost about $12, but I dare say, it was worth it!

We met up at the airport in San Antonio and checked into our hotel, the Riverwalk Marriott. 

Next we walked to the Wyndham hotel, which is where D’s conference was being held.  There was a light dinner reception with beef tacos, black beans, queso and guacamole.

D also checked to make sure his cars made it to the hotel for the conference.  They were already parked in valet, looking nice and shiny. 

After dinner we had our first look at the Riverwalk.  The weather was so warm and humid…felt like Hawaii.  At first we were walking along a “dead” part of the Riverwalk, which felt like it could be a setting for a mysterious crime novel.  However, we soon encountered the “happening” part, and it looked like everyone was having so much fun!  We were tired though, so we just had some gelato and went back to the hotel. 

We brought sandwiches for lunch and ate them in the park.  After lunch we stood in the labyrinth that is the Jungle Cruise line.  n paused for some meditation. 

Cutest question of the day.  n: “How do they train the tiger to stay so still??”

Favorite treat of the day: Dole Whip float at the Tiki Room.  The line outside, along the fence was long, but if you go to the show waiting area, it is much shorter.  Thankfully, n was able to partake since it was pasteurized pineapple (not fresh). 

We were able to get a Fast Pass for the Halloween-themed Haunted Mansion, so that saved us a lot of time.  Bummed that we were not able to go on Pirates of the Caribbean, though. 

At about 2:45, we checked into our room at Springhill Suites, which should be only about a five minute drive.  However, there was construction going on, and traffic was bad, especially when trying to get back to Disneyland Friday evening.  We should have known to just park in the off-site parking, as Mickey and Friends was full!

We picked up some sandwiches at Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney and ate them in line for Space Mountain.  Yes, we are crazy, and waited in line for about 1.75 hours!  The problem was that Space Mountain was shut down the whole morning, and by the time we checked the Fast Passes, they were being handed out for 10:00 p.m., which is way past our bedtimes!  However, I think it turned out to be the kids’ favorite ride, so it was somewhat worth it. 

The finale to our day was watching Fantasmic.  This show always brings back memories of when I worked crowd control at Disneyland.  Who knew that about twenty years later, I would be watching it with my husband and kids!  We also stayed for the firework show, immediately after.  n was able to stay up for Fantasmic, but conked out during the fireworks.

It was nice to be able to take a short ride to the hotel, and crash.  The next morning, we impatiently waited for the hotel breakfast bar to open, scarfed down some food, and then arrived in time for n’s soccer game at 7:30 a.m.!

Disneyland is notoriously expensive and discounts are rare, but we had coupons for two free admissions, so we decided to have a staycation.  The kids had the Friday before Halloween off, and D took the day off work.  We arrived early, so we were able to park in the Mickey and Friends lot.  Taking the tram is a ride in itself!

Our first stop was to get Fast Passes for Fantasmic.  The first ride we tackled was Thunder Mountain.  n looks so happy in this picture!  I guess that is why parents are willing to continue to shell out the big bucks to go here.  We also went on the Matterhorn in the morning, which is a good idea since there are no Fast Passes.  I thought n might be scared, but he took it in stride. 

For some reason, I took a lot of pictures of n’s right profile. 

The lines in the morning were not bad, but by midday, it was pretty congested.  Reading helped pass the time!

To be continued…

The kids did not have a Halloween celebration at school this year since Halloween was on a Saturday.  Therefore, I did not feel any pressure regarding costumes.  We kept it simple—Captain America and basketball player.  Because the weather was so hot, Captain America needed to wear shorts, and could only wear his sweatshirt for photo ops.  Also, we have yet to carve any pumpkins with the kids.  I always want to, but things always get too busy!

I have been craving pumpkin everything lately (‘tis the season), so I made a pan of pumpkin mochi.  I had D bring in some to work to share with his co-workers.  I warned him that mochi is an acquired taste, so he should put out a sign to explain what it is.

If you can’t read it, it states:

“Pumpkin Mochi; Mochi is a sweet Japanese treat.  The addition of pumpkin makes it perfect for fall.  Great with coffee.  by: Lauren Lim, authentic Japanese American”. 

D cracks me up! 

A couple of weeks ago, the kids had a Friday off, so we went to the San Diego Safari Park with my parents.  D has been travelling a ton for work, so he was not able to go with us.

We felt bad for this bald eagle.  He cannot fly, but the worst part may be that he is stuck in a cage right next to some really loud squawking parrots.

It is sad to think that there are only a few of these white rhinos left in the entire world!

We watched the bird show again.  They changed it up a little from last time, so that was nice.  n liked this ziplining parrot!

We saw the bat exhibit for the first time.  Those things are so creepy! 

We shared some drippy soft serve. 

It was such a nice, overcast day.  Our passes expire at the end of January, so we need to make another trip to the zoo!

Earlier this month, n rode his scooter in the Tustin Tillers Parade with his pack.  I thought he was going to be leading the parade, but they were actually near the end.  This was not the most convenient, since k had a basketball practice right after, but it did mean that we saw the majority of the parade while waiting for him. 

Mazda representin’.

I enjoyed the “small-town” feel of this annual community event. 

When your mom tells you to get ready the night before your 8 a.m. soccer game, and you are going to a pool party after your sister’s basketball game, this is what you feel the need to do…

I remember a lot about third grade, so it weird to me that k is in third grade now.  This is such a nice age…becoming more independent, yet still calls us Mommy and Daddy.  Every so often I see glimpses of tweenish behavior and think, “no, not yet!”  I see little babies and wonder how that stage can seem so long ago.  Life is busy, but I know I need to enjoy this time.