On a Roll!!!

What the heck happened to the Paris recaps???  Ummmm.....well, let's just say the spring and summer were VERY busy and I just haven't had much time to hang around in the blogosphere!  And now the computer with all of the Paris pics on it has crashed!  You know.....that thing that happens that makes you feel like someone cut off your arms....and it happened the DAY BEFORE we were leaving to visit with Shelby and Justin in Texas!  No way could I go to Texas without a computer to keep up with work, so I headed to my friendly computer store and bought a new one.......my thoughts?  I need a back up computer anyway....doesn't everyone?

So until I can get off my bum find the time to take my old laptop in for a cleaning, I'm going to recap our wonderful visit with Shelby and Justin.....for my birthday!!!

We had a great trip down.....with bulkhead seats the whole way!

I love, love, love Southwest Airlines.....for different reasons than Shelby does (TWO suitcases....free!).  We had a layover in Tampa where we sat in a bar (NO!) and enjoyed Cosmos (me!), wings and beer (Dennis!).....hey, we were on vacation! 

Then we boarded for the last leg of our flight to San Antonio........across the Gulf.  We were anxious to see if we'd be able to see any of the oil spill.  And it wasn't long into the flight that we did.....all I can say is that it was disturbing....everyone on the flight stretched their necks to see out the windows and the looks on everyone's face said it all.  What a sad, sad sight to see...

On one side of the plane the oil spill stretched as far as our eyes could see.....and on the other side was an equally disturbing sight....the beautiful bogs and wetlands that would never be the same again....

Shelby met us at the airport.....

....and gave us a ride over to the car rental place, where we picked up the rental car that we got at a bargain basement price of $28 per day (Shelby helped us find that deal!),

....then we followed her over to her new apartment

where we visited for a bit with her, Justin and one of my adorable granddogs....Miss Lily!

We made plans to meet up later at our hotel down on the Riverwalk and to have dinner at Rita's on the River for delicious Tex-Mex food.....and their classic River Margarita's, of course!  We had scoured the internet for hotels and really wanted to stay at a nice, boutique type hotel.....we were NOT disappointed with our find....the Hotel Valencia!!!  Go ahead....click on that link!  I took photos, but they don't compare with how beautiful this hotel is.  And the smell???  When you first walk into the lobby, there's a fountain...

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.and the sound of the water is so soothing....but the scent that wafts through the hotel is amazing!  Everything is very natural....the staff is extremely friendly and helpful...and ambience is AWESOME!

We watched the prices on this hotel for a few days and scored our room for $139 a night....and WHAT a score!  Our room was spacious and comfortable...

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We kicked off our shoes......and then noticed something on the counter.....

How awesome.....a gift basket from Shelby, Justin and Lily with snacks for our stay, including water, salsa, cookies homemade by Shelby and Julios tortilla chips, which are only the best tortilla chips we've ever had...a must when in San Antonio!  How sweet!!!

We decided to relax a bit before we met up with Shelby and Justin to head down to the Riverwalk!  They came up to the room and were just as awed by our temporary home as we were....then we headed down to the Riverwalk....with a photo op here and there along the way....

Ummm...yea....I agree.....it was so hard to get a decent picture!  Combine the heat of Texas with the humidity down on the Riverwalk.....can you say "sauna"?

Rita's is one of the most popular restaurants on the Riverwalk, although I had yet to eat there, so I was pretty excited!  Not only is the food delicious, but they have a live mariachi band to entertain you while you wait for your food!

I think we ordered one of everything on the menu because we couldn't decide what we wanted Shelby found a 50% off coupon at Groupon....what we didn't eat, they'd take home for Justin's lunch the next day! 

The food was delicious....and the margarita's were not only delicious, but they were huge!

AND we topped it off with fried ice cream....one....for all 4 of us because it's HUGE!

We were all so full that we decided to walk around the Riverwalk a little, then head "home" to get a good night's sleep.  Shelby and Justin had to work the next day, so Dennis and I were going to spend the day together hanging out.

Next up....Dennis and I spend the day on the Riverwalk and the evening having dinner with the Sterne's to be!