San Antonio

Have you ever been sure you would love a place, without actually ever visiting?  That's how I have been about Texas.  I'm obsessed...completely and totally convinced that I could move there and love it.  And this weekend I finally had the chance to visit for the first time...and I was right!  I would totally move to Texas!

A couple weeks ago, we found out Rob was scheduled to go to the centrifuge in San Antonio.  Rob knows how much I've been wanting to go to Texas so he asked if I wanted to book a ticket and tag along.  Of course I was ecstatic and counting down the days! The military paid for Rob's flight and hotel and everything so I just book a plane ticket on the same flight.  At the last minute, Rob's flight plans got changed and we ended up flying to San Antonio on separate airlines, a couple of hours apart. 

We got to San Antonio on Thursday and headed straight to the Alamo.  It was awesome to see in person and not too crowded at all.  From there, we explored the Riverwalk, grabbing margaritas at Cafe Ole and Mexican food at Casa Rio.  I swear I almost needed carried back to the hotel, I was so full!

Friday morning, Rob had to wake up early to go to the centrifuge (the whole reason we were there!). The centrifuge is a spin machine that stimulates g forces on the body.  (The easiest explanation I've heard is we are always at 1g and 2gs means your body feels like it weighs 2x as much and 3gs = 3x as much....and so on). Rob had to get qualified up to 7.5gs.  He did so well...I cannot even imagine having to do it!  They record the entire thing and give you a copy of the video (below)

When he came home, he was exhausted and had g-measles all over his body.  (All the blood vessels pop from the pressure of the gs). He took a long nap then we headed to The Cove for lunch.

The Cove is known for its sustainable, organic, and local food.  They have gardens that you can tour right on the grounds and a map showing where all of the ingredients come from locally.  We ate burgers and sweet potato fries, Mexican cokes and homemade coconut macaroons. It was fantastic!

We had heard about First Fridays in San Antonio and walked down to it, hoping for something similar to Gallery Night, but it turned out to be a bust.  There was plenty to see on the Riverwalk though so we headed back there.  We headed to The Esquire, the oldest bar on the Riverwalk, and had a round of Moscow Mules (made with Tito's, of course). The Esquire has been open since 1933, the year after Prohibition and is filled with old, redolent charm.  We ended up staying there for a while before grabbing a late dinner of akaushi burgers at The Republic of Texas.

We woke up early Saturday morning to head to the airport, but not before devouring some Texas shaped waffles at the hotel ;). Our trip was way too short but solidified San Antonio, as well as a few other Texas cities, as must-sees on my bucket list.  I can't wait to go back!