Friday

Friday is coming to a close. It is 10pm here in San Antonio. It has cooled down to 32 degrees celsius. Even the wind here is hot. Surprisingly, it is quite humid too. I thought it would be dry.

I spent part of the day exploring the Riverwalk. Then, two-and-a-half hours on a Segway Tour. A Segway Tour is a great way to become acquainted with a city...better than a walking tour or a bus tour. There were only 3 people on the tour, so it was great. We could ask the tour guide lots of questions, etc. San Antonio is full of history.


After the Segway Tour, I walked around the downtown area, looking in shops, malls, etc. The downtown proximity to...well, everything, is ideal. Unlike Atlanta (last year), where there are very few commercial areas downtown, San Antonio is full of shops, restaurants, malls, the Convention Centre, hotels, etc...all within walking distance. You can't walk more than a few steps before you are able to duck into yet another air-conditioned shop selling t-shirts or Mexican restaurant. My hotel is about a mile from the Convention Centre, but the hotel supplies a free shuttle every hour...takes about 10 minutes to get there.

I spent some time at the Alamo. The experience reminds me of the time I attended a conference in Toronto. A friend and I hopped on a bus to Niagara Falls one night. After viewing the falls for a few minutes, my friend said, "Okay, where are the big ones?" - perhaps revealing a bit of his Alberta rednecked-ness or simply not being impressed with the size. The same can be said for my impression of the Alamo. While the story is cool and all, the actual Alamo building is very small. I kept searching for more to look at...I guess the grounds around it and the fortified area it used to cover can be considered impressive. I think I saw all there was to see at the Alamo in about 30 minutes.


More photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/harknessk/sets/72157605835929254/