July 5, 2015

Time With Extended Family

July 5, 2015

Ron's niece on the right with her family in front of the Alamo

Sunday mid-morning we got ready and Ron and I left to go meet up a niece and her family who were visiting in central Texas for the week.  We had not seen them in a long time and had not met her new husband.  She had lost her first husband several years ago and remarried last year but we had not been able to attend the wedding.  It was great to get together for the rest of the day.

Selecting from the menu at Casa Rio for lunch

We met at the River Center Mall and then walked to Casa Rio for lunch.  I have eaten there for over 60 years: first with my parents and siblings, and then with Ron and our children.  The food was as good as ever and we had a table by the water and no flies.  Most of the visiting family had not ever been to San Antonio and they enjoyed the sights. 

 Our delicious choices for lunch.

From Casa Rio, we headed to the Alamo to take the self-guided tour.  The line was long, but it moved quickly.  It was a hot day, but there is a lot of shade and there was a good breeze.  People were respectful of the fact that the Alamo was a mission and people are asked to treat it as you would a church.

The line waiting to go into the Alamo

The next stop was for cold drinks after the Alamo tour and then a walk back to the River Center Mall where we took a water taxi for the tour of the river in the downtown area.  The tour was about 40 minutes and was well done. 

 This is from the boat, showing Casa Rio with the bright umbrellas, 

and one of the bridges over the river.

Toward the end of the boat tour, it got a little hotter than I like and we were in an area with no breeze, but it was a good adventure.  

 Part of the river tour

The plants along the route are outstanding, as they were at the Alamo.  Such beautiful trees, shrubs, ferns, etc.  All the rain in Texas this year probably helped with that.  Once we left the river taxi, we were ready again for ice cold drinks. 

Ron on the River Taxi and some of the beautiful plants along the way.

The lovely grounds at the Alamo.

Some how, we were able to find some very comfortable chairs in a quiet corner of the mall and visited until they announced they were closing the mall.  After some discussion we decided to go to a Cracker Barrel for desserts - mostly ice cream, and sat there and talked more. 

 I wish these four lived closer to Jeff's family.

  I think they would really have a good time together.

Ron's niece has 4 good looking, well mannered, delightful children.  The oldest is a girl who just finished high school, next is a boy who will be a senior this coming year, a son who will be in 9th grade, and a very outgoing daughter who will be in 6th grade this next year.  It took them a while to open up but I had fun finding out about them. 

 Ron and his niece.

We are thankful we could meet her husband and have time to talk to him.  He is a very nice man who is great with the children.  It was good to see the family enjoying time together.  We rarely get to see them, and it was worth the trip to San Antonio to visit while they were on vacation in central Texas.  And of course, we always love to spend time with David's family.  We returned to Dave's house and talked for a couple of hours before everyone headed to bed.

 Cracker Barrel had some great desserts