Obligatory Vacation Post

BLAH, BLAH, BLAH-There, does that work? Actually, IF you are interested in what I have to say about our vacation; I've broken it down for you. Below are 11 items that are in the extended entry. Pick and choose what you wish to read.

Smuggling Pocket Knives On To Airplanes
Schlitterbahn v. Water World
Air Conditioning In San Antonio
Patriotism
Marriott Residence Inn
The Little Turd
Downtown San Antonio
Children On Airplanes
Muley
My Son Beating A Guinness Book Of World Records Record

Smuggling Pocket Knives On To Airplanes

Of all my family the last one I would expect to do something stupid like that is, well, myself. I HAD this little utility knife thing. It had tweezers, scissors, nail files and a little blade all in about a 2 1/2" long holder. I carry this thing around with me everywhere in my purse, it has come in handy over the past 16 years. I usually remember to remove it when traveling by air but forgot this time. My purse was heavily x-rayed (I'm kind of scared to touch it now) and then examined. They found my knife and confiscated it. I am sad it's gone, it was a gift with my name engraved in it. But . . . cheers to the security screeners at DIA for finding it, it makes me more comfortable to fly.

Schlitterbahn v. Water World

The purpose of this trip was to visit Schlitterbahn. It was rated #1 in the Travel Channels list of best American water parks. Colorado's own Water World was ranked #7 in that list. In all honestly, we were very disappointed with the park. Our first day started with having to wait in line for 45 minutes just to receive a key to a locker that they charged $4 to rent. We needed two, so the days cost was $8. At Water World lockers are there for rent with keys in them. You simply place 2 quarters in the slot and bingo, you have a locked locker. Every time you open it you have to place more quarters in, but I only got into our locker once. So $8 locker rental Schlitterbahn, Water World would have been a buck fifty. After that we made our way to the lines that lasted far too long. The good rides were anywhere from a 2 to 4 hour wait. The good rides at Water World top out at about an hour. I personally have never waited more than 30 minutes for anything at Water World. Water World is cleaner, it's more organized and also spread out over a larger area so you never feel cramped. Oh, and the two days we spent at Schlitterbahn were week days. Water World is about a 20 minute drive from our house, so yes, we're stupid.

Air Conditioning In San Antonio

What is the deal with making all the restaurants far too cold? I know that it's hot outside, but that's what people are dressing for. Going into a restaurant that has AC blowing full blast 24/7 makes for a miserable experience. The last day I actually got up and walked out with my food to eat outside. Over air conditioning was a common problem everywhere we went.

Patriotism

Our day at Sea World was a moving experience. At the Shamu show they did a tribute to our military that left me with goose bumps. Being in Texas with the pride that is common place there left me emotional. During our stay there I saw only two Kerry/Edwards bumper stickers. It was so nice being among people who I knew were of the same mindset.

Military

I was shocked by the number of military personnel who were traveling by air. The San Antonio airport was full of traveling soldiers and I almost felt 'star-struck' by them. It was as if I felt that they were such heroes, such celebrities, that I was unable to speak to any of them or even make eye contact. It was an enlightening experience for me knowing that I held them in such high regards.

Marriott Residence Inn

Don't stay there. If you're staying in San Antonio go ahead and bust your bank account and stay at the Westin on the Riverwalk. I should have known that $209 per night for a two bedroom, two bathroom suite was too good to be true. The first day I literally made a list of all the things wrong with the room and took it to the front desk.

The Little Turd

Why is it that travelling can sometimes bring out the worst in people? Unplanned #3 is an easy-going kid. He's always willing to go along for the ride and is usually very cooperative. But this trip? He was unusually selfish and whiney, and he's almost 9; just weird.

Downtown San Antonio

I LOVED downtown San Antonio!! Downtown Denver is not a pleasant place to be. Actual downtown Denver is full of transients, yuppies and grass eaters. Walking down the 16th Street Mall here is a frustrating experience; you ask yourself if there's any normal people in Denver. And Denver's famous LoDo area is full of young adults who are down there to do nothing but drink themselves to death. But San Antonio? It was so nice, sure most of them were tourist there for the Alamo and all of the touristy stuff around it, but the regulars (you can tell a difference you know) were NORMAL people. Colorado is home for me, but Denver is far from the mentality of the rest of the state.

Children On Airplanes

If you have poor parenting skills, then don't take your children on airplanes. I know, I know, people with poor parenting skills are most likely oblivious to their shortcomings, but, good Lord. When you have children who are old enough to understand 'quiet voices' and are choosing not to instruct them with how to behave on airplanes, you shouldn't be flying; period. Unplanned #3 was close to getting up and shutting those kids up for everyone on the plane. He kept asking me why the parents weren't doing anything. From the mouths of babes, huh?

Muley

Muley was in the San Antonio area the same time we were. We were hoping that we would be able to meet up and have coffee together but the group he was traveling with never went into San Antonio and we were at Schlitterbahn on different days. We played phone tag for awhile but did eventually get to speak to each other on the phone. He was just as I expected, polite and interesting. It's amazing how well all of us know each other because of our blogs. I'll never understand why all of you keep coming back.

My Son's Record Breaking Act

We went to the Guinness Book Of World Records Museum while in San Antonio and saw one display that really caught our eye. The record for drum strokes in a 60 second period is 1,080. Unplanned #2 is a drummer. They had a machine that counted the number of strokes you do in one minute period. He did it and it counted 1,215. It was amazing watching him, the drumsticks were moving so fast that you couldn't see them. I have already contacted Guinness and am going through the necessary steps to see that MY son is in their record books. So hopefully one day soon you will see him in there.

Well, that's it. Despite anything that might sound pessimistic, I really did have a nice time and I loved San Antonio. I have lived in Texas before, Amarillo and Irving, and travelled through there much as a child. I love the people, I love the ideology, I love the history. I would most definitely return and look forward to the day that I get to. Hopefully it won't be another 20 years before that happens again. Here's a few pictures.

Posted by Stacy at August 11, 2005 01:13 PM | TrackBack