Market Square San Antonio- Amber's POV

The market square was really cool.  I liked the atmosphere and the shops.  There are so many shops you almost need to make a game plan before tackling it.  Emily, my daughter, was so happy to get to shop (like most teenage girls are).  Only negative things I can think of is most of the shops carry the same things, just at different prices, and there is alcohol consumption in the square so there were a few drunk people I was a bit leery of.  Other than that, it was great.

Here are a few photos of our time there. 

Japanese Tea Garden- Amber's POV

I wasn't exactly excited about the thought of going to the Japanese Tea Garden at first.  I thought it was probably going to be pretty, but nothing special.  Well, I was wrong.  It was actually my favorite part of our trip to San Antonio and it was FREE!!!

Like most of the things we did in San Antonio the garden was under construction, but even with the water drained it was absolutely beautiful!  I was in shock and it was completely unexpected.  There are trails and many different areas to walk through and look at.  If you can, you must go here while you're in San Antonio. 


2 Chicks

Front of the garden

View from the top

There should be water everywhere, but still......look at this!  From what I understand, the stone wall in the back normally has a waterfall.  I would love to see it the way they normally have it.

TIP: Feed your children first and there is no public restroom!

I could have stayed here for hours, but we thought we would run by here before we fed the kids breakfast and the youngest forgot to use the bathroom before we left....  I was not a happy camper!

Here are a few photos we took while there.




Amber's Crew



Amber's Crew

 

Paula's Crew

On the road again....

---

                                                            

Well, I am all packed up and ready for our four-day sojourn deep into the hearrrrrt of Texas!  (You totally just read that to the tune of the song, didn't you?)  Anyway, Amber and I are taking some of the kids (two of hers, one of mine) to San Antonio.  We're pretty excited!  Living in southeast Oklahoma, going to Texas is part of the package.   I'm pretty sure it's illegal to NOT have multiple vacays in Texas when you live THAT close. I love San Antonio, as evident by the fact that this will be my third trip there. I've taken numerous day, and overnight, trips to Dallas.  I cannot say enough about shopping in The Big D! We have taken the obligatory East Texas beach vacation-we chose Galveston- and, one of my favorite vacations of all, Austin.     For more information on what San Antonio has to offer, check out visitsanantonio.com Have you ever been to Texas? What is your favorite city?

Tulsa

A Wicked Experience This Saturday I spent the day in downtown Tulsa, OK with a friend.  We had tickets to see this show! We've been waiting 3 years! We started out for Tulsa around 8ish that morning from Valarie's home in Fort Smith, Ar.  Fort Smith is just across the state line from Poteau, OK where I'm based, and about two hours from Tulsa. We had originally planned to stop in a town just off of interstate 40 for a big cup of Joe from a local coffee shop.  Unfortunately, the coffee shop was closed due to the holiday weekend. :-( This would be the first of many unfortunate coffee runs that day.  So we grabbed a quick breakfast sandwich from a local drive-in and got back on the road. The show was being performed at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, which is located in downtown Tulsa.  We were the first patrons to arrive for the matinee -because it was 11 in the morning- so we were able to park in a prime spot for getting quickly out. We spoke with the parking attendant about the best places to eat in the area and she had many suggestions for us.  However, I have been spending a lot of time researching the thriving downtown districts in Tulsa ( that's another blog altogether) and I had read about this particular restaurant that I had been wanting to try, and as soon as Val show it, she was all in. We decided to leave the car parked where it was and walk to the deli, which is located in the Blue Dome District. Just a few doors down from the deli was this Fleet Feet, so we popped in for a quick look around.  Both of us are runners (Val much more so than me) and we had been meaning to go to here for the longest time. If you are a runner anywhere in OK or AR, then you know how excited we were to finally be visiting this place. Dilly's Deli serves brunch on the weekends, so we opted for half orders of French toast.  I took a bite of mine before remembering to get a shot, so this is Val's Of course, I had a mimosa with mine, but failed to take a photo of that as well! The food was great and the atmosphere even better.  I highly recommend you go here for brunch if you are ever in the area. After brunch we hit the the streets back towards the PAC for some additional exploring. We stopped into a few local shops and I found some gifts!  early Christmas shopping score!   You will never guess who I found when we walked inside the PAC! It is most definitely a small world after all! My MIL Finally it was show time     This was my first Broadway musical and, dare I say, it will not be my last. I had an amazing time! Obligatory musical poster photo-op After the show we went in search of some much needed coffee.  The Gypsy Coffee House is also in the BDD, and another place I had been dying to scope out.  They had hot and iced coffee but not the blended that my friend was really craving. So since we were getting hungry, we decided on water and some sandwiches  They were so large that we could only eat half!  TGCH was another great visit in the BBD. It was getting into the early evening so we decided to start back home.  We figured we could easily find a coffee house off of the interstate.  We took one exit to a place that had closed two hours before, and another exit to a large shopping center.  NO COFFEE HOUSE THERE!!!  We finally pulled onto the Target lot and, hoping they would have a Starbucks, headed inside.  Guess what! They had a Starbucks! I have never in my life had so much difficulty finding a frozen coffee. Maybe I should have titled this blog post "The Great Coffee Search!". Have you ever been to a Broadway musical?  On Broadway or on tour?

A Hit or Miss Idea

Just a brief overview...

I've been to quite a few cities and many trips throughout the US, and I'm definitely "that traveler". You know the one I'm talking about. The traveler who obsessively researches every minute detail of where they will be going.
Hotels, restaurants, attractions, off the grid hot spots, anything and everything.

TripAdvisor, Yelp, Urbanspoon-I check them all.

Trust me, I have learned my lesson about NOT checking reviews before booking hotel rooms.
(hotel behind a strip club, anyone?) That is a WHOLE other post. Trust me.

I've decided to do a post about each city, or trip (we sometimes hit multiple cities in one vacation) and give a brief description of our trips, along with some highlights.

I will not bore you with every detail but I will, however, do a "Hit or Miss" for each post.
The places and activities that, we felt, were worth or not worth seeing or doing.


I look forward to giving you the first installment of  "Tuesday's Travels" next week!

She does exist!

Hey guys! I'm so sorry that I've yet to post in this blog!

You will soon learn, had you not already, that I am most definitely a REAL, LIVING PERSON (she really does exist) No, Amber did not make me up, though I'm not certain if she doesn't have any other imaginary friends :-)

Now a little bit about me: My name is Paula and I am a PROCRASTINATOR. There, I said it. DO not judge me,

I am also a wife to my husband of 12 years, Patrick; a step-mother to two great kids- Blake 17, Makayle 14-; I'm 32 years old and I work for a locally owned bank in my little hometown in Oklahoma! Population around 8,000.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to travel, and I have been to many awesome cities in this wonderful country of ours. I will definitely be putting in some time in the near future to tell you all about my adventures!

I am a runner and I love it (read: when I feel like it)  I love doing 5ks! I've also done one half-marathon.

I am a new yoga enthusiast! Circa November 2013! As you will soon learn, I love yoga and I am just a little, teensy, weensy obsessed with it.

 I'm an incredibly busy bee, as I'm sure most of you are, and I look forward to blogging for you and hearing any feedback that you may have. I'm new to this blogging thing, so please be patient (you will have to be, waiting on my procrastinating self) and bear with me.

I look forward to my next adventure, in 10 days, with Amber and cannot wait to tell you all about it.

Tumbleweeds and Spanish Moss

Ok, I don't know if there will be either tumbleweeds or Spanish moss when Paula and I take some of our kids to San Antonio next week.  Hopefully, there will be moss, but no weeds!  We've been ready to get away and do something for a while now.  Thankfully, we got the opportunity to take a few of our kids (two of mine, one of hers) on a summer vacation.   We're only going to be there for 3 days, but I'm very excited about those three days. 

Paula has been to San Antonio a few times, but I never have. It's about a 9 hour drive from where we live so it's going to be a long, fun road trip.  My kids don't see the 9 hours as an adventure, they just want to get there as quickly and quietly as possible.... but they know their mother and know it's going to be anything but quiet!

My little man broke his thumb in two in a bicycle wreck two days before school let out for summer break.  Since then, he's had three casts, a surgery, and pins put in.  This week he finally gets his cast and pins out!  Poor kid hasn't even been able to swim yet this year.  When this kid decides to do something, he goes all out!  He's more excited than any of the kids, though you can't tell from the photo.

 

Of course, Paula being more organized and efficient than anyone else on the planet, has our trip planned out!  SeaWorld, the Alamo, the riverwalk, the market, stops along the way.  We're going to have a blast with these kids! 

 

Paula and I will be doing a vlog of our trip and giving any tips on things to do and places to see (or not see) while we're there.  See you soon!

 

Amber