San Antonio

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Originally uploaded by jlyn1267.

So last week my travels brought me to San Antonio, TX for the 50th Annual IRA Convention. I got to spend six days in TX - lots of them working, but I still got to have a lot of fun in Texas. Here are the highlights:

We caught the first ever concert in front of the Alamo - which is what you see in the photo. They were showing slides on the Alamo - pretty cool. We saw a bit of Lyle Lovett, the Archangels, and my favorite, the Gypsy Kings. Humor: several geeky looking people were dancing wildly in the aisles, which earned them the right to be escorted out of the park for excessive rowdiness. One man danced all the way out as the Ranger held him by the arm to take him out. We laughed at the severity of the Rnagers - "What is this, Footloose? You can't dance in this town?". The first man to be escorted out hopped the fence, snuck back in and started dancing again. That earned him a second escort out - this time in cuffs.

Mad Dog's British Pub. It's on the Riverwalk, and I ate there twice. They make this double decker grilled cheese sandwich that I just love - so I happily had it while I was there. Abe dined with me one night, shaking his head saying "Jenn, no matter where we are, it amazes me how you find someplace that feels European to settle yourself in."

The Riverwalk. Each night after the conference - walking down the stone paths, the green trees rustling in the breeze. The river lapping quietly against the stone edges, and the noisiness of the people and restaurants.

Barbecue. Craig, Abe and I did dinner at the County Line and ate ourselves sick. Big thick slices of bread, breaded cheese balls, steak, potatoes, sausage, and drinks on top of it all. Yum. But ugh.

Rocking chairs at the Menger. On Thursday when it was all over, I met Heather, Kate and some others at the Menger and we took a few minutes to sit in the white rockers in the courtyard of the Menger Hotel. The courtyard looks and feels (and is) old-fashioned, and the trimmed greenery in the late afternooon sunshine is very relaxing. Then I went to the Riverwalk and ate barbecue again. Yum. But ugh.

It was great to see all my publishing friends again, and I can't wait to do it again in Chicago! See you soon!