We arrived at our hotel/motel/non-Holiday Inn last night and went out for Mexican food. Pretty good for a diner behind the grocery store, 20 minutes outside the city. (Heck – when they hand out homemade tortilla chips before you sit down, who can complain?)
Back at the hotel (after too much Mexican food), we made the same resolutions we make every couple weeks. Let’s eat less, eat healthier, exercise more! This is sooooo do-able! We’ve done it before, we can do it again! We’ve just never tried it on vacation, in a place where Josh could easily find chorizo for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
This morning, we were up at dawn, running shoes on, facing down the waffles, pastries and little peanut butter tubs at the continental breakfast, ready to brave the unseasonable temps and 20mph winds. On a tip from the desk staff, we drove to the nearby medical complex for a trail run and a wrong turn led us into ‘domestic deerville’. We came up on a heard of 10-15 deer wandering through a residential neighborhood! They were everywhere – traipsing the roads, lounging on the lawns, and strolling right up to front doors. We thought this had to be a crazy, 1-time-only event. Michigan deer don’t gather in the suburbs, a half mile from the highway to graze! We later learned that Texas deer are much more lax and generally live in harmony with their Greater San Antonio human friends. Who knew?!?
After the deer encounter… it was time to find the park and start running, in the miserable cold and wind. This has got to be the worst winter weather South Texas has seen! Lucky for us, I’ve adopted this whole ‘marathon of friendship’ (MOF) idea. (I’m trying to be more open and engaging with people we meet.) When I noticed that a warm, cozy, spa-like fitness centre was located right on the running track, I decided to stop in and ask for free 1-day guest passes. Two hours later… we walked out with 5 treadmill miles under our belts and week-long free passes! Hospitality does shine down here! We’ve since tried out their heated lap pool, sauna, steam room, showers and mouthwash. J
So, over the past few weeks, I’ve been reaching out to San Antonians on couchsurfing.org (hip social-networking website where you can meet locals willing to host travelers or show them around town). Fast forward to Thursday evening… My MOF pays off again and we’re invited to watch the big UT/Alabama game with a fellow couchsurfer. We’re sitting around the dinner table with Veronica, her neighbor and 2 high school foreign exchange students (1 from Germany who she’s hosting, and his friend from Italy). What?!? How cool is that? Veronica was born and raised in Texas, went to UT San Antonio and even made us authentic flan (which I declined and Josh only accepted a tiny sliver, due to the above mentioned resolutions)! It doesn’t get more authentic.
All in all, a good first (albeit chilly) day in the Lone Star State!
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