My brush with Texas

Hi, I’m back. And work has swallowed me whole again.
Fortunately I missed the 20 below temps of the weekend by going to a chilly San Antonio. Rainy and chilly but still better than windy and freezing. I have a new respect for my bosses with their business dinners. Everytime I went out to eat I had to take meetings with catering, concierge, and upper management. I only got 1 hot meal (and the venison was wonderful).
In 2 days I took in 4 meetings and 6 site visits. Everything is walkable, if you like to walk in circles for miles, and since there is a noticeable lack of cabs that’s a good thing, unless you are trying to make meetings back to back. If you don’t mind missing the fine tourist traps like Lone Star Mercantile Gift Shop (which also boasts live wild west shows, rattle snake rattles and livestock oddities), the 5 and Dime or Walgreen… yes before they went all plural, on the street level the River Walk is lovely and less windy. R and I wandered up and down it several times. Parts of it are very touristy, full of shops and restaurants on top of restaurants and tourists. And some branches are quiet and peaceful. But enough about work. Lets just say it involved a lot of walking, a lot of cold food and I was VERY grateful for the complimentary wine each hotels sent up to my room.
We had dinners and lunches in lovely places but I can’t help but wonder about the dress code. There seems to be the oddest Texan trend to wear really furry and warm high healed boots and tiny tiny skirts. I’m not kidding, at one dinner a girl used 2 napkins for coverage when she was sitting. And we still got the full show. This was everywhere. Furry boots and tiny skirts. Tassels from the knee to the toe, much longer than the skirts. Fur fluffed boots and ...Was that a tuft peeking out of her skirt too? Even the modest girl I saw wearing boots, leggings and a thigh-high sweater, I was surprised to discover (as she pulled at her sweaters upward creeping direction) her leggings didn’t go all the way up. R and I spent quite some time trying to understand this phenomenon. If you feet are extra toasty then your legs are too warm? You need the short skirt to keep cool?
I finally decided they must suffer from some hot coochie syndrome. Really, you should see a doctor, not just adjust your wardrobe.
We went to the Alamo. It’s got a great courtyard now (love what they’ve done with the place) with huge ancient trees. Inside the chapel we over heard the tour guide telling how the soldiers had carved their names into the walls, which was exciting to see in a chilling way (I was a little surprised that “Amy hearts Bobby” altho’ I already knew from my history that Commander “Travis Wuz” there). Most people are surprised by how small it is, not me. I was surprised by how in the middle of town it was. I know, I know the forts are the center of the community that springs up but I’ve just never really seen it in a modern day setting (across the street from a Ripley's ( Believe It Or Not!).
We also went to see the Spanish Governors House. It was a little hard to find. First we mistook a hotel for it, then a municipal building, and almost walked past the tiny structure known as a "palace”. Ok, maybe for 1722 it was, but wedged in between the Department of Human Services and the courthouse parking lot we might never have seen it if not for the wrought iron fence (next to some construction) around part of its garden.
Needless to say it wasn’t crowded. The tiny rooms and period furniture really take you back in time to those black and white Zorro movies. I kept looking for the “Z” but the only carving I found there was the front door, which is still the front door. It is a picture story representing the Spanish trip, how they got here, the dangerous dragons they encountered, who they met, etc. I couldn’t follow it too well but there was a striking resemblance to Montezuma on one of the panels.