Archive | Texas

a night at the museum

October 4, 2011 at 4:17 pm

Tuesday evenings at the San Antonio Museum of Art are free, a discovery we made on our long walk to the farmer’s market a week ago. We could see the beautiful brick building rising from manicured lawns as we passed by on the River Walk. The beautiful Café des Artistes floated out from the grounds and hung over the River Walk itself; patrons of the museum sipped cool drinks between visiting Greek and modern art displays. The museum itself is the old Lone Star Brewery complex, rich with historical significance and San Antonio flair.

We set off for the museum on a 2-mile walk down the River Walk on a beautiful late September evening. These two goofs make life so much more fun.

Inside the beautiful gardens of the museum we saw more magnificent passion flowers, some of our favorite foliage in Texas.

The first display we visited inside the museum was a bit of a shock to the senses. Photographer Daniel Lee has combined human and animal faces in his photography, creating bizarre anthropomorphizing animal features in creepy human bodies.

From left to right, Lee created a monkey/man, ox/man, and a cock/woman.

Or what about this one? The funny side of it is that you really have seen people that sort of look like these dogs, or dogs that sort of look like these people. Or dogs. Or people. Whatever these creatures are.

Inside the museum we discovered a wonderful glass elevator, the “skywalk” between buildings, and a room full of ancient Greek sculptures. Around us in the sculpture room an art class diligently sketched the muscles of a marble arm, the flowing folds of a stony dress, the shadows of an ivory face.

We’ll readily admit after this experience that visiting museums isn’t easy with a little one after she’s seen enough Grecian urns or Roman coins. But every now and then it’s worth it for an hour or two, her parents believe, and hopefully one day she’ll agree!

0 :: in arts and crafts, family, Lena, Texas

game night!

September 28, 2011 at 6:07 pm

Elliott is a die-hard Settlers of Catan fan. Such a big fan, in fact, that he gave the game to his closest friends as a groomsmen’s gift for our wedding. Since our wedding, his groomsmen Lewis has been very busy falling in love, getting married, renovating a beautiful home, and adopting an amazing Rottweiler named Wiley. Needless to say, he and his wife Bekah haven’t had time to take the plastic off their Settlers of Catan.

We remedied that this weekend.

An explanation of the rules was required. They are confusing.

But Lewis and Bekah caught on amazingly quickly. We were soon embroiled in a very evenly matched game.

With lots of laughter over wine and memories. And puns.

The game went on and I built towers with my game pieces. (Meanwhile, Lewis and Bekah ran out of pieces in their battle for the longest road. Their roads were each 10-11 segments long!)

And then I won! Do you hear that, Garber family? I won for the second time in my life! A surprise ending to a fantastic night. Planning for our next Settlers game night is already in the works.

13 :: in friends, home sweet home, Texas

game night!

September 28, 2011 at 5:07 pm

We remedied that this weekend.

An explanation of the rules was required. They are confusing.

But Lewis and Bekah caught on amazingly quickly. We were soon embroiled in a very evenly matched game.

With lots of laughter over wine and memories. And puns.

The game went on and I built towers with my game pieces. (Meanwhile, Lewis and Bekah ran out of pieces in their battle for the longest road. Their roads were each 10-11 segments long!)

And then I won! Do you hear that, Garber family? I won for the second time in my life! A surprise ending to a fantastic night. Planning for our next Settlers game night is already in the works.

10 :: in friends, home sweet home, Texas

a walk to La Tuna

September 24, 2011 at 10:00 pm

The air felt soft and mellow on Thursday night, perfect for a walk along the river. Our house is a half a block from San Antonio’s famous River Walk. The restaurant and shopping section of the River Walk is hoppin’ every night as tourists and locals relax over margaritas and fajitas. However, that touristy section is tiny in comparison to the whole River Walk. The walking path goes on for 10 miles!

We explored part of the southern section on Thursday night. We covered about three miles total and finished with a drink at La Tuna.

Lena was excited about the expedition…

… but not not so excited about the crazy guy pushing her stroller.

Just kidding, they love each other.

This part of the River Walk is brand new and perfect for joggers, dog walkers, and stroller pushers. We’ll be doing plenty of walking during our two months here in San Antonio. Lena and I have already gone for several long walks (mostly to the library) during the day while Elliott’s on base.

This southern section passes by several old factories, none of which have been reclaimed [yet].

Every mile of the River Walk is beautifully landscaped.

We finished our walk next to the path at a great little outdoor spot called La Tuna. It’s a bicycle bar. OK, I made that up, but it’s similar to a biker bar; everyone parks their bikes outside and finds a table under the trees. My favorite part? The ground is covered with a couple inches of loose bottle caps. Just pop your cap and add to the eccentricity!