March 23-24, San Antonio, massage and headed to McAlester OK
By Chris Ransdell
Just a quick post after our evening in San Antonio. We got to town about 11 am. Luckily, the Riverwalk Hyatt Place was ready for us and after an issue back in Portland was resolved, I had my most productive work day to date on the trip. The Hyatt Place room really impressed me. It has a great layout with a couch and desk off to one side and the bed and bathroom to the other. The window is off to the side and doesn't shine onto the computer desk no matter the condition. The shower is an oversized all glass enclosure and very attractive. We even tried their food service out by splitting a chicken quesadilla and chocolate chip cookie. Very good food and priced reasonably by hotel standards. Brian has had an upper back pain that has been very persistent. I tried to get a same day massage appointment but the best we could do was Tuesday morning at 9.
After getting some hours in, we walked to dinner along the Riverwalk. I had only been to San Antonio once and I felt so unsafe that I didn't really leave the hotel. This time with Brian it was definitely better and I didn't feel unsafe at any time. The Riverwalk is an impressive piece of work with lots of flower beds and ducks and fountains along with bars and restaurants, etc. We checked out the preserved historic village part of San Antonio which was relaxing. The Riverwalk itself was pretty crowded in the commercial area, especially for a Monday night. Our dinner at Saltgrass was satisfying but kind of pricey. I worked a little more back at the room then had a good nights rest. Brian's sleep was not great because of his back pain.
Tuesday morning we had breakfast at the hotel (nice presentation) and then headed to the spa. The day spa at the Contessa hotel was very nice and soothing. The setup is similar to other day spas I've been to with the ethereal music and fluffy robes to wear. We had our 25 minute massages at the same time in the same room which was interesting. It was well worth the effort to set up the appointment and hopefully it helps Brian's back out.
One of the nerdy things I wanted to do on this trip was to drive SH-130, the toll road around San Antonio and Austin. I-10 was busy but moved well. The toll road was dead empty and immediately went to 85 MPH speed limit for the first 40 something miles. It is clear that the road needs to attract a lot more traffic if it is to ever make money. For the most part it was in good shape but oddly, the southern section with the 85 MPH speed limit also had at least 8 spots where the road had settled enough to warrant orange warning sings and advisory speed reductions. The Northern half of the road had no such imperfections and was very relaxing to drive. Hopefully it isn't a chore to figure out how to pay the toll online.
Brian is driving now and we have hundreds of miles to go today until we get to McAlester Oklahoma. Tomorrow is (weather depending) a hike and then on to Branson, Missouri for 3 nights.
Just a quick post after our evening in San Antonio. We got to town about 11 am. Luckily, the Riverwalk Hyatt Place was ready for us and after an issue back in Portland was resolved, I had my most productive work day to date on the trip. The Hyatt Place room really impressed me. It has a great layout with a couch and desk off to one side and the bed and bathroom to the other. The window is off to the side and doesn't shine onto the computer desk no matter the condition. The shower is an oversized all glass enclosure and very attractive. We even tried their food service out by splitting a chicken quesadilla and chocolate chip cookie. Very good food and priced reasonably by hotel standards. Brian has had an upper back pain that has been very persistent. I tried to get a same day massage appointment but the best we could do was Tuesday morning at 9.
After getting some hours in, we walked to dinner along the Riverwalk. I had only been to San Antonio once and I felt so unsafe that I didn't really leave the hotel. This time with Brian it was definitely better and I didn't feel unsafe at any time. The Riverwalk is an impressive piece of work with lots of flower beds and ducks and fountains along with bars and restaurants, etc. We checked out the preserved historic village part of San Antonio which was relaxing. The Riverwalk itself was pretty crowded in the commercial area, especially for a Monday night. Our dinner at Saltgrass was satisfying but kind of pricey. I worked a little more back at the room then had a good nights rest. Brian's sleep was not great because of his back pain.
Tuesday morning we had breakfast at the hotel (nice presentation) and then headed to the spa. The day spa at the Contessa hotel was very nice and soothing. The setup is similar to other day spas I've been to with the ethereal music and fluffy robes to wear. We had our 25 minute massages at the same time in the same room which was interesting. It was well worth the effort to set up the appointment and hopefully it helps Brian's back out.
One of the nerdy things I wanted to do on this trip was to drive SH-130, the toll road around San Antonio and Austin. I-10 was busy but moved well. The toll road was dead empty and immediately went to 85 MPH speed limit for the first 40 something miles. It is clear that the road needs to attract a lot more traffic if it is to ever make money. For the most part it was in good shape but oddly, the southern section with the 85 MPH speed limit also had at least 8 spots where the road had settled enough to warrant orange warning sings and advisory speed reductions. The Northern half of the road had no such imperfections and was very relaxing to drive. Hopefully it isn't a chore to figure out how to pay the toll online.
Brian is driving now and we have hundreds of miles to go today until we get to McAlester Oklahoma. Tomorrow is (weather depending) a hike and then on to Branson, Missouri for 3 nights.
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