We had learned from B’s brother that his son, JJ, and son’s wife, Tabitha, would be in San Antonio the same time we were (she has family there). So we made a date to have brunch with them this morning. They picked us up at our hotel and drove to the NOLA Café where there was a perfect outdoor seating area.
I indulged, stretching my usual carefulness with my picky digestive system: scrambled eggs, fried green tomatoes I had to peel the crust off of (gluten), and grits. Not just any old grits, mind you, these were yellow grits cooked in milk, not water. Mmmm. And maple bacon (I am usually vegetarian but I sometimes make exceptions when on vacation). Mmmmm. We enjoyed a couple hours of good food and conversation with them. It was great to catch up.
Afterwards, they kindly dropped us off at Elese’s house again. I had brought my computer with me this time so I was able to show them Ancestry.com on a screen bigger than my phone. Today Karen was also there and had brought a couple of huge old photo albums. We spent hours flipping through them, taking pictures of pictures, asking a lot of questions about ancestry stuff. My plug didn’t fit the outlets at the house so I was running on battery until it died. I pinged Derek and he kindly provided an adapter when he arrived.
We had dinner plans with my cousin, Hal, who picked us up at the house about 5:15. We said our goodbyes and headed off to the Alamo Café. Hal’s daughter, Kelly, and her mom, Lynn, were there holding down a table for us.
Alamo Café is one of those boisterous noisy places where the waiter memorizes your order instead of writing it down so you’re not really sure what you’ll get to eat until it arrives. We were pleased to learn they actually have a gluten-free menu, and even more pleased when we each got exactly what we ordered. We enjoyed a wonderful evening, eating and catching up on each others’ lives.
Hal dropped us back at the hotel after dinner. We got all packed up before bed because we had an early train to catch. Next time I do this, I don’t want to go anywhere where Amtrak only comes and goes at 5am.
We had a bit of a scare in the shower that evening when Bernadette slipped in the tub. Luckily she did not hit her head, but bumped her hip/thigh on the edge of the tub and twisted a bit on the way down. We were concerned about back pain and bruising. She instantly flipped into lawyer mode, calling the front desk to report it and tell management to put some slip-mats in the tubs. The clerk said she would pass on the message but doubted that management would listen. B explained that she was a lawyer and to tell management that slip-mats are a heck of a lot cheaper than a law suit and demanded a call back from the management. I thought, “yea, like that’s gonna happen.” We slathered B up with some arnica lotion and got to sleep.
Prev: Friday, Feb. 9, 2024 – San Antonio
Next: Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024 – Sunset Limited to New Orleans
Return to Travel Journals page
Adrian Dee, flutist, composer 