If you had asked me a few months ago, I would have said "Hell NO!" to going on a trip.
I am a moderate hypochondriac, so COVID-19 has really taken me for a ride. Until about a month ago, I hadn't even been inside of a restaurant since mid-March. I rarely go to the grocery store, to avoid unnecessary contact. So let's say I've been living a much simpler version of my life these days.
After over 6 months of mostly-quarantined life, Walter and I opted to take the plunge and go on a mini-vacation to San Antonio. Booking the trip was a bit nerve-wracking, especially when you aren't certain that there will really be anything to do since COVID has taken its hold on most things. At a minimum, at least we could attempt to take advantage of the swimming pool (ours has been closed all of 2020 since our HOA has decided that it is easier to not allow their paying homeowners access to their pool than to come up with a plan to address the pandemic).
Day 1
As we left pretty early in the day, we opted to make a stop in the Pearl District of San Antonio. I had been with friends last year and really enjoyed it, so I wanted to take Walter and explore it a bit. We spent quite a bit of time walking that portion of the riverwalk and then grabbed a mango margarita with chamoy! Delicious!
Upon arriving at our hotel, I began to realize that we were not going to be coming into contact with many people during our stay... and that was okay with me. Everything seemed very clean and there were hand sanitizer stations EVERYWHERE. The entrance, before the elevator, inside the elevators, by the pool... everywhere. The remote was sealed in a plastic bag. They were very conscious of how clean everything needed to be for their patrons to feel comfortable and it did not go unnoticed.
After dropping our things off in the room, we decided to go for a swim. One of the main reasons we wanted to go on this trip was wanting to take advantage of a swimming pool and we were going to soak up as much time there as we could!
There was only one other family at the pool and everyone kept their space. We interacted a bit from across the pool, but mainly enjoyed the peace and calm of being near the pool, basking in the sun, enjoying a glass of chilled rosé, and thriving in the change of scenery. We eventually left due to it getting later in the day and the hotel having about 7 songs on the pool playlist. I had never heard the song “Creola” by Jimmy Buffet, but I’ve got it pretty much memorized at this point!
After a couple of hours at the pool, we masked up and opted to take a walk down the river walk. I was a bit nervous as to what to expect, as we’ve done our best to avoid people since the beginning of the pandemic. I can say that not everyone seemed as concerned as we were, but we had our masks and made sure to keep our distance.
In my mind, I envisioned us eating on a patio and enjoying the outdoors and time away. I did not anticipate the humidity (in a Texas Summer? Whodathunk?), but I enjoyed our riverside meal just the same.
As the sun began to set, we made our way to the Tower of the Americas. This is the tall structure that, at one time, was the tallest observation tower in the United States. It is a very skinny and tall building that is a bit overwhelming when you think about it too much. So I didn’t. I will say that the allure of a bar at the top is mostly what drove me to board the elevator.
We had the joy of a glass-sided elevator shaft, which gave us a clear view of our ascent to the tower above. After leaving the elevator we circled the top of the observation deck a few times and snapped a few photos. Then we waited (forever I might add) to be taken down a single floor to visit the bar. I was grateful that Walter‘s impatience led to us going to the tower that evening, as we were able to view a gorgeous sunset and enjoy the glowing lights of the city at night with a glass of wine from the bar atop the structure.
Day 2
The next morning we made it a goal to visit the infamous Mi Tierra restaurant.
We’ve both been multiple times and enjoy the experience. Their breakfast is phenomenal (I highly suggest the chorizo and eggs) and you have a huge selection of fresh pastries to choose from.
We then retreated to the hotel for another few hours at the pool. This time we were the only ones there and had the opportunity to swim around, plan our evening adventures, and snap a few photos. Since we hadn’t had lunch and many of the restaurants on the riverwalk were still closed, we decided to go to Landry’s and enjoy their amazingly priced happy hour.
To say that the experience there was unique was an understatement. We entered at the restaurant level and inquired about the bar and were told by the two staff in the empty restaurant that it was up a few flights of stairs. When we arrived at the bar we were, again, the only patrons in the room. It was a nice change of pace and it made the experience a bit less tense. I was pleased to notice that they had most of the tables in the bar labeled “reserved” making sure that no two parties sat closely. We enjoyed a few glasses of wine, crawfish queso, and blue cheese sliders. They were all quite delicious, even in an oddly quiet bar.
Then... the exciting thing happened. THE thing...
I had told Walter that I wanted to rent electric scooters because I had never ridden one. Earlier it had sounded as though it may not happen, so when it did I was enthralled. We rode around the Tower of the Americas and up and down backstreets and a park. It was so thrilling to do something we had never done and to be so care-free, especially with everything going on today.
Then a swift late-night trip to Whataburger gave the eventful day a classy ending!
Day 3
The night before we had passed a cute coffee shop on our electric scooter ride (Commonwealth Coffeehouse & Bakery) and I requested we stop there the next morning before we headed out of town.
Upon our arrival at the coffee shop, I was devastated to see that it was closed. We then opted to try the other location that was closer to the riverwalk. After a 15 minute walk, we deciphered that this location was also closed. (I promise we looked it up online and they said they were open) The nice gentleman at the second unopened location, which was inside of a hotel, was nice enough to tell us two other local places. We opted for the fancier looking one, which turned out to be the most Austin-esque coffeeshop that exists in San Antonio.
Revolucion Coffee + Juice is a gorgeous little shop that boasts a very sleek design and simple offerings. Their offerings were a variety of organic and vegan options of coffee, juice, and bites. I got the Revolucion Latte, which consists of espresso, the milk of your choice, and local lavender-infused honey from Blanco, Tx. It was slightly sweet and very delicious.
We then went back to the hotel, packed our stuff, and made our way back home. After 6 months of not doing much beyond getting groceries and getting plants, it was nice (and tiring) to switch up our routine and explore something out of our bubble. I will say that 9 times out of 10 I felt very safe and confident in our travels. I don't know if everyone else that was there was always on the same page as us, but we kept our distance and made the best decisions for us (masks, hand sanitizer, avoiding the touching of unnecessary surfaces, and going to places during off-prime hours to take advantage of smaller crowds)
Have you traveled at all during the pandemic? What was your experience like? Did you feel safe?
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