San Antonio

James had a conference to attend in San Antonio for work in December.  This year, Preston and I were able to tag along.  Preston kept me company as we went out exploring while James was at meetings.  It was my first visit to Texas (as well as Preston's).  We had such a great time! 

Preston has not been the best traveler in the past, but did pretty well this time.  He didn't sleep on the airplane rides, even though he was really tired.  But was old enough to be able to be kept relatively happy with toys and snacks.  He loved being an only child for the week and having all the attention to himself.

Tuesday morning we got settled in and went grocery shopping. Our hotel room had a jacuzzi bath tub.  Preston was a big fan of playing in there.  (And I didn't mind soaking my feet and reading a book while I watched him.) :)

We went to the Witte Museum Tuesday evening (free day!) and found a lot to see and explore there as we learned about Texas culture, history and science.

Preston was a big fan of the toddler area where he got to climb on huge play-ground fruit.

Wednesday we went to the Japanese Sunken Gardens.  It was a beautiful place to walk around and do some geocaching.  Preston just wanted to climb up and down the stairs.

James was able to join for a lunch break.  We packed a picnic and went to the Quadrangle at Ft. Sam Houston.  The have domesticated deer and birds there that will come up and eat right out of your hands.

Preston would hold out his tangerines to feed the deer and then snatch it back to put in his own mouth instead.

We enjoyed a lot of walks a long the river walk.  Santa was there passing out candy-canes to the kids, which Preston was very happy about.

Thursday we tried to wait out the rainstorm, but it wasn't letting up.  So we just went out adventuring in the rain.  It was a day to explore the city, starting with the Alamo.

and also some of the old cathedrals and missions

We went back to San Fernando Cathedral that evening for a laser-light show depicting the history of Texas.  (this is the same church as in the picture above!)

We also stopped by a living nativity.  They were wrapping things up for the night, but we got to pet the camel and the sheep, which Preston was very excited about.

On the way to the airport in Austin we visited Zilker park.  We went to the Nature Center to see all of the animal life they had on display.  Preston especially loved the owls.

And walked along the nature trails and along colorado river.