Winter escape that went south

I was feeling the pressure/impending doom from the annual approach of winter (this is our 6th WI winter already, in case you were counting) and suggested that we plan a short trip to warmer climes for a few days as a winter weather getaway.  The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday presented a long weekend option and so I started booking a trip to San Antonio, Texas.  It offered everything needed for a fun vacation: warmer temps, historical sites, a national historic site, and lots of microbreweries.

As our departure date approached, the weather forecasters were predicting a winter storm nearly a week in advance (later became Winter Storm Dean) for right when we would be traveling.  This had me worried, but the weather reports often change, so maybe it would be fine.  Just the weekend before we were supposed to get significant snow and had none at all.  So, we headed to the Green Bay airport on Friday evening to get a ride to Chicago to make our next flight to San Antonio.  Despite okay conditions in Green Bay at the departure time, Chicago was already wrecked with weather issues and delays thanks to the storm.  As a result, our original flight was canceled and we were rebooked for the next afternoon.  The storm had started while we were waiting in the airport and road conditions were deteriorating, so we stopped for pizza on the way home to commiserate. Winter Storm Dean foiled our plans for now.

By midday on Saturday, there was at least 6 inches of snow on the ground.  We diligently cleared our driveway and got our things ready again to finally leave for Texas.  The flight from Green Bay to Chicago was delayed a few times that afternoon into the evening, but I figured it would be okay as long as we made our connecting flight in Chicago.  We again arrived at the airport, went through security, etc.  In fact, the TSA agent said, "Nice to see you again!  If we don't get you out of here today we'll have to get you a job application." Ha! Probably what he says to all the cranky delayed travelers.  And then more delays.  Then the gate agent makes an announcement that we are short a flight attendant and even though our plane is there and we are clear to fly to Chicago, we won't be able to leave.  Chaos, rebookings, and more delays.  We finally acquired a complete crew and made it to Chicago around 9:30 PM on Saturday night after missing both our connecting flight and dinner (Green Bay only has one restaurant with limited hours-it closed while we were there).  Despite the fact that O'Hare is the busiest airport in the US, apparently none of the restaurants were open at 9:45 PM.  Interesting.  We ate day old Starbucks sandwiches and wandered around to find a place to camp out.  Then I had my first restless experience sleeping in an airport!  At least they give you a little pillow and blanket (sarcasm).

(Not) sleeping at Chicago O'Hare

We were "up" at 4 AM on Sunday to catch our flight to Dallas (now we were going to Dallas for an additional layover and then San Antonio).  Flights to Dallas and San Antonio proceeded without incident (fun ride on the monorail in Dallas!) and we finally made it to San Antonio at 10 AM, almost a day and half later than planned.  Our car rental was cancelled since we did not pick it up within 24 hours of the rental time, so we decided since we had just a short visit anyway that we would use Uber.  It was fantastic- everyone was so nice and gave us great tips on what to do and where to eat.

Despite the challenges getting there and with only 46 hours to enjoy the trip before heading home on Tuesday, we had a great time in San Antonio.  On Sunday we visited the historic revitalized Pearl Brewery and ate lunch at Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewery, walked around the farmers market (surprised to see lots of dogs in sweaters despite weather in the 50s F!), visited Roadmap Brewing Co., and toured The Alamo.  You probably know that the Alamo, a Spanish mission, marks the site of a 13 day siege to defend Texas from Mexican advances  in 1836.  The Texian forces, few in number, were defeated and nearly everyone was killed or executed, Davy Crockett and James Bowie among them.  The "Remember The Alamo!" phrase was actually used later during the Mexican War to remind soldiers of the fighters' great sacrifice in the Texas revolution.  The Alamo was neat to see, but also very commercialized.  For example, you lined up to go into the building and a group of workers were there to take your photo and convince you to buy it later.  We were originally planning on a guided tour, but decided to just go through on our own.  Later, we walked the San Antonio Riverwalk, had an excellent dinner at Rosario's for delicious Mexican food, and went to bed early to address the lack of sleep the night before.  We stayed at the Inn on the Riverwalk B&B, which was excellent and a great location to see the local sites.

Inn on the Riverwalk B&B 

 Southerleigh Brewing Company

 "Remember the Alamo!"

 San Antonio Riverwalk

On Monday, we had a delicious breakfast at our B&B and made our way to the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park, stopping at the Visitor Center and Mission San Jose first.  The historic park includes a network of 4 missions, which along with the addition of the Alamo and another location, are recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  We had a great tour by a NPS historian of the grounds and learned a lot about the missions of the 1700s in south Texas.  Missions were established to recruit/create/manipulate native peoples of Texas into Spanish citizens in exchange for the semblance of protection, and all the people had to do in exchange was change their religion, language, and way of life.  Each of the missions' residents built a Catholic church, all of which are still active churches today serving the descendants of the mission residents from the 1700s.  The structures experienced significant wear and vandalism over the years, but I was surprised at the attention to detail and how extensive the renovations were to make them look similar as they did back then.  San Jose celebrates its 300th anniversary this February.  Wow.

 Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo

Mission San Juan Capistrano

Mission San Francisco de la Espada

We opted for lunch outside on the patio at Blue Star Brewing Company (where I was excited to see a rufous hummingbird!) and then headed to 2 more uniquely designed missions- Mission San Juan and Mission Espada.  Afterwards, we went for a long walk on the Mission Reach Hike & Bike Trail along the San Antonio River- an extensive green space and river restoration project to help address flashiness of the river and return some of the floodplain to more natural riparian shrubland following a history of river channelization and diversion (read more about the restoration here).  Next it was beers at Kunstler Brewing Company, a German brewery (Scott's favorite of the trip), and dinner at Stella's Public House before the walk back to the B&B.

Up early the next morning and back to the airport to do it all over again!  Luckily, travel back to WI was uneventful.  It was such a quick trip but I really enjoyed San Antonio.  It was so nice to see green plants all over and to get a break from winter coats.  Plus the trip makes for a good story and this speed vacation just might be funny someday.  Until the next winter getaway!