San Antonio

The Riverwalk in San Antonio was really awesome. What a neat thing to have in the middle of a city. While the area was very pretty, the food we had at 2 different "Mexican" restaurants was atrocious. We really thought we would get good TexMex there, but it was dissapointing at best, which is a shame, because the setting with tables right on the edge of the river was beautiful. The Alamo did not dissapoint. The sense of history you felt was incredable. To be standing in the same spot where Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie and Sam Houston stood was amazing. Of course you realize that the Hyatt Regency in the background was not there in 1836.

Thanks Sonny.

Houston was pretty cool, but seeing my cousin Tony was one of the highlights of our trip. He cooked enough food for the King's Army. We decided not to heat up the Manicoti or the Eggplant Parmesan and just "settled" for the Baked Ziti, Stuffed Peppers, Stuffed Mushrooms and Bread Pudding with Ice Cream. Tremendous. Then we woke up to pancakes and sausage. Tony even arranged Ann's pancakes to look like Mickey Mouse. The spider was on Tony's garage door and was the size of a small SUV. I seriously considered sleeping in my car. Many thanks to Tony for his hospitality. Also, enlarge and look at the picture Ann took of the Houston Skyline. It looks like a painting.

New Orleans

It rained almost all the way to New Orleans. We did catch a few breaks in the weather when we got there so we did walk down Bourbon St. and to Jackson Square. We got to see the Mighty Mississippi, and it is awesome to be sure. We had several of the local dishes, such as Gumbo and Bar-B-Qued Shrimp. Bourbon Street was a sea of people, street musicians and mimes all painted silver and gold. Truly a unique place. All in all, despite the weather, we had a great time.

Charlotte

We just stayed the night in Charlotte. We went to a really nice Italian Restaurant and our waiter, Pedro was such a nice guy that we told him we would put him on our blog. Hi , Pedro. Thanks for the great dinner and wonderful service, hope your reading this. Then we went to the bar to watch the football game and met a guy from Brooklyn and one from Bethpage L.I. who bought us a round of drinks. Charlotte was a fun time though brief.

Washington DC was awesome. Included are photos of the Washington, Lincoln, World War II and Viet Nam Memorials. Also shots from various Smithsonian Museums, including the American Art Museum, where Ann's pottery teacher has her Maiolica "fruited" tea pot on display. Right next to it was the giant ceramic hot dog which we included for Nancy's enjoyment.