My parents and I got in to San Antonio a day before Chris and Allen showed up. We took advantage of the extra time and did an endowment session in the San Antonio Temple. It was so beautiful inside. We just barely made it to the temple in time for the reservation we had made.
Chris and Allen showed up the next day and we headed downtown as soon as they got in. Our first stop was the Alamo. Now the Alamo is in the weirdest spot ever, right in the middle of downtown. You don't even know you are there until you are halfway passed the building! Even after walking through the building and reading parts of all the displays, I still had no idea what was so significant about the Alamo. My friend had to send me a text about it for me to understand. As I understand it, the Alamo is a place to remember that a bunch of white guys didn't understand military strategy so they got killed. (Or something like that.) I think that's why everyone in Texas wears a gun. (Did anyone see Miss Congeniality?)
Then we walked along the Riverwalk. We stopped at a delicious Mexican restaurant along our walk. We rode the boat that took us around the Riverwalk while the boat driver told us information about the area. Then we went up the Space Needle Look Alike Structure. I think it was called the Tower of the Americas.
The following day we went to Market Square in downtown San Antonio. I bought some postcards that cost less than the postage to send them. Otherwise I felt like we had just gotten off a cruise ship in some port with the locals selling their crafts.Then we headed off to Six Flags for an afternoon of fun and excitement. I was able to sneak on one roller coaster that I really wasn't tall enough to ride. But I was called out on another roller coaster I was trying to get on. Oh well! It was fun! Chris and my mom were able to ride roller coasters til their hearts were content. The rest of us enjoyed (?) waiting for them. After getting my necessary churro, we got in the car and headed back to the hotel. We ate dinner at this weird restaurant that reminded me of Casa Bonita's in Denver, CO. It was AUTHENTIC Tex-Mex food. It was delicious! Too bad I don't remember what it was called. Maybe it was called Mamacita's or something like that.
Sunday we just relaxed all morning and then went to the airport. That is where the fun began! Delta needed people to bump off mine and my parents flight. Since all I had to do was pack for the next two months of my life the next day, Mom and I decided to be bumped. We sent Dad home with most of the luggage and wheelchair. We sent Chris and Allen home to Orlando. Mom and I were given $400 in Delta money (NYC here I come!) and rebooked on a flight for the following day. We loaded up on food from the airport with our free meal vouchers. Then we took the free shuttle to the free Drury Hotel where we got a free upgrade to a suite. Man, oh man, was it sweet! We checked our email on the free computers. I ate free popcorn while we waited for the free dinner to begin. We ate the free food from the airport and the hotel for dinner. We watched TV and went to bed.
We woke up early the next morning and rode the free shuttle back to the airport. We flew to Atlanta, GA. That was the error in this excellent plan. I have the worst experiences in the Atlanta airport. Our flight from Atlanta to Salt Lake City was delayed nearly three hours. We walked the airport, read, called people, etc, to pass the time. Finally we were going to board the plane when they decided it was broken. Every passenger then had to go to a completely different terminal to get on a different plane. The good part was we were upgraded for (you guessed it) FREE to first class! Now that was NICE! We were treated like royalty. (Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration; We were treated better than steerage!) Another surprise occurred after we had boarded the plane: Elder David Bednar, an Apostle, and his wife flew with us in First Class. All the FREE stuff definitely outweighed the inconveniences we endured and I would totally do it again.
