River Walk

We have visited the River Walk a few times and it is truly amazing.  It is a network of walkways along the banks of the San Antonio River, one story beneath the streets of San Antonio.  As you walk along, the bustle of the city goes on above your head and is almost unheard over the relaxed atmosphere created by the water, trees and birds. The River Walk winds and loops under bridges as two parallel sidewalks lined with restaurants and shops, connecting the major tourist draws.  One has to walk up one of the winding stairways to street level to remember that you are actually in the centre of a major city.  

One has give credit to the visionary who spearheaded the creation of the River Walk system and the politicians who supported it, which brings us to a little history lesson.  Back in 1921, a disastrous flood along the San Antonio River took 50 lives and plans were developed for flood control of the river.  The River Walk was not part of the initial plan however in 1929 a San Antonio native and architect named Robert Hugman submitted his plans for what would become the River Walk.  Over the years it has been expanded and is now a mecca for locals and tourists alike. 

In 1981 the Hyatt Regency opened with a new pedestrian connector that linked Alamo Plaza to the River Walk with concrete waterfalls, waterways and indigenous landscaping. Known as the Paseo del Alamo, this river "extension" actually flows from Alamo Plaza into the San Antonio River through the atrium of the hotel. 

These are the waterfalls mentioned above.
They flow down a short canal and under a glass wall
into the lobby of the Hyatt Regency

The canal flows down through the lobby, under a couple
of walkways and another glass wall joining the
San Antonio River and the River Walk.

Our merry band, minus yours truly, sitting in front of the
canal as it flows through the hotel lobby

Looking way up from the lobby floor. 

The canal runs out the other side of the hotel and
joins the San Antonio river and the River Walk

A very picturesque and serene setting

Lots of tour boats running along the river.
We took a tour which provided a different perspective

Lots of restaurants and bars line the river.
This part of the river is only 4 feet deep.
At its deepest the river is 15 feet deep. 

We stopped for lunch at one of the cafes' lining the River Walk.
They provided poncho's for the girls to keep the chill off.
Lots of birds created entertainment, although not the kind we had in mind.
Jan and I were not under the canopy and I noticed a couple of splatters on the table.
They weren't there when we sat down.
Bird bombs.  Missed our plates by inches but got Jan's drink.
Kind of lost our appetites. 

The Pearl is a small development of apartments, condo's, hotel, shops
 and restaurants about 2 miles from the Alamo along the river walk.
It has an interesting collection of people enjoying the area. 

Hotel Emma

Originally a brewery, now a hotel with some upscale restaurants and bars.
 It still has some of the original plumbing. 

This guy put on quite a show.
The digeriedoo can make a wide range of sounds.  

One last picture from the Alamo. 

This may be it from the River Walk but we do have a few extra days here so we may make another stop before we head to Carlsbad, NM.

I have a few more posts to complete with our visits to the missions but I am trying to rationalize my data usage.  My new month starts on the 20th.  When we left home I had 2.5 GB as part of my phone plan.  I have since added to that twice and now have 25GB available.  I have been a bit frustrated with Bell, my provider.  I keep checking my Data usage on their App which seems to be current within a few hours and it says I still have 5GB of data available.  However I also keep getting text messages saying I am at or over my limit and that my data charge is now at $300.  Each time I get a text I phone their call centre and they advise that I am ok and the text message is an error.  They say they will reprogram my acct so I won't get any more text messages.  Then a day or so later I get another text.  What a pain.

I'll post again tomorrow if I still have some data left after I post this.  If not it will be on Tuesday.

Till then.