The first, San Antonio, for my lovely friend Joel's birthday (or rather, the beginning of his birth-week), and the second, Abilene, the town of no food.
Our performances in San Antonio were awesome. We were performing in a domed rodeo with dressing rooms the temperature of winter in Alaska, but the kids and parents loved it. And that warmed us up enough to do two great shows. After the second, we took a cab downtown to the Mexican restaurant, Mi Tierra. It was a blast of color the second we walked in, with pinatas hanging from the ceilings and full-bodied senoritas strutting around in red, white and green off-the-shoulder blouses and floor-length skirts. A mariachi band floated around the premises serenading tables in exchange for a few dollars. A bakery the length of the restaurant was the first thing you smelled when you walked in, and the aroma made you want to stay forever. The margaritas the size of my head were no small perk, either. As soon as we sat down and started sipping our margaritas, we relaxed and started to enjoy the evening. The food came quickly and was delicious. The decision to have fried ice cream shortly after was a simple one. The dessert was massive and phenomenal, with tiny flakes of coconut adorning the ice cream which was cased in a shell of fried heaven. And on a furtive trip to the ladies room, my friend Megan and I summoned the mariachi men to come and sing "Feliz Cumpleanos" to our birthday boy, which they did, and then gave him a purple and green balloon (how they knew those were Barney's colors, we're not sure), which he proceeded to carry around the San Antonio Riverwalk.
The San Antonio Riverwalk had just been drained for cleaning and the water was replaced the morning of the day we went. We had feared we would be seeing a River-less Walk, but in fact, time was on our side. The Riverwalk was charming, with its winding roads and twisting staircases. There was very little light, which made it a good choice for a romantic stroll, or a few tipsy performers in search of more fun. The fun we found was a sports bar, which seemed to be one of the few places open. Apparently, Tuesday night's not such a big night in S.A. But we had a great time and threw back a couple birthday shots of Patron with salt and lime.
Now, Abilene was not so willing to provide us with tasty food, dessert or even margaritas. Abilene did endear itself to me on run my run, however. Our hotel was downtown, so I was able to run on sidewalks (hooray!) and get a sense of the city. I ran under the train tracks and discovered a park with all different larger than life sculptures. A bronze pig standing on stick-legs with wheels at the bottom, a violet-colored tulip beaming up at sun (which finally decided to emerge) and my personal favorite, a giant wooden buffalo. The buffalo had stairs in the back for visitors to climb up and photograph themselves on top of the buffalo, riding it, which of course I promptly did. Sadly, I was by myself so the pictures came out a bit skewed. I also discovered a fantastic boutique called Ya Ya Gurlz with a mezuzah on the door but plenty of crosses inside the shop. When I inquired about the mezuzah, I was told it came with the building! But I did find myself an adorable pair of earrings amidst all the cowgirl and Jesus wear.
Having discovered this boutique, I assumed there were a host of higher class people in this town and therefore a few good restaurants must exist. I was wrong. It was just the one. And even that one closed at 2pm and didn't open til 6pm. Don't bother trying to eat in this town in the afternoon. There's a coffee shop that's open, but packaged pastries are all they've got in terms of sustenance (but the chai latte and the pressed tea are delightful! It's called Monk). I survived on string cheese and a protein bar, and then headed out to the Cypress St. Station restaurant once it deigned to re-open its doors. It was the classiest joint in town. With a wooden wine rack and polite waiters, this restaurant knew it was our only hope. And it was wonderful. I had a spinach and artichoke penne, and promptly came back the next day for the spinach and artichoke salad (also good). After dinner, we strolled back satiated and stopped in at a gallery opening for a little culture and free wine and dessert. We spoke with one of the artists who was very excited to meet the cast of Barney and introduced us to his nine year old son, who was less than excited to meet us. But it was very charming and everyone was extremely welcoming.
Our shows were great, and we spent a couple hours in the tea room at Monk coffee house waiting for our crew to load out before we hit the road. And now here we are in glorious San Angelo (sarcasm), for two days off! Hooray!
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