RIP Mylo

Apparently, armor plating is not a defence against a Betta. Mylo is no more. James (acting as the house ME) says preliminary cause of death is Betta bite. Well, he actually said "Bleh ate Mylo", but you get the picture. I'm sure Mylo had no hard feelings - the food chain can get you if you're not careful.

Bleh's New Friend

Bleh really likes his new tank. Who knew a Betta would swim around so much? I've only seen them in little bowls.

We added a "friend" for him - a snail named Mylo. Armor-plated to protect him from Betta attacks. So far, so good.

Shopping in his Pontiac

James is getting a little big for grocery cart cars, but that doesn't keep him from driving one anyway.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Saw this at the Giant while shopping for some Thanksgiving treats today. We stuck with tradition and picked up a little turkey. Actually, we had a big mexican food lunch today and will have a turkey dinner tomorrow.

Bleh's New Home

Bleh wasn't doing too well in his small tank, so we moved him on up to the east side (of the room). Lot of water for one little fish.

The Nation's Gunshow

Went to the gunshow on Saturday. The place was packed. I liked the antique rifles some of the dealers had on display, but I think most people were looking for new stuff. Pistols were really popular.

Thanksgiving Turkey

A holiday tradition since today - James and Tam making a decorative turkey.

John Deere?

I'm told this is a tractor. James made this (and several others) in preschool.

You make me feel like a natural river...

Remember the River Walk I wrote about earlier? Check this quote out from the City of San Antonio. I thought it was a joke when I read it on the River Walk site:

That is why it is necessary for us to drain the water from this section of the river once each year in order to do routine maintenance and inspect the walls that are normally submerged in the water. This process can take about ten days and is usually done during the month of January.

Here is the list of dates during which there will be no water in the San Antonio River in the River Walk area for the purpose of doing this annual maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience and hope you will bear with us as we work to keep this gorgeous attraction in top form.

Up in the Sky of Texas

The Tower of the Americas. 750 feet tall.  Designed for the 1968 Hemisfair in San Antonio. Big. Cool.

The water features installed all around it smelled kind of septic. They had signs all over (in Spanish and English) warning me not to swim or wade in the water. The only way I would have touched any of that water would have been at gunpoint.

Airport Waiting

Rockers on the front porch? No. These are in the waiting areas all over San Antonio International Airport. I'm not kidding.

A Real Maverick

While walking around San Antonio, I noticed this memorial to Maury Maverick, installed at one end of the La Villita plaza.

Remembering all of the recent claims during the presidential campaign, I wondered what a real maverick was. Turns out this guy was a Maverick and a maverick. He coined the term "gobbledygook" for goverment doublespeak nobody can understand. When in congress during Roosevelt's New Deal, he angered the conservative wing of his party (the Democrats), and was ousted in the next election. He then ran for and won the San Antonio mayor's office. After 1941, the conservatives labeled him a Communist and pushed him out of office again. Sounds like it's hard work to be a Maverick.

More from the Heart of Texas

Interesting views from my hotel balcony.

This is the La Villita Assembly Hall.  I was sure it is a 1.2 Million Gallon water storage tank.  You can't be right all the time.

That tiny body of water down there is the San Antonio River.  They have a heavily developed river walk area with restaurants, shoping and the like.

The Arneson River Theatre is neato from above.  The seating takes advantage of the natural slope with the stage on the other side of the river.

I decided to get a ground-level view of the theatre.

While I was on the ground, I took a shot of one of the river boats.  There are a bunch of them.

Deep in the Heart of Texas

The stars at night, are big and bright, Deep in the Heart of Texas. What's more Texas than The Alamo? Nothing. To Texans, this is THE shrine of shrines. Men are asked to remove their hats before entering the shrine.

The church (shrine) was first constructed 1755, however, this iteration is much newer. The army did most of the construction work in 1850, with the iconic Alamo hump added then.

The heroic memorial. It seems to have been constructed to be "Safe for Workplace."

The museum made from the ruins of the old "Long Barrack." The original building was the Convento build as housing for the mission. It was constructed between 1724 and 1744, but the current confinguration was built in 1968 to house the museum.

Modern path of the old irrigation system.

Ice Cream Anyone?

What's a good walk without a snack and some ice cream? Nothing, I say.  We stopped by the Leesburg Restaurant diner to have macaroni and cheese for James and a steak and cheese sandwich for me.  Like every other place I have written about - the website has been highjacked but at least this time it is by another Leesburg fixture - the Tuskarora Mill.  I would rather take James to the diner and save the bucks, but that's just me. 

James Rocks

We got one of those rare November days today. It was really nice out so we went for a walk. Turned out to be a four hour walk! James is resting.