The Eye has it or Not!

Posted on December 31, 2015December 31, 2015 by Dusty Roads

Remember when I started this series I said “Now remember, no trip is without its pitfalls. If you keep that in mind you will be able to handle the little trials that come out of no where.”

Well Our lovely day was about to hit one of those little trials. Up until this point the Orlando Eye had been slowly turning above our heads but as we finished with the SeaLife Aquarium they announced that it was temporarily down. Trying to get any information out of the desk attendants was an exercise in futility.

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We sat for a bit in the food court but pretty soon even a dedicated people watcher gets bored so we took a walk outside to see what restaurants were nearby. We might as well grab some lunch while we waited.

There wasn’t much in the “Eye” complex but we settled on the “Tin Roof”, a typical bar/pub. I can’t say it was a quiet lunch because there was construction going on and the whole side of the building was open so no sound buffering at all. The waiter was pleasant and the food plentiful. But I caught an “ear worm”. I kept hearing the B52’s sing Love Shack in my head….Tin Roof – Rusted!

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After lunch we headed back to the desk and were told the Eye was still offline and they didn’t know when it would be back online. It seems the “Eye” is down more than it’s running. From what I gathered it is something of a joke in Orlando because it is either offline or they are rescuing guests who are stuck on it.

Joe tried hard to get our money back but since we’d done 2 attractions and we’d only had to pay for 1 ticket there wasn’t much to refund. The best he could get was a promise to honor the tickets for 1 year. Of course I don’t know where we put the tickets now. I guess we’ll both have to search for them if I can get back to Orlando before the year is up.

It was time for plan B.

Big Easy City Tour

Posted on December 2, 2015December 2, 2015 by Dusty Roads

Our tour was billed as the Super City Tour covering the French Quarter, Jackson Square, The French Market, Mansions along St Charles Ave, St Louis Cemetery, City Park and the Universities of Tulane, Loyola and Xavier.

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Unlike the San Antonio Tour which took all day, the tour was only about 2.5 hours and consisted of driving past most of the sites. We only made 2 stops and those were both very short.

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One of the stops was at St. Louis Cemetery and with the storm clouds threatening it set the proper mood for a New Orleans Cemetery!

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The Stop at the City Park was very short. Most of tour group went into the Morning Call Cafe for coffee or to use the rest rooms. I broke from the group to try to get some pictures of the park itself. I would have loved to spend more time there.

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There were ducks in the ponds and lovely stone bridges. Trees with Spanish moss over hung the water features.

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Later in the hotel room as I browsed one of the magazine I found an article about the park. It seems that it is a high crime area which explains the quick stop. It made me sad to learn this because it is such a beautiful place.

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The ride past the universities was fun because the Students had gone all out to decorate for Halloween. The Day of the Dead was also celebrated in New Orleans so skeletons and skulls abounded.

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Sandy was looking forward to visiting the French Market as she buys coffee or something online from there unfortunately there was no stop there. The same with Jackson Square. We just got to peak out the bus windows as we drove past.

Morning in the City of New Orleans

Posted on November 29, 2015November 29, 2015 by Dusty Roads

We were up early and ready to meet the City of New Orleans. Everyone told me I would fall in love with it. DSC_1492_edited-1

We decided to walk to the waterfront to meet the tour bus. It was supposed to be a short walk and it probably would have been if I’d checked a walking map. But I used my phone to google the route not really thinking that google would give me driving directions. Needless to say we added a few extra blocks to our walk!

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After an excellent breakfast buffet in the restaurant attached to the hotel we took off to find the Lighthouse that doubled as a visitor center.

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We walked and walked. We passed a wonderful park with bronze statues of jazz musicians and promised we’d come back when we could sit and enjoy the live music. I love all the decorative grill work on the balconies.

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The streets were just waking up. Large trash cans lined the sidewalks waiting for the garbage pick up. A few joggers were out but mostly the streets were empty. Clearly New Orleans is a city of the night.

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Finally we spied the “Lighthouse” . It was located on the banks of the Mississippi. I admit that being on the banks of the Big Muddy gave me goose bumps. I hadn’t even thought about seeing the Mississippi while we were in New Orleans and there it was.

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It looked like the rain had followed us from San Antonio as dark clouds threatened while we waited for the tour bus to arrive.

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Riverboat Ride on The San Antonio

Posted on November 15, 2015November 15, 2015 by Dusty Roads

With an eye to the sky our guide made an executive decision. She swapped the Buckhorn Saloon and the Riverboat Ride. We could see the dark clouds heading our way on the horizon. Although it was still sunny and only partly cloudy so no one complained of the change in itinerary.

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We followed our guide down the stone stairs from street level to the tropical gardens and cafes to the boat landing for the start of the Riverboat ride down the San Antonio.

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As with all such excursions our riverboat captain had an entertaining and informative banter to help us pass the time.

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Our Riverboat ride was about 35 minutes long and fully narrated. According to the guide we covered about 1.5 miles of the San Antonio River.

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Along the banks is the River Walk, a public park that is open 365 day a year. Our hotel was located right on the River walk.

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We cruised past the restaurant where we had dinner the night before.

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Adorning the Lila Cockrell Theater at the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center is a stunning mosaic mural by Mexican artist Juan O’Gorman.

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Entitled “Confluence of Civilizations in the Americas”, it was created as part of the 1968 HemisFair World’s Fair. The mural is visible from the Riverwalk as well as the convention center.

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San Antonio’s version of the Space Needle is the Tower of The Americas. Topped by a fine dining restaurant and observation towers, it would be a great place to visit if the weather holds out.

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The green roofed building we spotted is the Bexar County courthouse.

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The building was designed by architect J. Riely Gordon, and borders Main Plaza, along with such other architectural landmarks as the Cathedral of San Fernando. The style is Romanesque Revival, and the main material used is red sandstone. Ground was broken for Gordon’s structure on August 4, 1891, and the cornerstone was laid December 17, 1892. After several delays, construction was fully completed in 1896. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

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Other buildings were crowned with gargoyles and many sky scrapers peered down on us as we passed in the shadows of these man made canyons.

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This riverboat ride was really enjoyable. I highly recommend it.

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Mission Concepcion

Posted on November 8, 2015November 8, 2015 by Dusty Roads

I have been so slow with my posts. I apologize. Between my post vacation cold and catching up at work, life seems to be conspiring to keep me from sharing my vacation. The most recent set back was my photo editing program which claims I’m out of memory. Sounds like I’m going to have to clean out the hard drive.

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But I managed to limp along and get some pictures of the 2nd mission we visited in San Antonio. This one is also still a working church but it is not fully restored.

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The church itself looks essentially as it did in the 1700’s but most of the colorful geometric designs that once covered it’s walls and ceiling have long faded away.

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