CHiPs Redux

I don't see man of these bike cops around San Antonio much, and when I do they are usually escorting funerals. When we pulled up behind this one at the light on the way home I started hearing the CHiPs theme song going through my head (and of course thinking of the liquid metal terminator in T2, Robert Patrick-those blue eyes--yummy!). I also noticed the antennae toppers he had: a rubber ducky and what looked like a donkey pinata.

No This Is Not Deja Vu

This is the second time they've fixed a hole in the wall in the Southwest Art & Craft Center Navarro Campus. Last time the hole was a little bigger, but it looks like they had to fix as much as the wall as back then. This time a minivan driver had her wheel lock on her as she made the turn and wham-o hole in the wall. I wonder what's behind that wall and what they heard/felt.

H.E.B. Shrooms

We do all of our shopping at H.E.B.'s, except for a few things here and there. We always hit the fruit/veggie section before we leave and I saw these out of the corner of my eye. I know people eat and like shrooms, hell, I'll even eat them if they come on a pepperoni and mushroom pizza, but dude it's fungi that comes out of the earth. Granted a lot of our stuff comes out of the earth, but here you can't deny it as that's how they are displaying it. One of my nieces favorites mushrooms is the Shitake, not for the mushroom itself but for the word. She watches those Japanese shows and they use this word alot, maybe that's where she picked it up.

El Puesto Mexican Restaurant

This restaurant is on Castroville Road right up the road from the Las Palmas Library and San Fernando cometary. My sister knows all of these hole in the wall places. We had breakfast here. I had the juevos rancheros without the ranchero sauce of course.

Red Lobster

Red Lobster and Olive Garden are two of the places that I like to go, though lately I've been preferring Red Lobster. We went today and there's always a little wait, but not too long this time. They had the dish I like, a lobster and shrimp pasta dish. I also had the creamy lobster mashed potatoes which were eggscellent. The jingle for this restaurant is "Red Lobster, for the sea food lover in you."

Lyle Rosdahl Reading at ArtPace

I went to my first reading today. I wasn't sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. I really liked it. Lyle's story drew me in and his descriptiveness really worked for me. I am usually such a shutterbug, but I kept getting drawn into the story and forgetting about my camera.

Hurricane Dolly Clouds

The sky was very turbulent today as Hurricane Dolly made landfall in Texas. It seems that we've had Hurricane after Tropical Storm after tropical storm after hurricane. I love the rain and the clouds that come from these storms, but because we are so far away from the coast, we don't have to worry about the bad effects as those coast dwellers. My brother is currently in SC and I now have to worry about him with these storms, when before he was in California I had to worry about earthquakes and fires and mudslides.

Billboard Bus

In the last year or so, maybe more I've noticed these full length advertisements. I like this one because it looks like it's coming off the bus. I had a season pass for Sea World at least two years, but I only ever seem to go that once. I've also noticed a couple of Scions and Mini-coopers with advertisements. I do wonder how they get these full mobile ads on.

Pedal Power

Just another bicycler trying to save a buck or help the environment, or just get some exercise, or since he's in downtown, trying not to pay an arm and a leg for parking. I've seen more and more people on bikes all over town. I've been wanting to get me one for a while, and probably will along with some for my nephews so they can get their pedal on with me.

Books A Million

This store took me totally by surprise. My sister said they were opening a book store close to us and I was excited. When we got here I had never heard of the store but I am glad it's there. I did buy a few books here, and I'm so surprised that I haven't gone back. I've always said that one way I could beggar myself would be by buying books.

Birthday Roses

Just a picture of flowers, but I had never seen quite this color before so I thought they'd make a pretty picture. My grandmother used to have roses all over her front yard and back yard of every color-red, orange, yellow, white, maroon and gods know what else. She had this thing that she did, whenever one of the family got roses she asked for a cutting and planted it. (I'm trying that with these and see if they'll bloom for me.)

My grandmother also had sunflowers in the side yard. They took pity on us kids and let us plant wildflowers up the sidewalk. In the front yard we also had a peach and pecan tree, and one other fruit tree. My grandparent's yard was so pretty that people stopped and took photos of it, and I had to stand guard right after school to prevent people picking my grandmothers flowers. I only wish I had pictures of what it looked like then.

Colorful Crosswalk

They repainted the curbs at the hospital fairly recently. I liked the way the colors popped and of course it reminded me of the Mickey D colors. I know the red is a fire lane, but I wonder if the yellow means the same thing or something different. What colors do they paint the curbs in your neck of the woods?

John Jay High School

This is one of the high schools in the North Side Independent School District. Their mascot is the Mustang, and their colors are blue and white (I'm sure about the blue, not sure about the white). One of my nieces goes to school here and plays on a couple of teams. Go Mustangs!

Yellow Flowering Bush

When we moved into our new house my brother in law, the former Master Gardener took out all the plantings and planted his own selections. This plant has really been flowering. He also planted a bird of paradise, and I had never seen those before a bit ago, but now I see them everywhere. I think these flowers also bloom in the Central Library garden.

Alamo Graffiti

I found this last week while walking by the Alamo. This carving was made by L.B. (Lafayette Bowyer) Wood, who was obviously stationed at the Alamo in 1856, when it served as an Army quartermaster's depot. After a little research I found that he was a West Point graduate and he died only two years later. He is buried in Virginia.

Now don't get any ideas to try and carve your name into the Alamo. They frown on that these days.

Purple Sage

The sage bush in front of my house is blooming like crazy and the bees love it. I tried to get a picture of this busy little bee but he's a little out of focus. Oh well. If you have ever wondered what purple sage (as in The New Riders of the Purple Sage) looks like, here it is.

Play Balls

Many people are fascinated with the Central Library "spheres" :D I have seen many a child playing on them, and a lot of photo shoots conducted there. The last one I saw was a lady doing calisthenics on them, or something like that. The kids usually like to climb on them or try their hand at pushing them around, it reminds me a bit of all those people trying to pull the sword out of the stone.

Family Portrait

This is from the All the Things That Go to Make Heaven and Earth exhibit with art by Sandra Griffin at the Central Library gallery. When I saw this it made me think of how most of my elders are now gone. I have no living grandparents or parents, only a few uncles, aunts and cousins that are older than me.

Up a Tree

Living in San Antonio, I sometimes wonder at the abundance or lack of trees in the city. There are some spots where you can see nothing but tree tops and other spots where there is nary a tree in sight. This one is in downtown. I love to see trees in urban areas. I only wish this tree had a little bench around it or somewhere you could sit to read or just relax. I remember the trees we had in our backyard growing up and I miss them. Right now we have two trees in our yard, a little barely grown one in the front and a normal sized one in the back.

Feeling a Little Dry

Saw this sign as I went on my daily walk about on the River Walk. They were still working on something on the river level with this up on the street level. I don't know what it is, but I know I'm gonna be Googling it to try and find out.

Old Post Office

This used to be the main post office in San Antonio. It is located adjacent to the Alamo on Houston and Alamo streets. It was designed by Paul Cret, who also designed the main building and tower at the University of Texas

Pei Wei Take Me Away

We've been trying some new restaurants in our new area. Tonight it was Pei Wei. We ordered Orange Chicken and Chicken Teriyaki. It wasn't the best that I've had but it was okay. I liked the decor inside the store and of course their neon signs. I took this shot as we were waiting for our order.

Tilting at Windmills

I've seen this a few times and was able to grab a pic of it this time. According to the brick in front of the property it's the Hyatt Regency Resort. Whenever I see these windmills I wonder if they are in working order.

Independence Day

I love the day and the movie. We got to watch two shows from our yard, Sea World and the resort by us. This photo is from Sea World. I was going to go to the Lackland show but it was raining on and off all day. I was hoping to go to see a clogging group that I've been wanting to get some photos of but so far no good.

Inside the C-SPAN Bus

The C-SPAN bus was at the Central Library today. Last time they were there I missed going inside so this time I didn't want to miss it. We had to wait around a bit while the politicos did some talking inside, but then we got to go inside. I just wanted to get a few shots and then they closed us in there and we sat through their demo. It was actually interesting.

Wing Stop Hot Wings To Go

We stopped by to pick up some wings. I don't like the Wing Stop wings. They are a bit too skinny for my taste and I don't really like the seasonings. My brother in law and all the rest of my family like them just fine though, we order from there often enough. I likee all the neon in this little shopping center.

Theme Day: No...Signs

Saw this sign and thought wow! That's a lot of things that you aren't supposed to do. I guess if I wanted to do all of those things I'd be like why can't I do that, but on the other hand I understand that property owners probably worry about getting sued if someone gets hurt.