Conferences are hard hard work. After three and a half days of standing on a concrete floor behind my exhibit in the vendor hall, just about every muscle in my feet, legs, and back is killing me. There are a lot of reasons to admire and appreciate Martin Luther King, Jr., but right now, my major reason is that I get a day off today and I can decompress at home instead of going off to work. Although the Riverwalk is sometimes cheesy and a little crowded, San Antonio in general is just lovely. I can't believe I'm such a dork that I don't go down there more often to visit, particularly since one of my best friends, two aunts and uncles, and a smattering of cousins live down there. I'm sometimes a rather lazy visitor.
One of the best parts of my stay, besides visiting with said friend and relatives, was staying at the Menger Hotel (home of the awesome pink peacock wallpaper pictured above). This hotel was built in 1859 (maybe? I'm too lazy to look it up, but that sounds right) and is located right next to the good ole' Alamo. I stayed in the historic section of the hotel, in a room that overlooked a lovely courtyard garden with a fountain. Hotel history has it that Oscar Wilde spent a lot of time in that garden when he was visiting San Antonio. In addition to Oscar, such greats as Mae West and Teddy Roosevelt hung out at the Menger as well. Since it was one of the fanciest hotels in town for a long time, pretty much any movie star, singer, politician, or dignitary that came through San Antonio in olden-days would have hitched their pony at the Menger. Also, its haunted, but I didn't see any ghosts. Unless the ghosts were in the next room and watching HBO too loudly and constantly flushing their toilets.
A pictorial overview of the trip in all its glory can be found here.
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