Saturday, August 17
We were sad to leave New Orleans this morning but were happy to have checked out of our hotel. We won’t bore you with the VERY long list of issues we had while we were there but we will say this: Don’t ever stay at the Blake Hotel in New Orleans. Well, if you’re really interested…
- The Internet/WIFI was up and down for three days. When it was actually working it was very slow.
- There are no unused outlets to plug in your devices or charge your phones. We unplugged a couple of lamps so we could use their sockets.
- In three days we only saw someone at the front desk once. If you stand there long enough someone will eventually interrupt their personal time to speak with you (one women made us wait while she finished eating her cookies). It really doesn’t matter because they have no intention of being helpful anyway.
- The air conditioner cooled the room but did not remove any of the humidity. Imagine sleeping in damp sheets every night.
- They do not offer self parking. Their vallet parking is $45.00 per night plus taxes.
There’s more but I think we’ve made our point. It’s a nice building and has the potential to be a nice hotel except for the really poor management.
The drive to San Antonio took 7.5 hours. Along the way we stopped outside of Houston for lunch at another hamburger joint that we’d never been to before: Whataburger. We ordered two cheeseburgers, fries and a sweet tea. When we went to pay for our meal the clerk asked us if we had their app. We said, “No, we’ve never been to a Whataburger before”.
While we were eating our food the clerk and the manager came over and performed a little ritual that they do for first timers. They gave us paper hats, a souvenir plastic cup and a keychain – and a tote bag to carry all of our booty in. They took a picture of the two of us to hang on their wall too. It was very amusing and we all had a big laugh.
We’re sorry to say that the food was nothing to brag about. Their standard burger is a lot bigger than most other fast food places but other than that there was nothing special about it. Their fries were the typical pre-cut, frozen potatoes you can find just about anywhere. At $9.50 the price was very reasonable but it’s unlikely that we’ll go out or our way to stop in at one of these again. Their menu does include shakes and malteds but we didn’t try them.
(Newbies at Whataburger)
When we got to our new hotel it wasn’t obvious where the parking was. Deborah went in to ask about it and the clerk came out to the sidewalk and personally directed us where we should go. Now that’s service. He also had some helpful suggestions about things in the neighborhood including a nearby museum that had information about the Alamo that was no longer onsite at the mission. We already had a somewhat full day planned for tomorrow so we rushed over there so we could see it before it closed at 5:00 pm.
The Briscoe Western Art Museum has three levels and an annex in a nearby building. We had 1.5 hours to see the entire thing. We immediately headed to the third floor to see the artifacts from the Alamo. There really wasn’t much there but we did enjoy seeing Roy Rogers and Poncho Villa’s saddles. They also had one of Santa Anna’s sword.
Most of the rest of the museum were paintings about the old West. There was a rare folio of colored plates on display depicting scenes of Indian life by Catlin North. It was a treat to see the beautiful renderings and a rare opportunity to see all 30 of them in a single room. They also had full sized reproductions of a stage coach and a chuck wagon as well a several Remington drawings and one of his bronzes.
(Plate by Catlin North, 1844)
It was a very nice museum and we managed to get through all of it and the gift shop, before closing. Admission costs $10.00 per person. Credit cards are accepted.
By now we were ready for dinner. This was the third city we’d been to in Texas on this trip and we still had yet to have a steak. Now seemed like a good time. We scoured the listings for interesting spots that were not too costly and came up with a couple of candidates that were a short drive from town. We definitely didn’t want to eat in any chain restaurant. The clerk at the hotel had recommended a place in town called Little Rhein. The menu looked nice it wouldn’t break the bank so we walked over there.
The menu included a summer special: a four once fillet mignon paired with a six once Maine lobster tail. That came with a choice of baked potato, potato au gratin or french fries. We both opted for the special and both ordered the baked potato. We also ordered steamed asparagus, bearnaise sauce and horseradish sauces for the steaks.
(Surf and Turf at Little Rhein)
The steaks were tender, delicious and perfectly cooked. Grilled lobster tail can often be dry but these weren’t. They were even better when dipped in the provided clarified butter. The huge baked potatoes had been baked and then perfectly finished on the grill. They were dressed at the table with buffer, chives, sour cream, cheese and homemade bacon bits. It was a great meal. At just over $114.00 it was a bit pricey but it was worth every penny.
(Riverwalk Boat Ride)
Our last activity of the day was to take a boat ride along Riverwalk. Started in 1929 and taking ten years to build Riverwalk is a 15 mile long circular canal that was intended to foster development and prevent flooding of the downtown area. It was funded by the WPA during the New Deal. It was revitalized in the 1950s and is now a popular tourist destination with many upscale shops, hotels and restaurants. There are several companies that provided narrated tours of the canal. The boats hold about 40 people and are powered by quiet, clean electric motors. It’s a lovely and romantic way to experience the town. The boats are not covered so we recommend that you go after sunset.
(Riverwalk)
Fun Fact: Riverwalk has been featured in more than 70 films including Miss Congeniality, Ace Ventura Pet Detective and, of course, The Alamo.