Wordless Wednesday: paddling in style

River management & hidden history

When we went to see the Battle of Flowers staging area a few weeks ago, naturally we had to park a good distance away. It was a pleasant walk to the floats and bands, though, that we didn't mind at all.

We even happened to pass a couple of interesting local landmarks. In fact, their backstories reinforce the basic Hometown Tourist lesson: always pay attention to the neighborhood you're moving through...there's almost always something new to see and learn about.

First item: a very attractive structure that performs a very vital function.

Of course we are very proud of our San Antonio River and love the way our city has embraced it and continues to make it an important part of community life. But it is a real river, and, to boot, a river in an environment which sometimes delivers half a year's worth of rainfall in a weekend.

So floods are a real threat. Especially to the many businesses that line the river downtown and make up our wonderful Riverwalk. Historically. there have been some doozies, especially the one in 1921. That disaster resulted in construction of the Olmos Dam, near my house (which I should really blog about someday).

But some years ago various agencies teamed up to construct a really amazing flood control tunnel, for even more protection. Part of the structure is the both functional and attractive fountain wall you see above, which form the inlet for the tunnel. On the right are the plaques that make it official. 

It really deserves these awards. It could have been a ugly eyesore, but instead is this nice little pocket park.

Of course, we weren't in a flood situation on Battle of Flowers weekend (it would have been hard to hold the parade if we were!). So the river was flowing naturally through the fountains and over the spillway, instead of into the tunnel.

The flood gauge (a common sight around here wherever a road crosses a stream bed) shows that the water level isn't a concern:

But it's nice to know that when we get one of those gully-washers, they'll open the tunnel to route the extra water around the fragile downtown Riverwalk. Where those waters emerge, down on the Mission Reach, there are other marvelous river improvements (that I've written about before; and I have an update for you that I'll try to get posted later this week). But there the features are designed to withstand floodwaters and would just need a little cleanup before they're ready for visitors again.

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We knew about the flood control tunnel before we saw it on this walk. But another tourist-worthy tidbit was more of a surprise.

It's the Menefee Tree, planted in 1930 by descendants of one of the signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence, which graces an otherwise indifferent little triangle of land surrounded on this day by parade-goers' parked cars. 

In addition to being an absolutely gorgeous live oak specimen, it provides a little window into Texas history. Isn't it amazing what you see when you keep your eyes open? (And your camera at the ready!)

Wordless Wednesday: A godswood in Olmos Park?

Connecting with Fiesta royalty

I've written before about our wonderfully accomplished niece, English horn and oboe player extraordinaire with our own San Antonio Symphony. But she got to perform on a very different stage during our latest Fiesta...

Those familiar with San Antonio's Fiesta traditions will be able to guess that she was indeed one of the Battle of Flowers parade's duchesses, moving regally through downtown and showing everyone her shoes. (By the way, she can write, too. Here's a fine piece she wrote for a local online magazine that eloquently links her Fiesta and musical careers, as well as making a very strong case for the importance of music and the arts in community life.)

The shoes bit might sound a little strange, but it's part of the tradition. At some point in the past, parade-

goers began to chant "show us your shoes" to the passing royalty. Presumably because under those long dresses and trains, one wonders what could be hidden in the way of footwear. Year by year, the parade participants have gotten into the spirit of the affair and often wear elaborate cowboy boots and other fancy clogs. And, sometimes, silly shoes as well.

That's what Jennifer opted for this year. On the left you can see her posing with her Big-Bird-like floppy slippers. Quite a contrast to the amazing clothing, but that's the whole idea!

Besides, the whole royalty thing in its entirety is rather silly, anyway. But it provides a great deal of harmless entertainment for a great many people (attendance at the parade, when the weather's nice, regularly runs north of a quarter of a million!).

And, the dresses and trains are really amazing works of art. It's hard to argue against a tradition that results in the construction of these fabulous garments. Here are closeups of the end of Jennifer's train, as well as that of her sister's (from a few years ago). Their parents had them on display at their house last week for a fun oohh-ing and aahh-ing party.

Jennifer's train

Laura's

They really are exquisite artifacts, lovingly hand-made by what must be an army of very talented seamstresses.

But they weigh a ton! The logistics of getting the ladies in position, and providing them with the support needed to stand and wave and show shoes for 3+ hours is quite an operation. Which is why it's such fun to see the staging area for the parade (in addition to seeing and hearing all those bands warm up, as I told you last week).

On the right you can see the perch that Jennifer would soon occupy, with her train already in position and fastened securely. The girls can lean against this support but have nothing to sit down upon during the parade (not to mention the rather lengthy preparatory process). It made my legs and back hurt just to contemplate this ordeal, but, then, they are young and strong.

Here is how she gets up there! By forklift, no less! Perhaps not the most dignified piece of machinery, but it works well to accomplish getting the duchesses to their perches...

...and here's how the floats are powered. A friendly technician lifted up the concealing panel to give us a glimpse of the little golf-cart-type vehicle that tows each float.

After the forklift ride, here she is, in position, resplendent and ready to go...

...practicing showing the shoes...

...and demonstrating the royal wave

Although we, of course, thought Jennifer's dress, train, shoes, and waving were the most accomplished in the parade, there were three other royal ladies on her float. In almost as magnificent attire...

And here they all are, heading out from under the nice shady freeway staging area and out into the San Antonio sun, ready to entertain the thousands breathlessly awaiting their entrance. ¡Viva Fiesta!

Wordless Wednesday: Here's lookin' at you, kid

San Antonio Bandstand

As you might have gathered from Wednesday's Wordless post, last weekend was the apex of San Antonio's Fiesta, the Battle of Flowers parade.

The whole event is a marathon for parade fans (and participants!) and we haven't had the energy to sit for the whole thing for many years.

But, fortunately, for those in the know, there's another fun option.

When the kids were little, Henry used to take them to the forming area, where the bands and floats and cars and clowns, etc., line up before heading onto the parade route. We decided to do this again last weekend, especially since we had other little kids to meet up with there.

Three of our increasing number of great-nephews were in town, and bringing them to this area allows them more freedom of movement, plus they don't get stuck watching literally several hours of parade.

I have never seen the forming area myself (Henry taking the kids years ago was a chance for some Mom-alone-time—one of the universe's most valuable commodities) so it was a special treat for me, too.

One of the highlights is not only getting to see the bands line up, but also hearing some of their rehearsal pieces! Free concert! And you can't beat the great under-freeway acoustics that you see above. Although some of our party were not as fond of these acoustics as I was—one great-nephew, on Dad's shoulders at the right, needed a little extra ear protection.

Another of our little companions seems not sure what to make of the solo Sousaphone concert a friendly soldier-musician performed for him:

Trust me, though, we all, young, and old, loved seeing the bands and other parade participants.

Marching bands are one of civilization's greatest perks, imho, and probably one of the best in the country (a possibly prejudiced opinion since I grew up in an Aggie household) is the Texas A&M band that you see in the first photo above. (That was their Sousaphone section in last Wednesday's post, too.) What a wonderful happenstance that we ended up right by their formup/practice area!

Here's another shot of the band, this time the trombone section (not quite 76 of them, but it was plenty!):

But of course there were lots of other bands, too. Here's a high school band we saw warming up a few blocks away on our walk back to the car...

The parade is such a very large enterprise, the "forming" area covers blocks and blocks; only the participants just about to enter the parade route are in the shade under the freeway.

Although the bands are often my favorite parade units, there were of course lots of other folks getting ready to begin the long trek through downtown, too:

our famous Mayor and his lovely wife

fancy cars for other dignitaries

our beloved Spurs' contribution

more fancy cars

the military's always been a big part of life in San Antonio

the horses were a big favorite of the boys

although you can't have horses in a parade...

...without the hard-working pooper-scoopers!

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As fun as all these parts of the parade are to watch, forming and marching, there was an even more important attraction for us this year. Tune in next time for what make the Battle of Flowers really unique!

Wordless Wednesday: Big band sound