My last normal outing

Not quite three weeks ago—although it seems like three years ago—I had what I didn't know then would be my last [old] normal day for a while.

On Friday afternoons, I used to, normally, volunteer at the Texas Public Radio Offices. I answer the phone and otherwise fill in for their regular receptionist so that she can have some uninterrupted time doing other important tasks. (Because, of course, at non-profits everyone does two or three different jobs.) It's a fun volunteer gig: I've gotten to meet some local and national Public Radio celebrities over the years, plus they sometimes have potluck lunches that they generously invite me to partake of.

The most exciting thing going on there lately, though, has been their move to spacious and snazzy new digs downtown. After a few postponements due to construction delays, I finally got to put in my volunteer stint at the new place on Friday, March 13. Lucky Friday the 13th, as it turned out for me.

The picture at the top of the post is the new building. Doesn't it look super? After having just part of a floor in a building out in the Medical Center, they have this whole space! The reporters have a whole floor and the admin folks that I most often interact with have their own floor, too.

a view out the new office windows of our newest, showiest skyscraper

What's even more exciting—or, at least it will be, eventually—is the building's location. Here's another shot from inside the office. I know it doesn't look like much now...

...but this is construction on our city's project to beautify what is now a drainage ditch through downtown. It will eventually make as nice a waterway of San Pedro Creek as the WPA did for the San Antonio River.

Here's what it might look like:

The western part of downtown where all this is going on is still in the process of getting spruced up to match some of the swankier bits, but there are definitely other development pieces coming online in addition to the TPR offices. 

Another of our beautiful old theatres, the Alameda, is right behind TPR:

And that splashy new skyscraper (the one that looks like it was transplanted from Austin ) is the Frost Tower, just a few blocks away:

Of course, the bummer of all this is that I got to go to work in this great new space just once! But I'm hopeful that my regular volunteering schedule will eventually resume. 

In the meantime, mucho kudos to the TPR staff for providing such great, up-to-the-minute local news for us, in this time when local news is more important than ever. I hope that my San Antonio readers might take a minute to drop them a donation at tpr.org so that they can continue doing this work for all of us. They aren't going to be able to have their usual spring fundraiser, and they need to make up for that somehow.

If you're reading this somewhere else, I'm sure your local NPR station is just as worthy of your support. Donate today!

A much-needed break on the river

social distancing, Guadalupe-River-style

We took advice to get outside and exercise perhaps a bit to the extreme yesterday and went for a short paddle on the upper Guadalupe. Paddling! On a Wednesday! That sounds like a silver lining if ever there was one.

The day was beautiful and the river was flowing just enough to allow scrape-free floating. Here's where we started, at James Kiehl Park:

An especially noteworthy sight along the way was the multitude of just-leafing-out cypress trees...

I was so entranced by these lovelies that I spent a bit of time at our lunch stop (where we kept our distance and didn't share) to take some closeups. Here are the best two:

Of course all the trees along the river look great from more of a distance, too...

There were equally photogenic rocks, since this is the south Texas hill country and all we have under our feet there is at most two or three inches of dirt, then limestone all the way down...

...and turtles!

It was overall a very relaxing and much-needed escape from worries of the day. We are so lucky here to have nature so close at hand and easy to access.

I was doubly pleased to be paddling since it has been a really long time since I was on the river. My shoulder issues seem to have lessened and I'm again confident enough to handle a short, easy paddle like this one. 

All too soon, however, our little idyll was at an end. Here's the Waring bridge:

I hope we can do this again soon. And I hope all my dear readers are able to find a similar way to stay safe, stay sane, and find peace in these crazy times.

Voting serendipity: a new bridge

For some reason, the usual place where I vote (even early, which I was determined to do this time because I expect it will be a madhouse on Tuesday) wasn't operational for early voting this time. So I went to a park nearby where the community center was open for democracy's business.

Since it was a gorgeous day, I decided to incorporate my daily walk into the citizen's duty outing. But since I have [somewhat] often walked around the park in question, I decided to head the other way, down Broadway toward downtown, since there seemed to be a nice pathway alongside the city golf course.

And, wouldn't you know it, I happened upon some public art I'd never seen, next to a rather impressive golf course clubhouse that I'd also never seen. On a previous park perambulation, I showed you some lovely tiles decorating bridges over the infant San Antonio River and its channels (you can see them here). So imagine my surprise to see their cousins on a bridge over the channel leading to the golf course. (Unfortunately, I inexplicably neglected to photograph the clubhouse; maybe next election?)

Isn't it cute how the artist incorporated the golf theme? (Click to enlarge and see all the fun details.) While keeping to the same style (although in a different color palette) as the tiles along the more well-traveled bridge (see the link above).

One of the tiles honors the gentleman to whom San Antonio owes eternal thanks for this amazing park, right in the city's heart: George Washington Brackenridge himself...

I love it when little discombobulations in one's normal routine are rewarded with the discovery of new treasures! And I like having such an immediate tangible reward for doing my civic duty.

Wordless Wednesday: any hookah-smoking characters around?

Wordless Wednesday: you know you're in Maine when...

[yes, those are lobster pots]

Winter Wonderland

Well, at least it's a wonderland if you don't have to shovel your driveway or drive on icy streets!

But if you're a tourist who gets driven around by experts, and just gets to enjoy watching Adorable Granddaughters frolic in the snow (and ice)...well, it's simply wonderful!

oldest A.G. is very experienced at getting around

the Texas A.G. was fascinated by the white stuff;
but by the bulky outerwear—not so much

future Winter Olympian trying out the ice

The last time I visited Maine in winter there was plenty of snow (and ice) on the ground, but it was all old. This time, though, I got treated to a couple of snow showers, thereby getting to experience the beauty of the new-fallen stuff on all the trees, roofs, and other surfaces within camera-shot.

Here are some samples to stoke your sense of wonder...

view thru my skylight

interesting that the manhole covers melt the snow, at least for a while

these accessories might come in handy...

We had preview of what awaited on our flight into town:

I'm not snow-struck enough to think I could live up here year-round, but it sure is fun in small doses!

Wordless Wednesday: indeed!