Greetings, landlubbers, sailors, RVers, and dog lovers. It is me, Karl. Today I come to you from the windy and wild hill country of Tehas to tell you about my recent trip to downtown San Antonio.
Mom and Dad asked me where I wanted to go, because as you know, I make the decisions around here. I said, let’s go somewhere with some history. Somewhere with some heart. Mom and Dad had a lot of ideas, and when they mentioned the Alamo, I knew right away that had to be the one.
We waited until a Saturday so Mom could take some time off from working, and we all packed up and headed south. We are currently parked near Marble Falls. It is a great area. Nice smells, lots of deer, giant turkeys, and another Shep is parked right down the street. There is also a cat here, but I don’t want to talk about that. Every neighborhood has its blights.
That Saturday, we packed up early, right after breakfast. Sister, of course, gobbled hers up like she hadn’t eaten in days. I refused to eat. Mom had to hand feed me piece by piece, and I still only ate a handful. It amuses me, and it gives her something to do. It is our special time together.
Once we were on the road, Dad put down the window so I could sniff the cool country air. Everything smelled amazing. The day was bright and sunny, everything a Shep could dream of. Those are two of my favorite things about Tehas: the sun and the smells. There are a lot of both.
I sat and watched the countryside fly by. Mom calls it ShepTV. I call it amazing. We passed some towns and a lot of open road, and then Dad said we were getting close to San Antonio. Before long, we were driving around looking for a parking spot. Most of the parking garages were wide open, but Mom decided we should keep looking for the cheapest option, because apparently driving in circles for an hour is more economical than just parking and enjoying what we came here for.
Mom. I need out of this van. NOW.
I started to whine and bounce around in the back of the van. My van. Have I told you about my van? We call her Vandy. My parents bought her especially for me and Sister Sugar. After we sold our boat, they didn’t own a car, so Mom and Dad said they wanted something comfortable for us Sheps. They found a van with removable seats, took out the middle row, and put a bed there instead. That is where Sister and I ride. It is the Shepmobile.
When we finally parked, it was inside a building. Very strange. I have parked near a house before, but never inside a giant building. When I got out of the van, excited and bouncing, I noticed something. My whine came back to me. Was someone else also excited? I looked at Mom.
“It’s an echo, Karl.”
Hmm. I whined again. It came back again. Very cool. So then I barked. It came back. I twirled in a circle. Bark. Bark. Twirl. Twirl. Dad laughed. “Come on, you goofball. Let’s go.”
When we left what I learned was called a parking garage, there were men crowding the sidewalks. Everywhere we walked, someone was offering to help us. Dad kept saying “No thanks,” but they would keep asking and follow us anyway. Rude. After a while he told Mom it was irritating. I agreed.
We had to walk a bit to get to the Alamo. Sister didn’t like all the people and was getting nervous and scared. She was too scared to even bark. Dad looked at me and said, “Close.” I leaned into his right leg and walked in stride with him. At the next corner, a man approached us. I stood tall, my best guard dog look. Dad said no thanks. The guy looked at me. I looked right back at him. He said thank you and left. Dad said, “Good boy.”
I can growl too, but that would be rude. I don’t go there unless I have to. Leave my people alone and I will leave you alone.
The Alamo was, as Mom said, amazing.
I couldn’t go inside, but I sniffed the fence and it smelled very special. I liked the look of it too. Very official. I met a state trooper. He was very official as well. I let him pet my head. He was impressed with me. As he should be. I mostly ignored the crowd, and Sister sat with Mom under a tree and watched from a safe distance. She does fine as long as she doesn’t have to get too close.
Next, we walked down to the Riverwalk. It was fascinating. I wanted to go swimming, but Dad said no. Rude. He wouldn’t let me chase the birds either, which is technically part of my job. Birds do not belong on a boat, an RV, or an Alaskan water tank, but apparently they are allowed to freely contaminate the Riverwalk. If Dad had unhooked my leash and let me handle it, I would have put a stop to the whole operation.
The Riverwalk had top notch smells. Food and funk, all together. I could have stayed for hours, sniffing and strolling. I touched my face to everything within reach. Finally Dad said it was time to go, and we headed back toward the street because Mom wanted to see the market.
We walked a ways, and Sugar was starting to look tired. When we got to the market, Mom said it was the old historic market. Right away, I noticed it looked like the markets in Meheho. I will tell you about when I lived in Meheho later. Oh, the smells. We walked around outside while Mom and Dad took turns popping into the shops. Dad got out our water bottles and we all sat down for a drink. We always travel prepared. Sheps get overheated easily, especially big old girls like Sugar. And it was warm, it is Tehas after all.
We had a great time at the market, and before we knew it, it was time to head back to Vandy. Dad declared it lunchtime. I agreed completely.
We piled back into the van and headed to the north side of town to a Thai restaurant Mom had found online. I know all about Thai food. I am an adventurous dog. I have had it before and I like it. They have great vegetables. I love cucumbers. Those count as Thai food, right? I also had a pea pod. Dad picked up the food and we found a little park. We sat at a picnic table, ate, and had plenty of water. Mom also had our favorite dog cookies, pumpkin flavor. I will do nearly anything for one of those things. So good.
Next, Mom wanted to visit a used bookstore she used to go to when she was in school. My mom went to college in Tehas! She lived here a long time ago. Lucky! Dad, Sister, and I walked around outside and waited. She bought a few boat books and some paperbacks. Did I tell you we are going to buy a new sailboat? Yep. We are heading back to the high seas.
After the bookstore, we agreed we had been in town long enough and headed home. We stopped in Johnson City, childhood home of Lyndon B. Johnson, an old president, and bought some milk. We were out because I drank it all. Dad uses it to bribe me into eating my breakfast. He puts it on my kibble to trick me into eating, but sometimes I just lick off the milk and leave the soggy kibble behind. Heheheh. Sometimes I eat it all, just to give him a break. Today wasn’t his day, though.
San Antonio gets four paws up. Another great day out and about with my family. Well done, Tehas.
Karl out.