My San Antonio forum meet photos ~ 116 photos - Part 1
Whew, finally got them done. This is just the first thread, I'll post the other one tomorrow.
I really had a lot of fun doing the forum meet. I hope next time more people can show up. It won't be on such short notice then, so hopefully more can come.
The Vistana behind the Tower Life Building.
Note the construction worker on the roof.
A hot tub with a view (right).
Marriott Courtyard.
Vidorra.
Grand Hyatt pool deck.
Grand Hyatt lobby. It was very nice.
I really like the light fixtures.
I'm glad they built the balconies. When the hotel was built they had to demolish the old parking garage. I had always enjoyed going to the top for this view. So I'm glad they kept the view accessible.
Cathedral of San Fernando. Planning started for the cathedral in 1731. Construction lasted from 1738 to 1750. It's one of the oldest buildings in the city. It is also listed as the oldest cathedral in the United States.
The coolest McDonald's in Texas.
The Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center.
Sorry for the blur. I was having trouble dodging the finger/hand prints. There was also some bad glare from the lights inside the observation deck. It was also extremely windy up there.
And with that, my camera battery died. Thanks for looking. I'll post the other thread tomorrow.
Mark Cuban was right tho. The river does look like $hit.
I know they've spent a lot of money to buy a trash sweeper boat to sweep the cigarette butts out of the river each morning (which they named after Mayor Hardberger's wife, a backhanded compliment at best - but made more creepy as she was the most famous survivor of the 1956 Andrea Doria maritime disaster. See her wikipedia entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Morgan), and have a new UV channel the water flows through to kill off some of the bacteria. But still, cant Cheryl call up the zoo and get them to keep the hippos from crapin in the headwaters? I find it curious that it SAWS likes to blame 'stormwater runoff' as a culprit. This is the 210 we're talking about. It never rains here. Before this month we'd gone what, seven months without any real rain? That must be some hell of a runoff to keep the river dirty for seven months.
Of course if it was Caribbean clear, you'd just see the concrete bottom. I guess with it being murky, it allows the turistas the illusion that it's more than three feet deep.
I once saw a comedian at the river center comedy club talking about the river. He complimented us on it, but said he had just discovered that it was only a few feet deep and it could be drained (as is done yearly for maintenance). He then said that where he came from, something a few feet deep and drainable is called a bathtub. lol.
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"We marched five leagues over a fine country with broad plains, the most beautiful in all of New Spain. We camped on the banks of an arroyo. This I called San Antonio de Padua, because we reached it on the day of his festival." - General Domingo Teran de los Rios, June 13, 1691, in a letter to the King of Spain on the occasion of the founding of San Antonio.
There's so many awesome pictures in this thread that it was a bit overwhelming! Although my city has a lot of work to do to get where it should be, downtown has always been, and will hopefully always be sublime at street level. These pics prove that you don't even have to set foot on the riverwalk to get an appreciation for the "ugliest" big downtown in TX
That being said, I do hope tomorrow's batch includes some good riverwalk pics.
Excellent set of photos. From your shots it looks like you have a bit of an architect in you. Reminds me of the type of photos my brother-in-law, who's an architect, takes of hotels.
Of the shots, this one is my favorite. I like the grouping.
What a great set of pics! I remember the first time I saw that St. Joseph's cathedral and how they built the Rivercenter around it, literally. I took at least two or three double takes to make sure I saw what I had just seen! I haven't been a big fan of the Grand Hyatt design, however, I do like the facade with all those multi-colors. It came out a lot better than I thought it would and the interior looked pretty nice as well. Anyway, thanks for the tour, I certainly enjoyed it.
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"It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly American criminal class except Congress" - Mark Twain
Yep, Boquillas got one of ya too. I did manage to get one shot of the Grand Hyatt with you guys in it, but I wasn't sure how you guys felt about being shown in pictures, although you guys had your backs to the camera. Some forumers in the past have asked not to be shown in pictures, so I'm usually apprehensive about taking pics of forumers unless they say it's cool.
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2020 S. A. Pop 1.59 million/ Metro 2.64 million/ASA corridor 5 million Census undercount city proper. San Antonio economy and largest economic sectors. Annual contribution towards GDP. U.S. DOD$48.5billion/Manufacturing $40.5 billion/Healthcare-Biosciences $40 billion/Finance-Insurance $20 billion/Tourism $15 billion/ Technology $10 billion. S.A./ Austin: Tech $25 billion/Manufacturing $11 billion/ Tourism $9 billion.
You know, we didn't pose for a formal group photo, but...if you pay attention you might see a forumer.
If it is the Nano you're talking about with that little backpack then I think I know that dude from high school. In senior year we had a very strange English teacher.....I think his name was Mathis...not sure.
Oh dude i totally remember Mathis, the guy always seemed to be going through some sort of mid-life crisis! I believe i remember you also Daren, in fact i think you sat like right next to me for a while.... Well that makes 3 SA forumers from MacArthur.