san antonio trip report
 

My 13 year old daughter and I were in San Antonio 7-14/7-18 for a national dance competition--seems like we crammed a lot into those four days but still missed many things on my to-do list. Thanks to all of you for helpful tips before our trip.

Hotel: We stayed at the Crowne Plaza Riverwalk since my daughter danced at the nearby Municipal Auditorium. The auditorium was only a 5 minute walk from the hotel so that part was perfect. Sadly, the hotel was a fair distance from everything else. Next time I'd stay at the Marriott and taxi to the auditorium. The Crowne Plaza was nice but beware of rooms ending in '15.' We were in 515 for one night and the bed and showerhead literally vibrated from the elevator. Switched the next day to another room and all was well. The problem is that the elevators are located right in the middle of the hotel so many rooms have elevator noise--think they need to do some work on their elevators :-)

Restaurants/bars: Crowne Plaza had a great breakfast buffet plus a Starbuck's right in the lobby. They also had a sports bar plus a regular bar--all employees that we ran into were extremely courteous and helpful. Ate one night at Joe's Crab Shack on the Riverwalk and Hard Rock on the Riverwalk another night (remember, we were traveling with teenage girls!). One night another Mom and I ate at Luciano's Ristorante at the Rivercenter Mall while the girls were busy. For a 'mall restaurant,' the food was outstanding. Had a seafood pasta dish that I'll be craving again until our next visit. The last night we ventured away from the tourist area (on the advice of our concierge) and took a taxi to La Focaccia Italian Grill south of downtown. Authentic Italian food in a neighborhood restaurant atmosphere. Probably the best meal of the trip--this place is a gem. For lunch, we did the Mi Tierra tourist thing one day. Good food but strangely enough, Rosario's at the San Antonio airport had better food! Yes, it's true. Really really good Mexican food--at the airport. Terminal 2, I believe. I live in an area with massive numbers of authentic Mexican restaurants and Rosario's ranks right up there.

Activities: Our entire group 'did' Seaworld one day. I hate theme parks with a passion (but I'm only telling you Fodorites, since that almost seems un-American) but my daughter and the rest of the girls loved it. Actually, it's a great park and it was fun having the small water park attached to it.

I'm a total history buff and couldn't wait to show my daughter the Alamo. When my husband and I went five years ago, watching the IMAX movie on the Alamo then visiting the place itself brought me to tears. I forget what it's like to be 13, though...somehow we never did make it to the Alamo. Had the best of intentions but with two full days of dance competition schedule combined with the Alamo movie schedules, it just never happened. That is a huge regret for me but there will be other trips when she appreciates it more, I'm sure. This trip was all about dancing, friends, swimming and other fun stuff :-)

Anyhow, it was a great trip--sooooooooooo humid down there!!!!!!! My skin felt like butter and I didn't use lotion or chapstick once (my hair, on the other hand, has seldom looked worse!). Now we're back in 10% humidity and our skin is undergoing massive shock!

Glad it worked out OK for you, Tess. And if you liked the Rosario's outpost at the airport, next time visit the main locaion which is just a half block from La Focaccia.
Too bad you've left town already, or you could join the first San Anonio Fodorite GTG Thursday evening at 7 at the Liberty Bar on Josephine Street!

Sounds like you had a great trip!

Since you like history, do the Mission Trail next time. You will need a car. My husband is also a history buff, and the loves to visit all of the missions, especially San Jose.

Hey, I want to know how the competition went! ;-) Rain, glorious much needed rain is the reason for the high humidity right now--it's not always this bad. But the older I get, the more my skin dries out so I say bring it on! :-) Glad you enjoyed a good trip, Tess.

How was the competition? We do nationals in Arlington, Tx; it is convenient, but this year the judging was really wacko.

The competition was great--it's Showstoppers and they do a well-run event (compared to a few others we've experienced). My daughter's group brought home several first place trophies and some overall awards, so they were happy. They also found out that two of their dances will be featured on the nationals' video, so that was kinda neat.

Overall, I thought the judging was tough but fair. A group from California swept all of the top top overalls--they were phenomenal. We heard they practice 6-8 hours a DAY! Don't think that's the lifestyle I want for my daughter but it was glorious watching them perform.

Have a great time at the San Antonio GTG--HATE HATE HATE to miss it! I would have worn my Fodor's pin proudly (took it with me to New York several years ago and my family teased me unmercifully :-) )

Just wanted to tell the OP that last night we had a dance company parents' meeting and the company coordinator was saying that next year we might do nationals in San Antonio!

missypie,

Fun! It was a good experience for our girls--and a little bit of a reality check. One of their dances won 1st place overall at regionals this year and only 8th at nationals. Now they're pumped to work even harder come fall. Just found out that DD's dance studio is raising tuition--let's see--6 classes a week times $$$$$$ each month plus all the shoes, costumes, recital fees, competition fees, etc. etc. etc. It's a darn good thing this girl loves dance! When I see the girls' grace and beauty on stage though, it's worth it, especially since I'm more of the klutz variety--LOL.

Is it a Showstoppers' competition that you'll be attending? Oh, I'm trying to figure out--what's the OP?

OP is the "original post" or the "original poster."