I left the frigid spring in Connecticut last Monday for the warm, dry and colorful city of San Antonio, Texas – almost John Howell country. The week was a mix of meetings, learning, eating, drinking and a little sightseeing. I’ll be dribbling photos and bits of the experience in, over the next few blog posts (and several Thursday Doors posts), but to keep this closer to one-line, I’ll keep this one simple.
That said, this one-liner is really a snippet of conversation – when will you stop expecting me to change? Seriously, I think you’ll understand. Our snippet takes place at a welcome reception for some people attending either the Board Meeting or the pre-conference tutorial sessions. It was held on the 4th floor pool deck and we were baking in the hot afternoon sun. Notice that I didn’t say ‘basking’ in the sun. Nope, we were baking. And, as much as I am ready for spring, I wasn’t ready for August.
I meandered up to the bar for some relief, where this bit of dialog played out between me and the soon-to-be-heavily-tipped bartender:
“What can I get you?”
“I’ll have a Dos Equis.”
“You want it as is, or dressed?”
“Dressed?”
“Dressed – San Antonio style. With lime and salt.”
“San Antonio style sounds good to me.”
“Would you want Mexican San Antonio style?”
“Mexican San Antonio style?”
“Dressed with lime and spiced salt.”
“That sounds interesting, I’ll give that a try.”
Oh, my goodness. The spiced salt was so good, I was licking the side of the can by the time I got to the end of the beer. I need to see if I can find some spiced salt to bring Cheryl at the bar on Saturday. Send that Corona out for a lime and bring her back nicely dressed.
This post is part of Linda G. Hill’s fun weekly series One-Liner Wednesday. If you have a one-liner, I’d encourage you to join in on the fun. You can follow this link to participate and to see the one-liners from the other participants.
No Facilities 
Oh my, 31C!!! I think we had 25 around here as the maximum this year and it felt hot already. I must try to explain to my beer-loving and -manufacturing uncle what they do with beers in San Antonio. Salt! Never seen before. Looking forward to all the doors!
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That beer was so good. It would have been better in a glass, but no glass allowed on the pool deck. Still – yum. It was hot!
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What a pleasant change for you. Never heard of spiced salt, but guess that’s logical in Texas. Hope Mattie enjoyed the snow while you were gone.
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I was ready for 75-80 – I wasn’t ready for 90. We’re all pretty tired of seeing snow. I think we’re all ready to sit in the sun.
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After looking up “spiced salt” I realize I call it “seasoning salt”. I hadn’t thought of using it with beer before but in my mind I can imagine it tasting pretty good.
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It was so good, Frank. I was totally surprised, but I think it’s going to happen again. Yep, pretty sure of that.
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It’s been too long since I’ve been to San Antonio, but I’ve been there several times and enjoyed each visit, well, except for the summer humidity. Heat is good, high humidity not so much. But, I envy your view of spring because it’s still going to be a while until we enjoy it up here. I think the Editor likes you. :-)
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Thanks Judy – Yeah, I thin the Editor likes me, she treats me pretty well. In addition to the MiniMoos, she bought coffee bags, because she knows I hate Starbucks. If the hotel has a Kuerig, she sends me off with a box of Dunkin K-Cups.
It wasn’t humid this visit, but I can imagine it getting uncomfortable. Still, with cold beers and Margaritas available every few yards, I might be able to cope ;)
I don’t need 90, but I could handle 65-70 pretty well right now.
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I have promised myself that I will get to the AIIM conference one of these years – I now have another reason – I might feature in one of Dan’s Bar conversations :-)
Next year – definitely next year.
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We should definitely take the bar on the road. Next year’s conference in is San Diego!
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Hot? I’d settle for warm! The only baking being done around here is in my oven! We had a blizzard this weekend with SNOW! IN APRIL! They actually suggested people stay home on Sunday! ARGH!!!
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I’m so sorry, Pam. We must have done something to tick-off MS Nature. Maybe it was those two 70-degree days in February. Let’s hope we’ve seen the last of the white stuff.
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Check this out and see what I meant in the photo of the men hanging the sign – https://katytrailcreations.com/2018/04/18/pinwheel-square-atoz/
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We are not as warm as Texas but we are getting there!
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That means I’m jealous – Texas was a little too warm for me.
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I haven’t been to San Antonio since I was a child and that was a very long time ago! I’d love to go again, but I’d rather not experience the change in temperature you describe. However, as I get ready to go out for a walk when it’s 30 and feels like 24, I could use a bit of that heat, at least the early morning type.
janet
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I hadn’t been since the early 80s (long after I was a child) but this was the first time I was able to get out and about. I went for a walk, leaving my hotel a little before 7:00 am, and I was wearing shorts – I’m sorry, Janet, but I had to share that.
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That’s OK, Dan. I forgive you. 😱🤪😢😎
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Salt and beer sounds, to my mind, like salted caramel… a very strange mix. But if you enjoyed it… :)
A lot of Texans read and comment in my blog so I’m becoming used to the… er… unusual.
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Thanks Val. I do like salted caramel, so maybe it’s me. That beer was oh so good.
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I’m with you Dan. As much as I want spring and warm temperatures to arrive – and STAY – 90 degrees is too much too soon. Basking is good, baking not so much!
Great collection of interesting photos. But the best is the last. Mama and her newborns in the water picking up colorful reflections. Perfect.
Spring still ignoring us. Yesterday we were treated to sleet and snow flurries and wind.
Sounds like the Editor thinks you’re a keeper! Lucky you! 😃
🔹Ginger🔹
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Thanks Ginger. I’m glad you agree, but could deal with some basking. The wind here yesterday was awful. it was so cold.
The Editor treats me pretty well. I hope I’m a keeper. We’ll have to see what happens when I’m home 24/7 (hopefully she’s not reading this comment).
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Fun pics, Dan. That’s an interesting looking tower going up. With that name, I hope nobody tries to deport the “La Antorcha de la Amistad”…
Okay, so the “dressed” beer was sounding pretty good until you let it slip that it was in the can. I pictured a lovely frosted glass. But when you’re baking in the sun, who cares? Right? Besides, I’m intrigued by the spiced salt! Hugs.
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Thanks Teagan. Yeah, let’s hope the tower isn’t classified as a bad hombre.
I had to come clean with the beer in the can, because I included a photo. It was pretty good, but clearly, frosted glass, rimmed with spiced salt would be better. I’ll be looking for one of those pretty soon.
I was impressed that the bartender was willing to work with it in a can, and he did a great job.
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The dressed beer does look good, Dan. That would go great with fish tacos…at least that’s what my head and tummy are telling me. Yum.
Glad you were able to enjoy some heat, green foliage, and a conference that you really, really like.
You travel with mini-moos and I travel with Stevia packets. We do what we have to do to live, right? Similar to not stopping with just one line…
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Ha ha – I think you’re right, Mary – we do what we have to do. One line just doesn’t work.
I have become quite a fan of fish tacos, and I’m thinking that that nicely dressed beer would work well with them. There’s nothing like bringing two good things together.
Here’s hoping we get to enjoy some local heat and green foliage before another month goes into the “it’s history” bin.
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I’ll be enjoying more heat after today. Sunny and 48 tomorrow, then rising into next week. Once we get over the lakes and streams produced from the snow melt, we’ll be fine.
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San Antonio also has chorizo omelets and ribs that look like they came off a dinosaur, don’t tell anyone, but the gates of heaven are found somewhere near there.
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I can see that, thanks! I’ll be looking for one of those omelets right after St. Peter checks my name on the manifest.
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We so enjoyed the ten years we spent in San Antonio. Has to be the biggest little small town in the US. Thanks for the tour. In a pinch, you can dress your beer with Fajita seasoning.
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I was surprised, John. It’s actually the 7th largest city in the US. It looks like a great place to live, although the heat would be an issue (not a big fan).
Thanks for the tip, I’m going to snag some Fajita seasoning before it gets warm here. Of course, by the looks of it, I have until June, easy.
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Ha haha. After the second year there, we finally got used to the heat. It does take getting used to for sure. Here at the coast we are at least ten degrees cooler.
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Wow. I always forget that about the coast.
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Very seldom get to 90 degrees.
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I like San Antonio and some of your pics did remind me of my visits there. It’s better to visit away from holidays since the canal area can be too packed. But this is a small town that works hard at keeping history visible through modern convenience. And the weather can give a break to a New Englander, for sure.
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Thanks Evelyne. If I was trying to get away from New England for a warmer city, I think I would go here instead of Florida. We’re not beach people, so this might work. I can imagine it getting pretty crowded. Our conference is small (800 people) by comparison to many, but it’s a lively crowd.
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It looks like a work in progress 😊 goes to show ya even men can make a quilt. Even though it’s just painted.
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If I had taken a video, you would see that they are simply applying pre-printed sections. They added one while I was watching, and it included about 9 squares. Fast quilting, but it did make me think of your A-to-Z posts.
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That’s pretty cool!
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Cheryl will love it.
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I’m pretty sure she will :)
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Like how the fence made that plane or helicopter look like it’s polka dots!
Yep Texas can be hot! (Went to college in that state and my first experience of culture shock when going off the plane at midnight I was wondering why they had the heat on in the middle of the summer. Only to find out when going outside, that it really was the air conditioning:)
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The polka dots are from the windows in the airport. A lot of airports have that glass. I’m not sure why or what it is. Perhaps it’s a partial masking to reduce the heat gain, since there’s nothing to block the sun.
My daughter and I traveled through Dallas once very early in the morning in August. We had to walk through a connecting hallway between terminals and it felt like we stepped into an oven. It was already well over 90 degrees.
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Have not been at many airports in the US, but in other places I’ve never noticed that kind of glass (of course it also could have been jetlag that I didn’t see it).
Looking forward for more pics of San Antonio!
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oooo – did you manage to snag any of that heat and bring it home?! I’ll be happy to wave good-bye to this ice and snow for a LOOOOONG time.
I liked San Antonio. It was a great place to visit – in the late fall when it wasn’t hot 🙂 … but I never had a Mexican dressed beer. It was margaritas all the way!
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I did enjoy several margaritas – I mean “when in Rome…” I tried my best to gather as much heat as possible, but it doesn’t feel like I was successful.
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I LOVE San Antonio, and that Mexican-San-Antonio beer looks like my kinda gal. Did you get the brand of spiced salt they used?
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I did not. I’m sorry. I’m a failure 🙁
It was quite good.
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I always did that with Tecate, and we just used regular salt. What’s “spiced” salt?
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I’m not sure what the spices were but it had a little bit of heat. A very nice mix.
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Sounds yummy! Also, sorry you baked. I bake, too. On the rare occasion I bask in sunshine, I fear I am getting old/turning into my mother/am about to experience psychosis so I panic and snarl. lol
Great photos — looks like fun even if too hot, and with TWO cranes, dual cranes, wow!
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It is a wonderful event, and it was very successful this year so everyone was happy. Only baked the one day, and only for about an hour. But still, don’t like baking. Two cranes, always a bonus!
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Hi Dan – I’ve put San Antonio on my bucket list … but do understand the heat differences … we’re still at 10 – 12 here (deg C) … but it is warming up … sounds like a great conference if there’s only 800 people … tolerable … cheers Hilary
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Thanks Hilary – 800 is a good number for this conference. We like the family atmosphere and we like being able to hold it in a hotel as opposed to a Convention Center.
I’m not sure I could deal with San Antonio much closer to the summer. Mid 80s (28-29c) is about as high as I want to go.
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Yup – can understand that … I’d be there in the Spring or Autumn should I ever visit … when I came back from SA – we’d had a hot summer there, and then the UK had a hot summer … I was wilting and desperate for a change in the weather – now I think I’ll take the heat mostly!!! Cheers H
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[…] “Maybe just your blog, but I remember the spiced salt, so I made some for you.” […]
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I have a Texas friend at work who actually lived there a long time until her parents brought the family to Ohio where her grandparents lived (gone but mentioned often.) Anyway, she wished I would head that direction to go on the San Antonio river walk and go to Gruene (pronounced “green”) where casinos, wineries and cafes celebrate music. It is like that Micky (I forget) saloon where famous singers perform and hang out. I’ll now look that up since I don’t trust my comment while I open another tab, I’ll be back. . . 🙂
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Ha ha. I trust your comments, Robin but I chuckled at your going to check it. I would do that too. The Riverwalk looked like a great place to hang out. I had dinner there with a friend and I took the barge tour.
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Mickey Gilley’s or Gilley’s in Pasadena. It was featured in “Urban Cowboy” movie with John Travolta and Debra Wingard. The state is huge and my friend thinks I would love the change of pace. But I don’t know a would there, well at least. Yes, I do recognize John Howell and his book is my next book review in May. (If I get it read in time! 😉)
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Texas is enormous. I’ve been in Dallas and now San Antonio but never anywhere in between. I look forward to your review. I love John’s book but I never know what to say in a review.
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“would” was morphed from not knowing a “soul.”
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