Charlie Mack's Granddaughters do San Antonio!

Ok... I'm late as hell with this post. My apologies, cuz'ns! (Pic: Keisha, Me, Catrice, Anita, and Kim)

Well, we did it again! We celebrated our 2nd annual Charlie Mack’s Granddaughter’s weekend in San Antonio, Texas, and you know what? We had a ball!!!

Now I know what you're thinking... Why San Antonio?! And why in July?! Most of us were thinking the same thing before the trip, but afterwards we were saying, "Why NOT San Antonio in July?!"

Prior to leaving for this trip, I thought San Antonio was just a big dust bowl with nothing to do. Wow was I ever wrong. Thanks to my sister, Anita, who was our event planner for the trip, we had a non-stop, action packed, whirlwind of a trip. Our itinerary included the following:

Friday

• Arrival in San Antonio!
  
• Pickup rental - The Ford Explorer was almost too small for us and all our luggage. We packed like girls...LOL
  
• Grocery shopping - We girls need our snacks...and drinks.
• Arrival at Homewood Suites Hilton at San Antonio Riverwalk - Complimentary hot/cold breakfast everyday and the beds were soooo comfortable.
• Stroll down the Riverwalk - It's absolutely BEAUTIFUL...and long.
• Casa Rio - The margaritas are sublime and pack a powerful kick. I highly recommend!
• Pedicures!
• Chillin' with the cuz'ns back at the hotel

Saturday

• Morning jog/walk on the Riverwalk - Hmm...this was Anita's idea.
• Market Square - Shopping!
• La Magarita - Margaritas were WEAK! Very disappointed. Food was good though.
• Another stroll on the Riverwalk - Yeah, again! I told you it was long. It's actually quite awesome, with tons of restaurants and shops.
• More chillin' back at the hotel

Sunday

• KENDRA!!! - Who knew there were Dixon's in San Antonio?! We met up with our cuz'n, Kendra, who recently moved there.
• Riverwalk Tour - It's still the Riverwalk, but this time by boat.
• Dick's Last Resort - None of us had ever been before but we had heard about it. Let's just say this isn't the type of place you want to go to if you insist on "good service", polite wait staff, and not being forced to wear a paper condom on your head with words that say "Sex Toy Instructor". It was definitely an experience, and a lot of sophomoric fun. Shout out to our waiter, Eric! Oh, if you want to eat alligator, try the Gator Bites. I did. Um...let's just say it DIDN'T taste like chicken...LOL
• River Center Comedy Club - The opening comedian was funny but his black jokes got a little tiring after a while (especially when we were the only blacks in the club!). I guess it was payback for black comedians singling out the lone white audience member. Anyway, Tom Rhodes, the headliner, was great, and the appetizers and drinks were surprisingly good.

Monday

• Horseback riding!!! - This was by far the best thing we did during our entire trip. We spent 2 hours horseback riding through Texas Hill Country, and it was absolutely great. I highly recommend the BR Lightning Ranch, located just outside of Bandera, Texas, the Cowboy Capital of the World. Thanks to Cowboy Mark and the horses: Red, Junior, Pal, Rodney, and Copper for a great experience.
• Texarita - Everything is definitely big in Texas! We discovered this when we had lunch at Texarita. This is the only place I know that offers an entree with your sides...your up to 5 sides!!! Yeah, we ate like queens and the food was YUMMY! Unfortunately, the margaritas were just ok, but still a great experience.
• Alamo - What can I say? It's the Alamo. I signed the guest book so someone one day will know I was there... LOL
• Tower of the Americas - I don't usually have a problem with heights, but this place made me extremely nauseous. Me no likey at all. Way overrated and the 4D show was budget, booty, and a waste of my hard earned money. Hmph!

Tuesday

• LaVillita - Cute cultural arts center with shops containing the artists' wares, like jewelry, weaved clothing, scents, souvenirs, etc. Wish I made the big bucks to be able to purchase some of the artwork.
• Leave for Home

Since this was a weekend (a long weekend) for my sisters, cousins, and I to get together to reconnect with each other and appreciate the special relationship we have, I'm taking the liberty to share some of my reflections on what I learned about them and me during this trip.

• Apparently I'm a whiner and instigator. I plan to work on this. (Don't laugh!)
• Keisha is not just loud. She's really LOUD!!!
• Kim is her sister's keeper, and a diva who will seriously rock a blouse and designer jeans while horseback riding...but I'm not hating or anything...LOL
• Catrice doesn't like the word "bitch" and she's serious, ya'll! Oh, and since she's gone completely natural, it's clear that she inherited the Jarman hair, and, yes, I AM hating!
• Anita is not bossy after a few drinks. We need to get her liquored up more often. :-) She was rocking a serious short cockatoo-like hair style at the comedy club. It was the hotness! (And, yes, I just compared her hair style to an exotic bird...LOL)
• We are Dixons and we argue and we love each other, despite the fact that we argue and when we finish arguing, we play Spades and get over whatever it was we were arguing about...until we bring it up 2 days later and argue about it again. :-P
• We SERIOUSLY MISSED those of you (Erica, Danielle, Kaci, and Tiffanie) who could not make this trip. Next year's trip will not happen unless ALL OF US are there. That's the point of the weekend, right? 100% participation in 2009, ladies!
• My sisters and cousins love each other something serious, and Grandma Charlie Mack would be soooo proud!
  

I'm looking forward to next year's trip...which I hope will be somewhere in the Caribbean!

Smooches!