International Accordion Festival: La Villita...

I am continually amazed when I hear of people in San Antonio whining that we have nothing to do when all that one needs is just a little opening of the mind and opening of the newspaper to find loads of fun and interesting activities - for free!

Saturday was a perfect example for my wife and I. After breakfast and a few garage sales, we opened up Friday's Weekender from the Express-News and decided that it was time for a little accordion music. We love to visit the small shops and art galleries in La Villita anyway, so why not do it accompanied by some interesting music?

Now if the first thing that comes to mind is a bunch of fat guys in lederhosen playing oompa music, then, I confess, I was sorta thinking the same thing. But as soon as we pulled into a parking lot off of South Presa Street, that whole idea was gone. We could hear really fantastic sounds bouncing off the rear exterior wall of a large hotel building at the edge of the lot which made for some kind of nice echo. But there was so much more to enjoy inside La Villita, so we headed in. We paid $7.00 for parking, but you can actually park for free if you are willing to walk a bit.Our first stop was at the Juarez Workshops. I guess the idea was, they had performers from different countries playing their music, and then a moderator who would allow the audience to interact with the act, asking questions about the style and such. Interestingly enough, this one group called Hispano Traditions (I'm not quite sure if that was the group name or the topic) had somehow found themselves in San Antonio with no clothes (I trust this was an airline issue, and not so much a lifestyle choice). Folks from the Spanish Consulate in Houston provided them with the needed apparel and the performance was allowed to go on.La Villita is all about culture and art and that sort of thing, so whenever I walk through there, of course there are tourists enjoying the shopping opportunity, but you also find the local art crowd, or those locals who just enjoy the art crowd. Because we are curious observers of those around us (Okay - let's be honest - we like to look at people and imagine the story behind the appearance), my wife and I seem to always hone in on certain species at the same time.Case in point, who would have thought this nice lady was into the whole accordion thing? We can speculate all we want and that might be wrong, but I suspect she is a Flaco Jimenez groupie.*And this fine gentleman no doubt returned from a safari in Africa and was easing himself back into life in the States. Within a few weeks, he ought to be back into a Spur's shirt and some flip-flops.*These folks are still looking for their bikes.*We moved over to the Maverick Stage (note to readers outside of San Antonio - Maverick is the name of a very famous San Antonio family, not the slogan of a presidential candidate) where we found Curtis Poullard & the Creole Zydeco Band. We really enjoyed these guys.People were moved to spontaneously dance and we sat there and really enjoyed the show. As you sit on the couch watching re-runs of America's Funniest Home Movies and sipping a beer with a plate full of Nachos, there is an entire community of people enjoying life like everyday is the last festival they'll get to attend, and they plan to make the most of it. I'm sure some of these people were inebriated tourists, but as I looked through the crowd, I couldn't help but see the happiness that some people have for something as ordinary as a guy wearing a washboard thing on his chest and keeping rhythm to the music using what looked like the ends of spoons.

One couple in particular really got into it. I can only suspect they have done this before.Common to all San Antonio fiestas and events are the booths full of fried foods, fajitas, beer, margaritas and everything else that will take years off your longevity. Good stuff!We wandered around a bit, looking through some of the art galleries and enjoying fine things we can't afford (or more accurately, aren't willing to afford). San Antonio has several different art districts with galleries and I wonder how many of the people with the "There is never anything to do" crowd have bothered to expose themselves to.We walked out of one of the galleries and noticed a huge crowd of people walking down East Nueva Street and it turned out to be a Walk-a-thon for Juvenile Diabetes. Lots of teams walking, including someone with a huge dog! Hope they brought along a huge burlap sack - just in case they need to comply with the doggie-doo law.Next, we went over to the Cos House and took a few minutes to listen to Charles Thibodeaux & the Austin Cajun Aces. They were set up on what seemed like somebodies front porch and the people loved the music. There was no dance floor, but several folks stood up where they were and danced.Just outside of that venue, the Little Church of La Villita is across the street and there was a family all wishing a freshly married couple wishes as a photographer snapped away.

From there, it was back to the Juarez stage and we really enjoyed Osvaldo Ayala and his band. These folks come complete with dancers who went out into the crowd and pulled people to come up and dance with them. It was pretty neat to see how people just go with the flow and enjoy themselves.

We ended up staying for several hours, listening to the music, watching the people and doing some shopping within the shops. The shopkeepers in La Villita are so friendly and enjoyable. I guess they are used to dealing with tourists all the time but when they talk with a local, they are just as happy to find someone from San Antonio taking the time to enjoy the things we have here.

Won't you make some time to visit downtown San Antonio? There is just so much to do on any given weekend that you can't possibly do everything - and that makes it a challenge, doesn't it? You can see the rest of the pictures and video I took on the Flickr page here.

*Just kidding.

St. Augustine Report: Historic Downtown...

This would probably be a lot better if I could write well enough to weave our little trip to St. Augustine into some sort of historical context, showing a trail of sorts of the places we visited and attaching them to significant events in the history of Florida and the oldest city in the United States, but the best I can do is just tell you what we saw and add in a few links and pictures to give you an idea of how cool St. Augustine is, and an understanding of why we must go there again.

And I'll try to avoid long-winded, run-on sentences.

First, a little background about why we went. Having spent most of my adult life in San Antonio, I consider myself a Texan - you know the kind that has the bumper sticker that reads, "I wasn't born in Texas but got here as quick as I could" - just without defacing my vehicle with the actual bumper sticker.

Anyway, my parents and most of my brothers and sisters live in Florida, near Tampa (Go Bucs!), but my maternal grandmother's family is from St Augustine. Besides being rich in family history, it is a city that my parents simply love to visit. So, this past weekend most of my family converged on the small, haunted town and though we had very little time to really explore the place, we had a great time seeing family and learning about my great-grandmother's family.

St. Augustine has an historic downtown area that is pretty much blocked off to all vehicle traffic. The older homes in the area have been converted into shops selling the usual touristy things, all sorts of arts and crafts, and loads of great restaurants, pubs and places to spend hours browsing.

In the same way that you might be able to see all of San Antonio's River Walk in a single day, but not actually visit each store and restaurant; there is no way you could fully appreciate St. Augustine's historic area in a weekend. My wife likened the area to our La Villita, full of shops that lend themselves to unexpectedly large Visa bills and luggage full of souvenirs you had no idea you needed.During our first night in St. Augustine, we met up with family in front of a small cemetery containing the crypts of some relatives of ours. Between one of my brothers and another sister, we heard the details of who it was who died, how we were related and what sightings of ghosts had been seen over the years.It was exciting and all, but when my oldest brother and his wife suggested a slice of pizza and a beer at a place called Kozmic Bluz on Spanish Street, I was in.For me, this little shop had the feel of English Pubs I visited when I lived in the UK. We found a table in a room that was so small, it only had one table! Great pizza and a friendly waiter and atmosphere. I can see how people would enjoy walking through the St. Georges area at night. The weather was great and people everywhere we went were friendly. But if you want to appreciate the architecture of the old homes and shops, you really need to see it during the daylight hours. And we did. I hope you will enjoy a few pictures of our visit to the downtown area.One of our family names is Oliveros, and along St George was Oliveros House.

My wife and I posed by it just in case any passersby wanted an autograph.  None did.

Up and down St. Georges Street, There were interesting shops including a place that really creeped me out.  This artist will take your picture and then transfer the image onto a weaved carpet of some sort.  I don't know, is it just me or does it look like either this carpet didn't work out as planned, or was the original picture of a freaky looking kid?  No offense if this is your picture or your carpet.
I happened to see two different pirates walking about.  The first one I saw, I whipped out my camera and took a picture, then felt stupid just as quick.  A couple walking behind us, obvious locals said, "Hey look, that guy took a picture of the pirate; that's something you don't see every day."  Then, after the appropriate comedic pause, the guy added, "...Unless you live here."
While we did not see a single panhandler during our stay (Are you listening San Antonio Chamber of Commerce?), there was an abundance of street performers.  This guy was playing the harmonica so we walked up to him and listened for a minute then tossed a buck in his coconut.  Just then, he paused in his song and said "Thanks. I'm Coconut Bob as seen on Mad-TV!" then popped himself on his head to make a weird coconut sound and went on playing.  Too funny.  Yea, I looked on Google and did not find any such character.
In some factions, calling someone a Cracker is considered offensive.  In St Augustine, it is a restaurant.
If you are thinking about checking out St. Augustine but worried about the long walks around, they do have several trolley systems where you pay a fee (like $20.00 or so) and you can ride around the town on the trolley, then jump off wherever you choose to shop, then get back on later.  We didn't partake of it, but it does seem like a good idea.  By the way, we found parking to be plentiful, though not free.  On Saturday, we paid $7.00 to park all day which is very reasonable.If you want to try another way to get around, you can do what my brother and his wife did and bring along bikes.  They really could get around and there were plenty of places to lock up the bikes when they felt the urge to walk.
Like when we stopped at the Rendezvous, home of the largest selection of imported beer in the city.
Again with the feel of a small pub, the waitress was very nice and beer-knowledgeable.Whereas my brother was prepared to try lots of exotic things, I went with a known entity, the Boddigntons Pub Ale - which by the way was outstanding.

Suffice it to say, if you like San Antonio, you will love St. Augustine.  Plus, there is a beach.  I could write more and more on this (and may), but my wife has cautioned me that I am entirely too long winded.  Therefore, I'll leave it here for a bit.