I had to make a short trip downtown today and thought, what the heck, I haven't looked over the side of the bridge in a while and perhaps it would be a good to take a look at the latest construction of our new River Walk extension. From my vantage point at the bridge on McCullough and St Mary's, here are a few pictures.
Oh and before I forget, there were actual tourists (or attractively dressed homeless people with cameras) walking along the walk, even though the water is still being diverted. When you see actual people on the sidewalk, you get a better appreciation for the size. I know in looking back at the pictures, I have occasionally thought that the project seems much smaller.
This is the view looking toward Alamo Heights. I have liked the style of this project all along. I like that not each set of steps looks the same and there are constant curves along the way. As it goes along, I enjoy the finishing touches too. You can't see it from here, but it looks up close like they have done some good work in welding the handrails and such. 
These views are looking toward downtown. I like the look of the street lamps and can see the landscaping starting to come in - in spite of our recent cold snap. I know, it is tough to handle 50 degrees in the morning.
For as long as I can recall, two things that I have never really participated in during the Thanksgiving season are Cranberry Sauce and Sweet Potatoes. Now, through the brilliance of getting older and being bold enough to be polite and eat stuff that people offer me, I have come to discover that I am digging me some of the aforementioned vittles.
This Thanksgiving, I plan to make both dishes to take to my Mother-in-law's house, but I'm afraid I'll need a recipe. I have the required items (a can of Cranberry Sauce and a bunch of raw sweet potatoes), now I need a good recipe to work with, so quickly, send me your favorite or leave a comment so others can enjoy your family secret.
After what seemed to be years, I mean, really, years from the time they purchased the land at the now booming intersection of 1604 and FM 471 or Culebra Road if you prefer, the Jim's restaurant finally opened this week and this morning, my wife and I got some!
If you live anywhere within the vicinity of the greater Alamo Ranch area, you are no doubt giddy with excitement over all the new stores and restaurants we have. But the wider selection did not stop the crowds eager for a breakfast fix, and we waded through soccer teams, churchgoers and people with hangovers to get what is really the equivalent of Denny's but with much better service. (Of course, I don't do Denny's anymore, so how could I know?).
While we waited, in the spacious and comfortable holding pen, many people chatted with fellow patrons regarding all the new stores and restaurants; those already open like Olive Garden, Mama Margie's and of course the Starbucks, and those planned, such as Red Robin, Chick-a-lay (as we call it) and of course the new IHOP under construction. I suspect that once the initial thrill of having a Jim's (and eventually an IHOP) close by where people don't have to make the torturous trip up the bottleneck at Braun and 1604 to get to another suitable place to eat, the crowds will die down, but for now it was jam-packed and they kept the wait very reasonable.
After the promised 15 minute wait, we were seated and commenced to look at the menu for something suitable to eat. Although it was already close to noon, we had nothing but breakfast on our minds. Our waitress was lickity split with the menus and off to grab waters and coffee. Considering that there was never a single table, booth or bar stool open for longer than it took to clean off dirty plates and seat the next hungry crowd, I'd say the staff (probably many of them new to the Jim's system) were firing on all cylinders. My wife did a quick count of just the visible staff and she saw 25 folks. That means many more in the kitchen pumping out eggs, bacon and pancakes and lots of folks to serve them up to eager aspiring triple-bypass cases.
My wife ordered the Southern Pecan Pancakes, eggs (over easy) and bacon. She also got a side of hash browns which we shared. Oh, who am I kidding, I ate her eggs as well as mine because the pecan pancakes overwhelmed her.
She started on the pancakes and simply could not stop eating them to even try the bacon, eggs or hash browns. She didn't eat a third of the cakes before commencing the Happy Dance and declaring them superior to Magnolia Pancake Haus (I know, those are strong words.)
I had the Texas Two-Step Breakfast which is buttermilk cakes with eggs over-easy, bacon, and juice. I'll put Jim's buttermilk pancakes up against any one's. My eggs were a little harder than "over easy" and the bacon seemed a little jacked-up in my mind, but that didn't stop me from dipping it in egg yolk and tossing it down my gullet a piece at a time. I have to be honest; if we had been at home, I would have picked up the plate and licked it, but that sort of thing really pisses off my wife.
I can't describe the issue with the bacon. It looked great, tasted fairly normal and my wife had no complaints with hers. Maybe it was all the syrup and orange juice that caused some sort of taste bud situation. Who knows?
At the end of the day, let's not lose perspective here; it was breakfast at a diner. Reasonable price, great service especially given the crowd, and outstanding pancakes. The new Jim's in Alamo Ranch gets the Tasty Treat in their first week, and you can't beat that.
We'll keep an eye on them to see if they go all Denny's on us. Tell me how your visit to Jim's went.
My wife and I made the short trip down to the Lodge of the Great Northwest to attend the monthly open Board meeting of the Great Northwest Community Improvement Association (GNWCIA). I'll keep the notes brief, or at least I'll try to! What a doozy!
Residents to Speak:
- One resident made a brief presentation regarding some procedural errors in the budget. His comments were accompanied by several pages of information explaining in greater detail the errors and how to correct them. There was nothing to suggest that anyone was doing anything illegal or anything like that, but based on the specific procedures, these were errors that could (and have been noted in the past) in an audit. If you'd like more details on this issue, I'd be happy to put you in touch with the resident.
- Another resident is concerned about graffiti and vandalism and suggests the board make efforts to have the city tear down the skate park at Oscar Perez Memorial Park. He is concerned that the District 6 Council member (Delicia Herrera) is of no use (to which I must confess, I concur), and he also has issues with the GNW Security Staff (to which I disagree with many of his concerns). This gentleman has witnessed a lot of stuff and has confronted people. He has been threatened with violence to which the SAPD has been unable to take action on. The guy is fed up and rightfully so.
- Another gentleman had a few negative words about security which were completely without basis. His complaint was that security was not taking action against deed restriction violations. Simply put; not a security task, and in fact, they are not authorized to take DRACO actions like the resident was asking for.
- A final resident spoke to praise the security staff and to advise the board of e-mails that had been making the rounds regarding false allegations about our security staff. While I was not a recipient of said e-mails, of course I have seen at least one of them and can verify that yes, as the gentleman claimed, racial epithets were used to describe some residents, and further, I am aware first hand (being part of the GNWatch) that some of the accusations in the e-mails against the security staff are completely without merit.
Community Manager Report:
- If you have seen the "improvements" taking place over on Timber Spring in Silver Creek, remain calm. The nice gentleman doing the work was not aware of our deed restrictions and is cooperating fully with the staff and the city to see what is allowable and what isn't. Having driven by the house in question, you'd think the guy was on that Ty Pennington show where they come and do a complete super sized make-over. Columns. Very grand.
Security: - You can call the GNW Security for stray and vicious dogs, but you still need to call 3-1-1 (or try 207 SAPD). When you call our staff, just remember, they don't have guns and they don't have a kennel.
Recreation:
- Our rec director has resigned to pursue educational opportunities in the nursing field. Eva and I wish Stephanie the best of luck!
DRACO:- Jose will be filling in as Rec Director and continuing to monitor the house on Timber Stream!
Maintenance: - The lodge is going to get a new coat of paint on the inside starting next week. We can only hope that Fred and the staff will use a good oil-based paint on the baseboards and trim. And let's hope it isn't yellow.
Unfinished Business:- The 2009 Budget was unanimously approved by the board (and corrections as described by the concerned resident were apparently made prior to the meeting).
New Business:- A motion was made to set the new assessment at $222.00 for 2009 and it was approved without discussion. This is the same as the current assessment.
And that was the official meeting. As the 17 residents who showed up to watch the board meeting vacated the building so the board could convene the closed session, I spoke with several of the concerned citizens regarding complaints about security, the increases in graffiti (tagging), the skate board park, and the support we get from the city and the district office. Parents need to understand that this is Texas and the Castle Doctrine is alive and well. Some residents living on main thoroughfares have observed 11 and 12 year old's out at 1 and 2 in the morning hanging out (the curfew is 12am). When one of these kids is caught tagging a guy's fence or vandalising a car and gets a bullet in the head, I'm sure the parents will be upset. But apparently, they don't seem too concerned about it now.I really hope we don't read about the kids of a resident being killed, but I fear that is what is coming. Seriously, people are getting tired of it.Sorry to leave you on a sour note. If you didn't make it, you missed a good meeting and lots of good cake, pie and other snacks.
Last night we attended the annual appreciation dinner for Block Captains and National Night Out party hosts. You can read about it here.
Take it from me, a well known subject of TV News reports, there is one thing you should never do while the camera crew is filming a story in your general vicinity: Never turn your back to the camera.
This is especially true if you have a wedgie.
Oh and before I forget, there were actual tourists (or attractively dressed homeless people with cameras) walking along the walk, even though the water is still being diverted. When you see actual people on the sidewalk, you get a better appreciation for the size. I know in looking back at the pictures, I have occasionally thought that the project seems much smaller.
This is the view looking toward Alamo Heights. I have liked the style of this project all along. I like that not each set of steps looks the same and there are constant curves along the way. As it goes along, I enjoy the finishing touches too. You can't see it from here, but it looks up close like they have done some good work in welding the handrails and such. 
These views are looking toward downtown. I like the look of the street lamps and can see the landscaping starting to come in - in spite of our recent cold snap. I know, it is tough to handle 50 degrees in the morning.
