Flashbacks

I'm baaaa-aaaaack!

The above was not a hugely welcome sight, but a card in the lobby assures us that extensive restorations are taking place and should be completed in early 2008. So I guess there's nothing to worry about.

The bathrooms are redone and very nice, with faux-granite shower enclosures, new tile floors, and nice level ceilings. The glossy travel posters of San Antonio are all gone. I guess that's a good thing, but I'm a little sad about it - I just loved the idea that somehow, through some error, a hotel in San Angelo received a bunch of San Antonio posters, and - this is the part that makes me so overwhelmingly happy - someone who works here just said "eh" and put them all up.

The view from my window is somewhat unpropitious:


But the trestle bridge, on the other side of the hotel, that crosses the Concho River is awesome.


There's a park along the Concho, which I didn't explore too far because it was getting dark. It's not the hike-and-bike trail, of course, but it's very pretty.


My boss and I ate dinner at Zentner's Daughter. She asked the hotel clerk about the other one - Zentner's - and he told us it got bought out and is now Henry's Steakhouse. So there's one long-running family feud laid to rest. I have to say, the steak was excellent, but I ordered medium rare and my boss ordered medium, and hers was quite a bit redder than mine. She ate it all up without seeming to notice; she's not a woman to be frightened of a little blood.

I'm excited and happy to be here, and looking forward to a full day of exploring tomorrow! Hopefully I'll be able to sleep; the bed is as hard as a rock.

And my God, they really should think about updating the phones. Can you even remember the last time you saw one that looked like this?