Thursday, June 25, 2009

Hot Down Here

Modern travel is truly amazing.  I can go from shooting bunnies outside my window, uh, let me rephrase that, I can go from taking pictures of bunnies outside my window

Peter Cottontail

and watching the grass grow,

P1270929 copy

to attempting to solve the maze that is public parking in a huge metropolitan area whose predominant language and culture is Spanish.

P1320065

And all accomplished in a matter of hours, without leaving the confines of my second native country, the good ole USA.  (My first country is, of course, Texas, but you knew that already.)

So here I am in lovely downtown San Antonio, taking in the traffic, (you'll hafta use your imagination.  The traffic downtown was obviously not that big a deal, but it was too dangerous to take a picture of the REAL traffic, on the freeway, at 65ish miles per hour.)

P1320078

the riverwalk,

P1310822

and the elevators at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. 

P1310742

These elevators are a trip in themselves. They are encased in glass so you can experience acrophobia going from the lobby to the ballroom, just one floor up. Take my advice and face the door. You don't want to know what is going on behind you.

I'm here for a conference, or was here for a conference.  It's over now.  It was wonderful after I discovered where the stairs were.  I did a lot of trekking back and forth between the hotel for the workshops, and the Municipal Auditorium for the general sessions. 

In the sunshine and heat.

P1310976

This was not an intentional special effect, folks. It's the condensation that happens to any lens when it goes from an air conditioned area like a building or car directly into the 100+ degree Texas weather.

I am reminded of General Sheridan's remark, "If I owned both Texas and Hell, I'd live in Hell and rent out Texas".

I gotta admit, proud Texan that I am, the summers can get pretty hot down here.