I Love San Antonio

Now that I've explained why I hate Austinites I thought I could even it out by telling you what I like about San Antonio.

Firstly, San Antonio has both Sea World and Six Flags in the same city! I don't know how many other cities can make that claim.

I am a sucker for a good ride (even though I'm terrified of heights). I love the fast ones and the slow ones, the upside down ones, and the backwards ones. The only ones I don't particularly like are those that leave you at the top to enjoy the view. I hate the view. I hate the ascent to the top of the drop. I hate being aware of how high I am but I digress. Six Flags Fiesta Texas isn't that big but it does have some pretty great rides and the water park is inside the theme park and is included with your ticket.

I went to Sea World for the first time in forever last year. It's fun to check out some of the shows and see the sharks and feed the seals. I think of Sea World more for children though as they only have two rides and most of their attractions come from animals and the shows. I mean, how many times can you see a dolphin flip before it gets old? But they do change up their shows depending on the seasons. I went during Christmas time so I didn't get to check out their newly updated water park but it's supposed to be awesome.

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SA also has a great Zoo, Botanical and Japanese Tea Gardens.

Hippo at the zoo. 

We're also big into the arts with our SA ARTS program. We have galleries, film contests, plays, jazz in the park, outdoor film series, museums, etc. We have a lot of tourist places to visit that goes beyond our Riverwalk.

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Another thing I like about SA is the cultural mixture we have here. I don't know if the world is getting more racist or if they're just writing about it more but I appreciate the fact that I grew up in a very diverse cultural city. I don't know what race comes to mind when you think of San Antonio but we have more than just white and Hispanic. We do have a high Hispanic population what with being so close to Mexico and all but we are also a very big military city. Many people end up staying here after they're done with their military careers.

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The best way to experience all the cultures we have here is by going to the yearly Texas Folklife Festival. The festival takes place in the summer on the Institute of Texan Cultures grounds downtown. It celebrates all the different kinds of people who came to settle Texas. You can try native food from places such as: Scotland, England, Pakistan, Vietnam, Mexico, Lebanon, Japan and many others. While you're eating you can grab a patch of grass and watch the various cultural entertainment.

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Another thing I like is that San Antonio is big enough to not run into an ex on every other corner but the sense of community is nonetheless pretty strong. Nicole Goodman wrote a great article about what a non-native thinks about our community love.

San Antonio is great. Even when I'm with friends and we're trying to find something to do because it may not be awake at all hours of the night, like New York, but hey - at least it smells better.