honeymoon hideaway gone

this weekend i was talking to a friend fromtexas and related to her how dawn and i met. she asked one question and it turned into this 20 minute conversation about that. anyway, i got to talking about where we met for the first time and where we subsequently went for our honeymoon in san antonio.

she was speaking of how she and her husband needed a little break from everything and i suggested that place. it's called the riverwalk inn and it's in san antonio. dawn checked online while i talked to rose. she encountered some problems locating it on the web site.

dawn e-mailed the company. she got a reply this morning and then re-emailed again for more information. turns out the riverwalk inn, which is a bed and breakfast, it sno more. the place has been turned into offices. it saddened me to think of that.

the bed and breakfast was located on a secluded area of san antonio right off the river. being there was like being in a rural area, desptie being near downtown san antonio. the place was beautifully decorated with trees and gardens. also, the b&b was composed of old log cabins brought from tennessee. they were connected and placed to form two-story structures.

the riverwalk was right there, about 50 feet away from the place. we walked down the paved-brick walk way to where the action was in the central downtown area, where small boats took people up and down the river, people sitting and eating outside restaurants, music playing and old builidng marking the landscape. and when you tired of this, you just headed back to the inn for comfort and quiet.

at night, windows open and curtains blowing in the breeze, you could see the lights of the tall buildings with thenight sky as a backdrop. very beautiful. and even though it's a city of over a million people, the night scene is pleasant and calm with hardly a noise for distraction.

the place itself has special meaning. it was where dawn and i first met after our long-distance relationship all of those months. it was the place where i first met her physically. i remember putting my bags down and pushing the doorbell button intercom. i coul dhear inside, a man and woman talking. i said i had a reservation there. dawn was already there. she opened the door and that was it. pretty smile, short cute hair and eyes, and perfume i still haven't forgotten its scent.

we spent three days then and three days over memorial day. then we spent our honeymoon there more than two years later.

i will miss the coziness of the place, the afternoon dessert laid out for guests (the first time i ate and loved carrot cake) and the old cat that wandered the house, lounging around the place.

it is sad that those beautiful rooms are now offices. but at least we have the memories of the place and time we spent there. and they are good memories.