Rob & Camille DiMaio

I grew up with my parents wearing SAS shoes. They would travel frequently, and swore by them. My mother-in-law has the same addiction. I have always thought that they were meant for the people that had crossed over from the Fashion First/Comfort Second side of footware to Comfort First/Fashion Second side. I remember them being the shoes of choice of all of the nuns in my Catholic grade school.

Recently, my children have become fans of the show "How It's Made" on the Discovery Channel. We've watched factories turn out everything from jelly beans to hockey sticks to contact lenses. As I am always looking for a great new field trip for us, I thought a factory tour would be an interesting one.

I knew that SAS (standing for San Antonio Shoes) had a factory here, so I looked up times and booked a tour.

Although there are stores scattered around San Antonio, the factory is located on the south side of town, near I10 and Division. It is at the cross section of Zarzamora and New Laredo Highway.

As you drive into the parking lot, it feels like stepping into another world. A train station platform greets you as you park your car and walk toward the old-town-looking building.

Inside, you are met by a world from another time. My children love reading the "Little House on the Prairie" series, and it reminded me of that. It had a general store type of feeling, and sold everything from toffee candy to gardening books. Cat food dishes and keychains. An old fashioned ice cream parlor offered free soft serve to children and in another area, they were able to get popcorn for 5 cents. They marveled at the classic car in the middle of the floor, sitting right next to the giant stuffed bull that was next to the outhouse. If you think that it all sounds thrown together, than I'm not adequately communicating that all of this works like a tapestry of the past put together for your enjoyment.

And, among all of the many old fashioned delights, they sell......oh, yes, shoes! One section has men's shoes. As my husband browsed, he was greeted by an employee who ushered him over to a seat. The seat was the seat of a horse-and-buggy carriage. She measured him, pulled out her shoehorn, and put on the dressy loafers that he had been looking at. He really liked them, and bought them at $30 off the regular price. You see, the factory store here sells the "seconds", although honestly, I have yet to find a flaw.

Next to the men's, they sell children's shoes, and they make them on the spot. My kids enjoyed watching them sew the shoes together, and were disappointed that they didn't come in their size. They only go to size 10.

Then, we ventured to the women's side, which was sorted by size. There was also a world of purses and belts and accessories. The girls ate popcorn while I tried on some shoes. I was surprised that either the styles had been updated or that I'm venturing into that Comfort First side. I don't think so, though. The three-inch Mia sandals sitting in my closet don't exactly scream of coziness.

After selecting two pairs of sandals, we headed over to take our factory tour. We had pre-arranged this, although if you call the store (924-6562), they can tell you what their regular tour times are. There is no charge for the tour.

We boarded a shuttle bus, and were taken into what seemed like a real-life version of the "How It's Made" show. Everything was buzzing - people, sewing machines, racks of shoes being walked around the building. Every station was different. At one station, someone would be stretching the leather. At another, someone was cutting it. At another, someone was sewing it. Near the end, someone would be attaching it to the sole. At the end, the sharp-eyed quality control staff would check for the slightest imperfection.

I imagined that this is what the elves from the "Elves and the Shoemaker" story would look like as they cranked that footware out in the middle of the night.

What was pleasant to discover was that people seemed happy to be working there. There were signs filled with positive affirmations all around, and I never go the "sweat shop" feel that I would have expected from a factory.

I also liked that they said that everything is made in one of their four USA factories.

The tour lasted about 45 minutes, a perfect time for children's short attention spans.

I had once arranged a field trip for our homeschool group here, but my kids were sick on the scheduled day, so we missed it. The parents all said that they had a great time, though, and now I was able to see why.

So don't miss this hidden treasure in San Antonio!

My first encounter with Nordstrom came in a college business class. We were talking about customer service, and the Nordstrom department store was held up as an excellent example. I learned that a man once returned car tires to Nordstrom, convinced that he had bought them there. In the spirit of customer service, they had obliged him.

It sounded outrageous to me at the time, but a recent check on Snopes revealed that the story is, in fact, true. Once upon a time, Nordstrom had begun occupying a building that was previously leased by a tire store. The confused man was insistent, and they granted his request.

While my own stories are not as dramatic, I have had some excellent experiences here. For example, when we lived in San Francisco, I treated myself to a very luxurious, plush robe. The people at Nordstrom offered to alter the long robe. They measured me, and promised to have it ready in a few days. I returned only to find that someone had accidentally put it back on the rack, where it was purchased by someone no doubt as vertically challenged as myself. In order to make it up to me, they refunded me the entire amount of the robe, and gave me a new one for free.

The value of the merchandise in just one store location is probably worth more than several small countries combined. However, they have several sales a year, and some good values can be had even year-round. Just last week, I bought a really cute Russian nesting doll shirt for one of my daughters for $6. I was thrilled. This was just minutes before going to the women's section upstairs where I passed a plain purple shirt that was - and I am being completely honest here - on SALE for $455. This was marked down from the regular price of $775. Wow! A savings of over $300! I can't believe I passed it up.

On the same trip, I met a woman in the dressing room who told me that she had just bought an $80 headband from the Chanel store. Ok....I usually get my daughters' headbands at HEB, but if you have the spare change, maybe a fabulous headband is worth that. But the funny thing is that she really didn't care about the headband. She had only bought the headband because she thinks the little Chanel paper merchandise bags are cute.

What??? Ok, I am obviously out of my league here. This would be analogous to me buying a filet mignon at the grocery store just to have the plastic HEB bag that it will be carried in.

But I digress. These are only some recent experiences I have had there.

The real reason that I frequent Nordstrom is for their upstairs Bistro.

Let me set the stage.

You walk into Nordstrom and into a gentle breeze of perfume near the cosmetics. Everyone greets you with happy and genuine smiles. It is a Silver Wonderland, with everything decorated in hues of the luminous color. In the background, you hear a jazzy tune on a piano. You discover, as you walk closer, that there is a live pianist in a tuxedo playing on a glossy black grand piano. You think for a moment that you are at some sort of royal ball. Then you see the escalator behind him, and your dream bursts as you realize that Buckingham Palace probably doesn't have an escalator.

He switches to an arrangement of "Piano Man" by Billy Joel, one of your favorites. As you glide up to the next level, you think of waitresses practicing politics and Davy, who's still in the Navy, and probably will be for life.

At the top, you see the designer section, but you turn the corner and head to the Bistro.

Ah - the Bistro. This is definitely a secret worth keeping. At lunchtime, a long line will wrap around the Junior's section, but in off-hours, you can easily get a table. The menu is full of salads and sandwiches as "designer" as the area that you have just passed through. The creme brulee looks tempting, but you must order lunch first.

My recent favorite has been the chicken/artichoke salad. It features romaine lettuce with grilled chicken, marinated artichokes, sweet red peppers, and pungent feta cheese. The combination is nothing short of divine. I'm thrilled when my husband wants to share entrees, because then I can have half the salad AND pick from one of the sandwiches. He favors the sliced sirloin on ciapatta bread with garlic aioli, and I like the rosemary ham and Swiss.

You order at a counter, which is great because it means that this already well-priced meal will be even less because there won't be a full tip involved. (As an ex-waitress, I am a generous tipper, so it is always a bit of a relief when we're in a less-than-full-tip kind of establishment.)

One person takes your order, another walks you to your table, and another brings you your drinks and meal. They all behave as if they could not possibly think of any better way to spend their day than serving you. Once again, you might be tempted to think that you are at a grand queenly affair, but a look out the window at the Six Flags Superman Ride brings you back down to earth.

My mother-in-law always orders hot tea. Her hot water is served in a little white teapot as the waiter brings out a copious assortment of exotic-sounding teas in a mahogany box.

The meal is finished off with a lovely treat of a soft peppermint stick covered in dark chocolate. This is definitely better than the crinkle-wrapped peppermints given out anywhere else. A waiter looking for a bit more of a tip might leave you with two per person, instead of one.

I hesitate to advertise this wonderful San Antonio secret, for fear that the tiny Nordstrom Bistro will be overrun with enthusiastic diners, but that wouldn't be in keeping with the theme of my blog, would it?

HINT: They sell some of their best salad dressings at the Bistro for $4.99. Try their Cherry Balsamic - it is out of this world, and I practically won't use anything else anymore.

I played some word association with my 7-year-old daughter today.

I said "cat". She said "dog".
I said "book". She said "school".
I said "TV". She said "cartoons".

If you were to play this game with most people, and say "San Antonio" as the first word, most people would reply with "Alamo".

Not to take away from our famous icon, but just steps away from the Alamo lies another historic treasure, often overlooked by locals.

In the shadow of two towering Marriotts, and blocks away from the Westin and Holiday Inn, lies the Menger Hotel.

Here is what Wikipedia says about its history:

The Menger Hotel, located in downtown San Antonio, Texas, was built in 1859 (23 years after the fall of the adjacent Alamo). In 1898, Teddy Roosevelt used the bar to recruit Rough Riders which fought in Cuba in the Spanish-American War.
The Menger was San Antonio's most popular hotel in the 19th Century. O. Henry, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Mae West, Oscar Wilde and others were known to frequent the bar and hotel, which was periodically enlarged and remodelled to accommodate more guests.

In 1876, the first public demonstration of barbed wire ever was held outside the Menger and orders taken afterwards inside. In 1885, Richard King, the south Texas entrepreneur and founder of the King Ranch, died at the Menger.

The hotel also holds the unofficial title of "the most haunted hotel in Texas."

My daughters love to take the elevator up to the third floor when we visit in the hopes of seeing a ghost.

Last week, they thought they had seen one.....the player piano in the lobby was eerily pounding out notes, and mysteriously, the pedals were moving up and down.

But, I'm ahead of myself.

We have only stayed at the Menger once. A few years ago, my husband and I got a RARE overnight date, so we headed downtown. Our room overlooked the gardens of the Alamo. We were blocks away from the premier of the movie "The Alamo", and got to meet Billy Bob Thornton, Dennis Quaid, and Jason Patric.

Our regular visits to the Menger are to eat. This is what every San Antonio local should try sometime.

We turn right on Commerce from 281, and take another right just after the River Center Mall. The street is made charming by cobblestones and the boutique facade of the hotel. We continue around the next corner, and pull into the valet.

HINT: Valet parking is free at the Menger if you are eating there. It beats fighting traffic in the dark mall garage structure.

We drop off the car, and walk down a hallway lined with windows filled with historic artifacts. On our right is the old bar where Teddy Roosevelt gathered the Rough Riders. We see a picture of them at Camp Bullis. The bar is still open, and although we take a peek, it is not our destination.

As we continue, our daughters admire the wooden phone booths on the left. Pay phones - they are always deserted, as now everyone has cell phones. We realize that our daughters may never need to use a pay phone. I consider putting in two quarters just to let them try it out, but my family is hungry and we have a reservation.

We walk into the newer lobby. Newer is relative, because it still has the air of an elegant old European lobby. The oriental rugs are gigantic. The sitting areas are inviting. The shops on the right are filled with wonderous and sparkly items not usually found in a hotel hallway. It is here that our daughters think they have spotted the piano ghost. It is playing Christmas songs.

A walk through a wide hallway brings us into the original lobby. It is beautiful. When you look up, it is several stories tall, and topped by a stained-glass ceiling. The iron balconies on the differnent floors make it feel like the exterior of the French Quarter in New Orleans. Somewhere in the distance is the sound of a vacuum cleaner. In front of us, occupying a lot of volume in the space is a large Christmas tree. I touch it and see that it is fake, but the scent of evergreen is still permeating. I locate the source behind a Victorian couch, where the air freshener is being circulated by the air conditioner. It smells real, and it smells like Christmas. Then, it smells like cigars as we pass the humidor shop, then the stairway, and finally the dining room.

Our daughters like to pretend that they are early-nineteenth century girls, like the American Girl "Samantha" that they read about. They put on what we call "Menger Manners" and do their best to behave. It doesn't help that the FIRST table you encounter is the circular dessert table, where their manners are tested by their excitement over chocolate pudding and coconut cake.

We are led to our table, near a grand fireplace. Unfortunately, San Antonio is having 80 degree weather in DECEMBER, and the fireplace is vacant. A few feet away, it seems like spring, as we look out to the lush courtyard.

Being veterans now, and knowing that we will choose the buffet, we pick up plates right away. We know that it is one of the best values in town. $12.95 gets us a multi-course meal, tea or coffee, and dessert. Children 6-11 are $5.95.

We start at the salad table. I have a Caesar salad, but I'm quickly tempted by the marinated garbanzo beans mixed with bleu cheese. It doesn't disappoint - it is FABULOUS - and I make a second trip back. Fruit and cheese are a favorite of mine, too. The weather is too hot for soup, but I have enjoyed the tortilla soup in the past.

For my main meal, I bypass the turkey carving station and choose stuffed porkchops and tilapia and vegetables. I could choose a variety of sides - rice pilaf, mashed potatoes, etc., but my eyes have been set on that dessert display that made such a good impression. I choose pecan pie and toffee ice cream.

Feeling full and happy, we head back to the car.

By the way, the Menger is known for their mango ice cream, and I am embarrassed to say that I haven't tried it yet. It is not usually on their buffet table, and must be ordered separately.

However, maybe you can try it and post back here, letting us know how it is. Tell me, too, if you encounter any of those elusive ghosts.

Scene: It's still dark outside, a little too early to be getting up for school. And yet my mom is waking me up.

"Get up! We're going to Aspen today."

Although born in San Antonio, I grew up in Colorado. We explored much of the beautiful state in the sixteen years that we lived there - Central City, Glenwood Springs, the Garden of the Gods - and many more.

We were not a family of skiiers. My lone experience consisted of a push down a baby hill by a friend determined to make me love the sport.

We visited ski resorts in the late spring when tourism was dead, prices were cheap, and the weather was sunny. I couldn't tell you a thing about Breckenridge and Winterpark when they're covered in snow, but I could tell you about how they are as quaint towns in the off-season.

So, I knew a morning wake-up call to make the six-hour trek to Aspen was not because we were going to hit the slopes.

Instead, we were going to drive to the new Hard Rock Cafe for lunch.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my dad took a day off from work and we played hookie from school to eat a hamburger at a music memorabilia restaurant.

Leaving our obligations like that was not a frequent occurance. If it were, this particular day might not stand out in my mind the way it does. However, it illustrates my family's zest for life. I have inherited a passion for the experiences that life has to offer.

When, in my junior year, my dad got a new job in Pennsylvania, I was very upset about leaving. I had a boyfriend, active theater life, and was very involved in my high school. My parents knew that the only language they could speak to me was travel. I am the girl who will pour over an atlas for hours at a time and imagine the possibilities. They enticed me with promises of weekend trips to Washington DC, New York, Philadelphia. I was skeptical, but had no choice.

They followed through on their word, though. In no time at all, I think we visited half of the East Coast. I ate chocolate in Hershey. I fulfilled a childhood dream of seeing where Betsy Ross sewed the flag. I visited the Oval Office. I took in a bunch of shows on Broadway. I ate alligator in Baltimore. I reflected in Gettysburg.

This is what I crave in life - exploring, experiencing, savoring.

After living later in Northern Virginia and the San Francisco Bay Area, I now live with my husband and three daughters in my birth-town of San Antonio. I have brought my love for being a perpetual tourist, a constant traveler, a continual learner, to the Alamo City.

I hope you will check in with this blog frequently, and adventure with me.