Wednesday was our last day in San Antonio. I spent the morning at the conference, and met up with Jeanette for lunch. I was pretty tired because I was up late on Tuesday night. The guy that I saw swimming in the river on Monday night was at it again. This time he wasn't swimming. One of his buddies brought a giant flashlight and a pool net. They spent about 2 hours scraping up crap from the bottom of the river. They gave up around midnight. I have no idea what they were looking for.
We had to checkout by 1:00, so we had the hotel hold our bags. Jeanette took Matthew over to the hotel room of another lady I know from the district office so he could take a nap. I went back to the conference for the a couple more workshops and the closing keynote. The closing keynote was terrible.
Before heading to the airport I went back to the hotel that Jeanette and Matthew were at and we had dinner with Kim and Jo. Kim is the tech integration specialist at my district office, and her friend Jo is a teacher in Glendale. Their hotel had a free sandwich and drink bar for guests. Jeanette and I decided that we would be guests for a few hours. They even served margaritas, wine and beer. If I would have known about this a few nights earlier, we could have saved a lot of money on dinner.
We walked back to our hotel to get our bags, and we took a taxi to the airport. We arrived at the airport the standard 2 hours early. Unfortunately, our flight was coming out of Buffalo and it was an hour late. We finally departed San Antonio about 10:20. Matthew was not too happy on the plane. He managed to fall asleep for a half hour, but as soon as we landed he had a screaming fit. We were in the back of the plane, so there wasn't much we could do.
So my final thoughts on San Antonio...I would never go to San Antonio specifically for a vacation. It is the type of place you would want to stop at for one night on the way to somewhere else, or if you were attending a conference. The riverwalk is pretty cool and the people are nice, but I would get bored if I spent more than a one or two days here sightseeing.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
It rained today....for 3 minutes
Last night when we were eating dinner I told one of the waiters it looked like it was going to rain. His response was, “In San Antonio it only rains for 3 minutes at a time.” It kind of reminded me of Phoenix rain. Well, today it rained for 3 minutes and then it was done. It rained just enough to cool the air down about 5 degrees.
Today was the second day of the NECC conference. I had a chance to attend a few workshops of some well known tech educators. It seems like all the tech gurus think that Second Life is going to be the future of how we learn. Second Life is a virtual online world where you create your own character, buy land, build houses, and have access to all kinds of information. The name says it all. I think it is a little too weird for me…maybe.
At one of the workshops I attended the presenter had a book signing immediately after the discussion. His publisher was giving away 300 books at their booth in the vendor hall. I decided I could afford a free book, so I got in line. Apparently there were so many people in line that the fire marshal made the publisher tell everyone to come back in groups. They passed out 300 pieces of paper with a time to come back on them. If you didn’t get a piece of paper, you didn’t get a free book. Well, I was one of the last people to get the piece of paper. I came back about an hour and a half later and met the author. I told him that I had heard another keynote he did in Phoenix a few years ago. He asked me what I did. I told him I was a 2nd Grade teacher, and he said, “Oh, I remember Phoenix…that was a long time ago.” My interpretation of that was….Oh, I was in Phoenix? When in the heck was that?” This is what he wrote inside of my book, “Hi Robert, Alan November.” How personable! I guess after almost 300 book signings you run out of things to say. I do plan on reading the book.
I spent the rest of my afternoon checking out the vendor hall. I think I have walked almost the entire exhibit hall. I don’t know how many million square feet it is, but it must be at least half a mile long. I even had the chance to ride a mechanical bull. I don’t remember what vendor it was. They took a picture of me, and gave me a card with a number on it so that I would go to their
Web site next week to see my picture. I managed to stay on the bull for 8 seconds. The old guy after me stayed on for 20 seconds. I think they were easier on him…..weak bones.
Jeanette and Matthew spent the morning at the Children’s Museum. Matthew had a blast playing with all of the interactive exhibits. They napped in the afternoon, and when I got back to the hotel we all went to the AzTEA reception at the Rio Rio Cantina. AzTEA is the Arizona chapter of ISTE (International Society of Technology Educators). I had a chance to meet up with some of the people I know from Arizona. There are so many people attending this conference that I haven’t really seen too many of the Arizona people. There were probably over 150 people from Arizona at the reception. There was also a group from Australia and Germany. I’m not sure why they were there….probably for the free food.
We ended our evening with a trip to a playground at Hemisfair Park and then the hotel pool. Jeanette and Matthew are swimming right now, and I am sitting here by the pool. Two things have been on Matthew’s mind all week….swimming…and apples. He has a thing for apples right now. I guess that’s better than candy. Unfortunately it has been difficult to come by fruit around here. There are no real grocery stores in walking distance. Jeanette had to buy a banana from Dairy Queen this morning. I don’t know where she got the apple. That’s all for now…tomorrow is the last day of the conference. We will be flying home around 9:30 PM.
Today was the second day of the NECC conference. I had a chance to attend a few workshops of some well known tech educators. It seems like all the tech gurus think that Second Life is going to be the future of how we learn. Second Life is a virtual online world where you create your own character, buy land, build houses, and have access to all kinds of information. The name says it all. I think it is a little too weird for me…maybe.
At one of the workshops I attended the presenter had a book signing immediately after the discussion. His publisher was giving away 300 books at their booth in the vendor hall. I decided I could afford a free book, so I got in line. Apparently there were so many people in line that the fire marshal made the publisher tell everyone to come back in groups. They passed out 300 pieces of paper with a time to come back on them. If you didn’t get a piece of paper, you didn’t get a free book. Well, I was one of the last people to get the piece of paper. I came back about an hour and a half later and met the author. I told him that I had heard another keynote he did in Phoenix a few years ago. He asked me what I did. I told him I was a 2nd Grade teacher, and he said, “Oh, I remember Phoenix…that was a long time ago.” My interpretation of that was….Oh, I was in Phoenix? When in the heck was that?” This is what he wrote inside of my book, “Hi Robert, Alan November.” How personable! I guess after almost 300 book signings you run out of things to say. I do plan on reading the book.
I spent the rest of my afternoon checking out the vendor hall. I think I have walked almost the entire exhibit hall. I don’t know how many million square feet it is, but it must be at least half a mile long. I even had the chance to ride a mechanical bull. I don’t remember what vendor it was. They took a picture of me, and gave me a card with a number on it so that I would go to their
Web site next week to see my picture. I managed to stay on the bull for 8 seconds. The old guy after me stayed on for 20 seconds. I think they were easier on him…..weak bones.Jeanette and Matthew spent the morning at the Children’s Museum. Matthew had a blast playing with all of the interactive exhibits. They napped in the afternoon, and when I got back to the hotel we all went to the AzTEA reception at the Rio Rio Cantina. AzTEA is the Arizona chapter of ISTE (International Society of Technology Educators). I had a chance to meet up with some of the people I know from Arizona. There are so many people attending this conference that I haven’t really seen too many of the Arizona people. There were probably over 150 people from Arizona at the reception. There was also a group from Australia and Germany. I’m not sure why they were there….probably for the free food.
We ended our evening with a trip to a playground at Hemisfair Park and then the hotel pool. Jeanette and Matthew are swimming right now, and I am sitting here by the pool. Two things have been on Matthew’s mind all week….swimming…and apples. He has a thing for apples right now. I guess that’s better than candy. Unfortunately it has been difficult to come by fruit around here. There are no real grocery stores in walking distance. Jeanette had to buy a banana from Dairy Queen this morning. I don’t know where she got the apple. That’s all for now…tomorrow is the last day of the conference. We will be flying home around 9:30 PM.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
I'm a day behind...
I had a little problem with my internet connection at the hotel last night....I didn't have one. So I am here at the convention center an hour early. I am sitting in the "Bloggers' Cafe" (no seriously!). 
I am surrounded by some of the nerdiest bloggers in the world. Right now many of them are in awe because there is a well-known author and lecturer of blogging that has joined us.
So what did we do yesterday? Well, I attended the first full day of the NECC conference. I started a separate blog for that, because it is a bunch of stuff that most of you could care less about. If you are truly interested the website for that is: http://myneccnotes2008.blogspot.com
Jeanette and Matthew stayed behind at the hotel. Jeanette had to do a little bit of laundry. The tricky part was that the one washer at our hotel was broken, so she had to do the wash in the bathtub. Luckily the dryer worked, because it is so humid here that nothing air dries. Matthew managed to lose the room key by sticking it down the drain when Jeanette was doing the laundry. The cleaning lady was nice enough to let her back in our room.
Jeanette also took Matthew over to the mall. In the process of buying some coffee she dropped her credit card into a vent on one of their coolers. There was an employee there who managed to squeeze her hand in to get it out. By the sound of it, Jeanette had an exciting morning.
In the evening I attended a wine and cheese reception hosted by Smart Technologies. They are a Canadian company that manufactures the Smartboard (interactive whiteboard) and many other cool tools. I was invited to their reception, because I am a Smart Exemplary Educator. I had a chance to talk to their founders and many of their product developers. It was pretty cool.
After the reception I met up with Jeanette and Matthew for dinner.
We took another stroll around part of the Riverwalk and headed back to the hotel. I went back out to get some milk for Matthew. There is a CVS on the Riverwalk. It's not your typical CVS. There is not pharmacy. It's basically just a place to get drinks, first aid, and tourist junk. On the way back I noticed a guy swimming in the river. Apparently he had lost his keys, because he kept grabbing for something and just came up with rocks.
That was pretty much our day. Sorry it wasn’t too exciting.
I am surrounded by some of the nerdiest bloggers in the world. Right now many of them are in awe because there is a well-known author and lecturer of blogging that has joined us.So what did we do yesterday? Well, I attended the first full day of the NECC conference. I started a separate blog for that, because it is a bunch of stuff that most of you could care less about. If you are truly interested the website for that is: http://myneccnotes2008.blogspot.com
Jeanette and Matthew stayed behind at the hotel. Jeanette had to do a little bit of laundry. The tricky part was that the one washer at our hotel was broken, so she had to do the wash in the bathtub. Luckily the dryer worked, because it is so humid here that nothing air dries. Matthew managed to lose the room key by sticking it down the drain when Jeanette was doing the laundry. The cleaning lady was nice enough to let her back in our room.
Jeanette also took Matthew over to the mall. In the process of buying some coffee she dropped her credit card into a vent on one of their coolers. There was an employee there who managed to squeeze her hand in to get it out. By the sound of it, Jeanette had an exciting morning.
In the evening I attended a wine and cheese reception hosted by Smart Technologies. They are a Canadian company that manufactures the Smartboard (interactive whiteboard) and many other cool tools. I was invited to their reception, because I am a Smart Exemplary Educator. I had a chance to talk to their founders and many of their product developers. It was pretty cool.
After the reception I met up with Jeanette and Matthew for dinner.
We took another stroll around part of the Riverwalk and headed back to the hotel. I went back out to get some milk for Matthew. There is a CVS on the Riverwalk. It's not your typical CVS. There is not pharmacy. It's basically just a place to get drinks, first aid, and tourist junk. On the way back I noticed a guy swimming in the river. Apparently he had lost his keys, because he kept grabbing for something and just came up with rocks.That was pretty much our day. Sorry it wasn’t too exciting.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
A busy day of sightseeing...
It's Sunday. All three of us had a pretty good night of sleep despite the all night partying on the Riverwalk. We started our morning by taking the city bus to a tourist trap called Market Square. It is basically an indoor/outdoor swap meet that is straight out of Tijuana. As tempted as we were (or not), we didn't buy any trinkets, except for a couple pair of sunglasses. 
After about an hour at Market Square, we hopped on the city bus and headed to the Alamo. We really didn't know how the city bus system works, but the locals must have figured it out, because we had no trouble finding people to tell us what bus to get on. The Alamo is located in the middle of town. If you are in to the history of Texas (which we are not) you would find it interesting. 
We waited in line for about 20 minutes to get in. There were a few pictures and artifacts to look at, but not much. Matthew threw a fit in the middle of the "shrine," so we figured it was time to move on.
From the Alamo we walked to the Rivercenter Mall to find something to eat. We had a sandwich and walked back to our hotel.
At the hotel I tried to figure out a bus route to get to The Witte Museum. The museum is located about 5 miles from where we are staying. After about 20 minutes of trying to figure out all the transfers I gave up, and we decided to take a cab.
After leaving The Witte museum we walked through Brackenridge park towards the zoo. We didn't go to the zoo, but we did take a ride on a miniature train that takes you
On the way back to the hotel we couldn't find any taxis sitting around, so we decided to brave the city bus system again. We hopped on a bus that seemed to be headed towards downtown, but it made a turn away from where we needed to go. We hopped off the bus, and couldn't figure out what bus we needed to get on so we ended up walking about a mile back to the hotel. around the park. Matthew loved it!
After about an hour at Market Square, we hopped on the city bus and headed to the Alamo. We really didn't know how the city bus system works, but the locals must have figured it out, because we had no trouble finding people to tell us what bus to get on. The Alamo is located in the middle of town. If you are in to the history of Texas (which we are not) you would find it interesting. 
We waited in line for about 20 minutes to get in. There were a few pictures and artifacts to look at, but not much. Matthew threw a fit in the middle of the "shrine," so we figured it was time to move on.From the Alamo we walked to the Rivercenter Mall to find something to eat. We had a sandwich and walked back to our hotel.
At the hotel I tried to figure out a bus route to get to The Witte Museum. The museum is located about 5 miles from where we are staying. After about 20 minutes of trying to figure out all the transfers I gave up, and we decided to take a cab.
The museum has a temporary exhibit that has several hands-on models of Davinci's inventions.
I never knew that he played a role in many of the machine's that we use today. On the left you will see a picture of Jeanette and Matthew standing in a model of an armored tank that he drew plans for. One of the flaw's of the armored tank was that it was designed to be pulled by a team of horses. Unfortonately, horses are not bullet proof.
I never knew that he played a role in many of the machine's that we use today. On the left you will see a picture of Jeanette and Matthew standing in a model of an armored tank that he drew plans for. One of the flaw's of the armored tank was that it was designed to be pulled by a team of horses. Unfortonately, horses are not bullet proof.
After leaving The Witte museum we walked through Brackenridge park towards the zoo. We didn't go to the zoo, but we did take a ride on a miniature train that takes you
On the way back to the hotel we couldn't find any taxis sitting around, so we decided to brave the city bus system again. We hopped on a bus that seemed to be headed towards downtown, but it made a turn away from where we needed to go. We hopped off the bus, and couldn't figure out what bus we needed to get on so we ended up walking about a mile back to the hotel. After a quick shower and a change of clothes, I was off to the opening night keynote and reception for the NECC conference. I could not believe how many people showed up for the keynote. 
There were at least 10,000 people in this huge ballroom. I have a picture of the crowd that I will try to upload tomorrow.
There were at least 10,000 people in this huge ballroom. I have a picture of the crowd that I will try to upload tomorrow. When I returned to the hotel from the keynote, Jeanette, Matthew and I went to an Italian restaurant on the riverwalk for dinner. I have never been to an italian restaurant that had a mariachi band, but I guess we are in Texas. We finished the evening with a riverboat tour. I didn't get any pictures of that, because it was really too dark to get decent pictures.
Tomorrow is the first full day of the NECC conference (aka Nerdfest 2008). Jeanette and Matthew are planning on going to the Children's Museum. We will try to meet up for lunch. I will also be attending a reception in the evening for Smart Exemplary Teachers. It's basically a reception for a bunch of nerdy teachers who are advocates for using Smartboards in their classrooms. I can't wait!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Note to self...next time pack more underwear
We made it to San Antonio with no problems. Our flight was on time, our luggage didn't get lost, the taxi drive new exactly where our hotel was, and we were able to check-in three hours early. The temperature here is not much different than Phoenix, after you factor in the humidity. Jeanette and I decided we should have packed at least 2 or 3 pairs of underwear for each day. It looks like we will be doing some laundry.
We arrived at our hotel around noon, and had lunch at some local place. Nothing special, but the guy at the restaurant told us about a local Mexican restaurant that we should try. After lunch Jeanette and Matthew took a nap, while I went over to the convention center to check-in. This conference is going to be huge. Over 13,000 people are registered to attend. I walked around the conference center to get my self oriented with where things will be over the next few days. The were still setting up the exhibit hall.
After walking through the convention center for almost 2 hours, I strolled down the Riverwalk and found a CVS to buy some milk and water. The Riverwalk was packed with people wandering as aimlessly as I was. The river is lined with dozens of restaurants and shops. If it wasn't for the smell coming from the restaurant food, I think the somewhat stagnant river water would make the riverwalk a little unpleasant on a hot day. It should be neat to see what the Riverwalk looks like at night. Our hotel is on the Riverwalk, so we can sit on our balcony and watch the action. Right now this entire area has been taken over by technology nerds (like me...but even nerdier if that is possible).
I'll try to update this blog each day to keep everyone posted, and to act as a journal for our trip.
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