Viva Fiesta!

Fiesta is a huge deal in San Antonio. As best I can tell, it's nearly two weeks of big parties. There's really no other way to describe it, which is why, I now realize, nobody has been able to explain it all year -- even though we've been hearing about it all year. It's probably a lot of fun if you a) like big crowds, b) drink a lot, c) like to wear brightly colored, flashy clothes, and d) don't have little kids that need to go to bed early. Needless to say, we're not going to most of the Fiesta events -- which do all seem to revolve around eating (OK, we like that part), drinking, and music (we like that, too). Plus much of it is happening downtown, which means traffic and parking. Gee, I sound like such a crank! I guess I'll take our small-town Lewisburg Arts Festival any day (good luck this weekend, guys!)

But I wanted to try to do some of it and get into the Fiesta spirit this week. So on Saturday we took Katie to Fiesta de los Ninos (Kids' Fiesta, for those who don't speak any Spanish) at the old Kelly AFB. She loved the rides and all the bright colors. She also liked the "cascarones", which are colored eggshells full of confetti that you crack on people's heads. Here are Dave and Katie just after she broke one over his head.

And we went to Tamalefest, for the tamales of course. We did get a Fiesta medal there, another Fiesta tradition -- you collect or buy them and wear them during Fiesta. I think they show how many events you've gone to. Another big part of Fiesta is the "royalty" -- beauty pageants for the Fiesta queens, and big ceremonies to crown the kinds -- it's all wrapped up in long-time San Antonio clubs of one sort or another. I think it's like Mardi Gras krewes in New Orleans. Oh, and parades -- there are three, which we'll watch on TV. The Battle of Flowers parade on Friday afternoon is all the high school marching bands in the area; the parade day is a school and business holiday. Did I mention that Fiesta is a big deal here?

Dave's big part of Fiesta this year was the Fiesta Wildflower Ride -- he rode 66.5 miles on Sunday!! I was proud of him, and he was really happy to have done it. Not easy the day after all those tamales... Congratulations, Dave!