The Houston Street Restaurant Bistro (though in winter the tables are pulled in, it is the last business on the right of this photo) is right next to the restored Majestic Theater on Houston Street, in San Antonio. It is right across the street from the old Menger Hotel. General Robert E. Lee rode his horse into the lobby here. General Grant was known to tip a few at the Menger Bar. General Eisenhower did some of his best thinking in the gardens of the Menger. Sarah Bernhardt, Lilly Langtry and Mae West all frequented the victorian rooms of the Menger. Teddy Roosevelt recruited Rough Riders for the Spanish-American War here in the heavily wooded bar here. It has a national historic landmark designation and from certain rooms, you can look down into the Alamo. The whole area reeks with Texas and national history.
Continue reading "Waiting at the Houston Street Restaurant Bistro..." »
It's now about 5:30 PM, and Dave Winet arrives. Not only is Dave here for the celebration, but he has brought a lap top so we will have an opportunity to check out the SBC FreedomLink WiFi connection that I have set up.
Dave runs the English For Internet web-site, and is a real "hoot" to talk to. We talk about everything from Skype to Old-style Universities. A really interesting fellow.
Vance and fellow Webheads are finishing up the TESOL presentations and will soon be arriving.
Continue reading "Dave Winet arrives to save the day..." »
While we were waiting for more Webheads to arrive, Barbara Dieu was busy organizing folks in Learning Times and elsewhere to join the Fiesta on-line. Bee has been kind enough to share a few webshots of what her screen looked like while we so many on-line.
Here you can see Bee, Aaron and Dave Winet tuning up their machines.
Continue reading " Meanwhile....out on the internet prairie..." »
It's 7:00 PM in San Antonio, Texas and down on Houston Street there is a big party going on. All at once, the front door of the Houston Streen Restaurant Bistro opens, and in walk all these people, meeting and greeting each other. 
People who I have known and loved for a couple of years are finally before me in the flesh. I can touch their hands, I can hug them, I can feel their presence. The experience is wonderful.
Continue reading "Appetizers, Main Courses and...." »
So after everyone was full to the brim...good food, wine, chatter and friendship...it was time for dessert. I felt determined to serve up some special Texas style dessert that all would remember in the years to come.
So I proceeded to giver everyone present a special "hug" and "kisses" (I guess you will just have to ask about those - cause I have no pictures as evidence) and then for that special "fare-thee-well", I presented all those present with an Extreme Texas Make-over. I think it gave them all a sort of "Fiesta" glow to take home with them. (I heard later, that some of them had trouble going through the airport this way....but hey, it was worth it...)
Probably, the best example of what a good makeover can do for you was Vance.
But Vance was not the only one, that was well suited to the amazing Texas Extreme Makeover. There were others:
Continue reading "Just Desserts and Extreme Texas Makeovers..." »
It has been hard for me to describe all the wonderful feelings that this event brought to me. The opportunity to reach out and really touch those voices and spirits I have so often encountered on the internet, was a special pleasure in itself. To get to share several hours of my life with them was absolutely wonderful. I won't forget this night. And it's not just the exploration of the technology brought to that little space on Houston Street in San Antonio, Texas. It's much greater than even that. It represents a reaching out from one side of the globe to the other, of hands eager to share in learning. It respresents the construction of something new....something better than the old...something that WebHeads are only now beginning to scratch the surface of.
Continue reading "Sweet Goodbyes..." »
I think one of the disappointments in photoblogging live events, is that, if you miss that one perfect photo, it won't come round again so you can snap it. And so it was with tonight's events. There was so much to see and hear and to participate in, that I know tomorrow, I will kick myself for not capturing more of it via some digital software. It will almost be forever lost. "Almost" in the sense that the participants will have those moments locked away in the repository of their observant brains. Most of us will never likely have access to it again and I guess that why I am still blogging here. I wanted this blog to capture as much of the flavor of the Fiesta as I could technically capture. I am not even sure I did that. I know that there were others who snapped photos and made recordings. What I don't know is whether or not they will ever be willing to share them here. 
Continue reading "Deep in the Heart of Texas..." »
Morning, came early on the 31st. My Mom was ready to get back home to her friends and she had already agreed to make our way back up through one of the prettiest parts of Texas. It would make our journey a bit more pleasant and give me a bit of time to let all of yesterday's joyous event soak in. So after a breif farewell to my brother and his wife, we were down the Texas wildflower trails and back toward home. It was a wonderful trip and one that I would not soon forget.
Continue reading "A new day and the return home..." »
The Houston Street Restaurant Bistro (though in winter the tables are pulled in, it is the last business on the right of this photo) is right next to the restored Majestic Theater on Houston Street, in San Antonio. It is right across the street from the old Menger Hotel. General Robert E. Lee rode his horse into the lobby here. General Grant was known to tip a few at the Menger Bar. General Eisenhower did some of his best thinking in the gardens of the Menger. Sarah Bernhardt, Lilly Langtry and Mae West all frequented the victorian rooms of the Menger. Teddy Roosevelt recruited Rough Riders for the Spanish-American War here in the heavily wooded bar here. It has a national historic landmark designation and from certain rooms, you can look down into the Alamo. The whole area reeks with Texas and national history.
