Traveling to Texas in the middle of summer is not for the faint of heart, but this convention really is worth it (not to mention that you're in the air conditioning!)

I was born and raised in San Antonio, and even though I've 'been there... done that' for most of the sites, the Riverwalk really is the highlight of the city. Good food, shopping, sightseeing... there's always music spilling out from one of the many restaurants & cantinas. (No blasters, no blasters!) I have seen impromptu dancing break out if the mariachis are really good.



Downtown in general is a lot of fun!

Even if you can't make it for San-Japan, if you do take a trip to SA, here are my recommendations of must-see attractions:

The Riverwalk
Hemisphere Park & the Tower of Americas
The Alamo (yeah, it's small and touristy, but you can't go to the Alamo City & not visit... plus, they say John Wayne's ghost hangs around there! & no, there is not a basement! )
The Missions (There are four well preserved Spanish Missions that illustrate the history & colonization of Texas)

Institute of Texas Cultures
Witte Museam (Nat'l Science & TX history... they have dinosaurs!)
San Antonio Museum of Art

The Botanical Gardens
These are clustered together:
The Zoo
Brackenridge Park
Japanese Tea Gardens

Of course there is Fiesta Texas and Sea World, and they are fun, but the above recommendations will not empty your wallets & leave you with whip-lash or sun stroke. Oh, plus, you can learn a thing or two & go home with a broader appreciation for culture, art, history and nature... (Yeah, I know I'm sounding like a PBS commercial...)

I've been to San Antonio several times, as well as the infamous Alamo and I don't know how you can say there's no basement!

We were there when they were working on it at one point and although they tried to cover it up, there is definitely something underneath the Alamo! They had set up several barricades to keep people away (which, of course, we ignored) and when we went behind we saw that there was a giant gaping hole underneath the structure of the Alamo... (make of that what you can.)

It was a reference to 'Pee Wee's Big Adventure'... ^_^
More than likely, there's a crawl space under parts of the chapel. Most foundations for old building and homes were raised to allow for round water to drain, since the soil has a high concentration of clay.

I'll bring the head lamps, you bring the hard hats and we'll check it out! Rendezvous behind the barracks at midnight! I'll send Rai on a ghost recon prior to entering the perimeter.

LOL! In 100 years, archaeologists will open the floor and find a whip and a bunch of empty Sugar-Free Rock Star cans down there!

Yes, I've seen "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure". Can you say 'A-la-mo'?

We were going to take a picture, but some little old volunteer caught us and told us to move along...

Do you think the bike is still under there?

That's a great list! The Missions and the Alamo are well worth the visit if you like history. Spending a day floating down the river is always fun, too.

Last time I was in San Antonio, I couldn't convince my idiot ex that was the Alamo in downtown. He insisted it was a replica. Moron actually thought it would look like it did in the movies (out in the middle of nowhere). No wonder that relationship didn't work out!

What people think of as the Alamo, is only a fraction of the original mission. As you walk around down town, there are spots where they have uncovered sections of the original outer wall (where the fighting took place).

Another thing I left off my list is Market Square & Mi Tierra Cafe y Panaderia (that's bakery for all you Gringos!)
Market Square is great for shopping, food & music. Over 125 shops with hand-crafted and imported items to meet every budget!
When you're about to collapse, pop into Mi Tierra for a sweet treat at the bakery or a margarita and fantastic meal!
If you're really into lunching with the locals, may I also suggest Mexican Manhattan... [nom nom nom!]

Seriously, you guys need to come out for San Japan! I'll be walking around covering the fun & getting to enjoy myself for once! If you see me: Do not attempt a sneak attack "glomping". You have been warned!
But don't hesitate to come by and say "hi!"

Oh & you'd better be in the audience for Greggo's game shows! I'll be taking names... (erm, we need a smilie that looks like a stern nun with a ruler in hand, hair in an extra tight bun...)

So Greggo's gonna be there, alright!!! Need some video of that.

Greggo sent me the list of game shows he's going to be hosting at San Japan this year:

Friday
Panel Quiz Attack 25

Saturday
Anime Press Your Luck (in the morning)
Anime Concentration (in the afternoon)

Sunday
Anime Farkle

Those of you who will be there really should try out or at the very least go watch from the audience!

(& keep an eye out for a certain AN staffer wandering about!)

Yes, please to be coming to all the game shows, to make Sammy happy and to ensure that I'll get to come back to San-Japan again and again. There are going to be loads of prizes to be given away, too!

Here are the shows I'm doing, in great detail:

FRIDAY - Panel Quiz Attack 25: 5:30PM (Panel Room 1, Salon D)

This is a game show that is based on an actual Japanese show that has been running in Japan for more than 35 years. The best way to describe the show is "Trivia meets Othello." The game takes place on a big 5x5 board. Ring in and answer questions correctly and you place a marker on the board. Capture other player's markers by surrounding them on each side, just like Othello. Cover the most of the board by the end of the game and you become the winner and get to compete for a special prize. Trivia-wise, this is the trickiest game, so I'll be looking for 8 die-hard anime fans to play this one.

Here's a Youtube video of the Japanese show:


SATURDAY - Anime Press Your Luck: 2:30PM (Panel Room 2, Conference Room 12/13)

Big bucks, no whammies! Probably my most popular game show, this game features three players trying their luck against our big board which is loaded with goodies. Answer easy trivia questions to earn spins, and turn those spins into bucks on the big board while trying to avoid the Whammy. If you land on him he'll jump out and take away all your hard-earned coin (humiliating you in the process). We have enough prize support to potentially have two complete games of Press Your Luck, so we'll be looking for five or six really excited, high-energy personalities to play our game.

SATURDAY - Anime Concentration: 4:30PM (Panel Room 2, Conference Room 12/13)

Good at solving puzzles? Hiding behind 25 squares we've placed a rebus puzzle, whose solution is something related to anime or anime fandom. If you can solve the puzzle, you can win a small pile of prizes and get a shot at winning a convention badge to one of eight different conventions (including San-Japan 4)! We're looking for between four to six contestants for this one, so put on your thinking caps and come on down to give it a go! Here's an example of one of our rebus puzzles: A picture of a car + the letter D + a baseball cap + the letter T + a boat's oar...a sock + a dove's "COO" plus the letters "RAH." Get it? CAR + D + CAP + T + OAR, SOCK + COO + RAH, CARDCAPTOR SAKURA!

SUNDAY - Anime Farkle: 12:30PM (Panel Room 1, Salon D)

An original game show format from my deranged mind, this one features six giant dice screens that determine the fate of our players. Based off the classic dice game you can play on Facebook, Farkle is a multiple-choice anime trivia game where answering questions correctly gives you control of the dice screens, where you can roll up all sorts of prizes and cash (to spend in our prize suitcase after the show). We'll be looking for between 3-5 contestants for this one.

Here's a video from our debut of this show, last weekend at Minneapolis Anime Convention:

OH GOD...I really wish i was going now, that looks like so much fun. I'll send spazzy in my place. But still...;_;

Have fun Greggo, hope you get a big huge turnout dude!