Big City with a Small-Town Feel: San Antonio knows how to become more laid-back

It was just before 9:00 pm when I boarded Captain Aaron Cardenas’s teal blue boat on the San Antonio River, and the first thing that I said to him was, “How deep is the water?” Negotiating the river on a wooden craft, quite unaware of how deep the waters might be, I felt uptight. But I was told to relax. As the vessel carried me away from the traffic and the busiest part of River Walk, San Antonio shows me the secret of becoming laid back, and the long night stretched before me like eternity.

Other big cities such as Austin and Dallas are experiencing an explosion of business activities, cultural celebrations, and sporting events. San Antonians, however, know better; they are showing people the secret of cool and a laid-back lifestyle.

My first night in San Antonio began with a $13.50 GO RIO Cruise with Captain Aaron Cardenas. He was born and raised in San Antonio. You can only really appreciate the sights and sounds of the San Antonio River when you’re on the water. The Tex-Mex restaurant along the way is an epitome of the town’s moods. People drinking large amounts of alcohol on a Wednesday night were there to remind me that this second-largest city in Texas is in no hurry to go places, so why should I be? Before COVID-19, people could enjoy romantic candle-lit dinners and cocktails on one of the dining boats that dotted the river. As for the depth of the water, Captain Cardenas said with a reassuring smile that the whole cruise would take place on depth zones less than three feet.

“If someone were to be drinking a little too much and they were to fall inside of this River, we wanted to make sure they could just stand up and get out as quickly as possible,” says Captain Aaron. “There are plenty more people that fall in like children reaching for ducks or also preteens or teenagers that are texting on their cell phones.”

Big-city San Antonio reminded me of my small-town Chattanooga, and this cruise seemed to transport me home. My family first moved to Tennessee when I was thirteen, and I had my first cruise experience with my parents on the Tennessee River. The riverboat cruises on that mighty river let you float past still standing reminders of our history, and my favorite being Walnut Street Bridge, or to use the cute name, the little blue bridge. Moving from Chattanooga to New York City for school, I missed those slowed-down, laid-back sentiments. Now, watching the restaurant lights’ reflections dancing on the river’s surface in San Antonio, that feeling wafted back into me.

When the cruise wound up at around 9:40 pm, the Spanish restaurant TORO, with the interesting tagline “Spain is closer than you think,” was at hand to take care of my stomach’s cravings. My menu pick: Jamón Lbérico (dry-cured Iberian pig ham) and TORO Paella (voted best in San Antonio by Yelp). The complimentary Carajillo coffee drink I grabbed triumphantly was a thank-you gift to their final client of the day. That gesture made my day. I hadn’t received anything for free since the lady preceding me at Starbucks 2 years ago paid for my coffee before I came to New York City. Our waiter, Jose Anthony, lit the rum by placing it at a 45-degree angle in a wine glass. Using a slow, steady stream of rum, he pours it into a sugar-filled glass to caramelize it. The brewed coffee must be poured into the glass as the last step. A sip left me with a pleasant aftertaste, thanks to the coffee’s ability to temper the drink’s heat.

At around 11:45 pm I asked Jose if there was anything else I could do before returning to my hotel. His suggestion was enchanting, both literally and figuratively — A pumpkin carriage ride! Who doesn’t have childhood dreams of Cinderella and her remarkable pumpkin coach? Unfortunately, I lost my way trying to find the location for the carriage ride, but then I probably should not be in such a rush. So I set my mind on postponing that experience to the next day.

A pumpkin carriage is not a pumpkin carriage if it is not at night. My coachman, Nathan Brown, was now going to take me on a ride with his white horse, Gingerbutt. He picked up the reins and gave his horse some slack, “let’s go, Ginger,” Nathan called, and away we went, clickety-clack. The musky smell of horse somehow reminds me of smoked sausage. The carriage excursion through downtown and some of the city’s most notable landmarks lasted just twenty minutes. I had assumed the carriage ride would be a purely tourist activity, but the lady waiting in line ahead of me assured me that San Antonians love to ride the carriage downtown. In fact it’s a lark for the locals; people hold champagne in their hands and cheer when the horse slowly strides forward.

The two nights in San Antonio relaxed my mind and body. I thought the night at San Antonio would be very similar to Dallas, where nights are defined by posh nightclubs filled with the smell of hair gel and cigarette smoke or by subterranean, high-decibel Techno clubs like New York City. Or perhaps I was expecting San Antonio nights to mimic the low-key pubs in Nashville, where live performances are lullabies. But it is nothing like them.

I am always busy during the day since I moved from Chattanooga to attend school in New York City, and my day is a never-ending to-do list. But San Antonians are busy at night. That is when the fun begins, and no one’s in a hurry to get through the night. With more than 250 days of sunshine through the year, they are the experts too when it comes to soaking in the nights. Captain Aaron of the San Antonio River Cruise company asserts that this is the case.

“We are nightcrawlers, and we attract other nightcrawlers to our territory,” he said with a wink.

I decided my journey of discovering San Antonio was going to finish at that secret and most cherished of laid-back bars in San Antonio, Esquire Tavern on Commerce Street. It’s reasonable to end my trip with a little bit of alcohol. The tavern is a favorite with residents and visitors unwinding after the long River Walk. It opened in 1933, the cruise captain informed me. Yes of course, prohibition was repealed that year. Before it became a tavern it was a barbershop, so no wonder its ambience can make time stand still. One of the city’s best-kept secrets is a speakeasy within Esquire Tavern that asks you for a password. Luckily, I have access to the city’s dark secret, thanks to a local. Knock on the door four times, whispered that passwords, and repeat the phrase “the polar bear has risen” as you walk toward the bathrooms.

I walked along Commerce Street, feeling at ease. Time slowed down here. Nothing in San Antonio’s night is so irresistibly contagious as the laid-back and cool vibes.