Eight Years, One City, Zero Regrets

My husband and I just celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary. Eight years. We decided to skip the fancy dinner reservation and do something we have never actually done before. We went to San Antonio for an anniversary trip. 

Here is the thing. However, we have been to San Antonio a handful of times over the years. But every single trip was for an event. So, each time, we would show up, do the thing, and leave. Because of that, we never actually saw the city. We never explored it. And we never gave it a real chance. 

So that is exactly what we did. This San Antonio anniversary trip was about finally seeing the city.

The River Walk 

You cannot visit San Antonio and skip the River Walk. It is just not allowed. We knew that going in, and we leaned into it completely. It ended up being the perfect start to our San Antonio anniversary trip.

First, we did the boat tour.. And yes, I know how that sounds. Very touristy. But listen, I learned more about the history of that river in forty-five minutes than I have learned about most places I have lived. A few things that genuinely blew my mind: 

The River Walk was not built for tourism. It was originally designed as a flood control measure after a devastating 1921 flood. Today, it contributes over $800 million to the local economy every year. Not bad for a drainage solution. 

Then, there is HemisFair. On the 250th anniversary of San Antonio’s founding, the city hosted the 1968 World’s Fair from April through October. A World’s Fair. In San Antonio. I had absolutely no idea. 

Later that evening, we had dinner at Budro, right on the water. Beautiful restaurant. Good food. Good energy. The kind of dinner that makes you slow down and actually talk to each other, which is the whole point of an anniversary trip. 

The next day, we shifted gears completely.

Mission Concepción 

Aaron and I love history. We love architecture. We love learning about a city through the places it has held onto. So, as you can imagine, we love a good museum. We had been to the Alamo before, and that was fun, but we wanted to see something else. Something less touristy. Mission Concepción fit that bill completely. 

For context, I did not grow up deeply religious. My mom was a devout Catholic, but she never forced it on my brothers and me. I took what I wanted from it and left the rest. What I always kept, though, was the churches. I have always been drawn to them. The scale. The weight of them. The way they hold time.

Mission Concepción is the oldest standing mission in Texas. Still an active church. Still holds mass. From the outside, it looks like this small, unassuming building. Then you walk inside, and your eyes go straight up. High ceilings. Big, open room. The kind of space that makes you instinctively quiet down. 

What got me as a photographer, however, were the walls. The cracks. The textures. The way the light moved through that space. Every surface told a story, and none of it was manufactured. That is exactly what I am always chasing on a set. That quality of light and texture that feels completely uncontrived. You spend hours trying to recreate it in a studio, and here it was, just existing. Freely. For anyone willing to walk through the door and pay attention. 

The German Roots Nobody Talks About 

On our last day, we had brunch at The Guenther House, which sits inside the historic Pioneer Flour Mills. While we waited for our number to be called, we walked through the King William Historic District. The houses in that neighborhood are stunning. Grand, majestic, and full of personality. 

I knew Germans had some influence in Texas. Schlitterbahn, Fredericksburg, Niederwald, the whole Tejano music connection. I knew that. But I was not prepared for how deep the roots actually go in San Antonio, specifically. I always assumed Mexican culture was the dominant thread in that city, and while it absolutely is present and beautiful, the German influence was everywhere once I started looking. 

Here is the part that got me. Between 1847 and 1861, roughly 7,000 German immigrants settled in San Antonio, making up nearly a third of the county’s population. One of those immigrants was Carl Hilmar Guenther, who founded Pioneer Flour Mills and built an elegant home between his mill and the San Antonio River in 1860, which is now the Guenther House. The very place we were standing. The King William District itself was settled by prominent German merchants in the late 1800s and is now the state’s first zoned historic district. 

Then, the biscuits at Guenther House. I need to talk about the biscuits. They brought them out, and I actually laughed. Out loud. At the table. Because I was expecting normal biscuits, and what arrived were these giant, fluffy pillows of pure joy. Nothing about that breakfast was small. 

Also, a very sincere thank you to our waiter, who made me a custom fruit bowl completely free of melon and nectarine without even blinking. That is top-notch service. 

Let’s Work in San Antonio 

In the end, this San Antonio anniversary trip was exactly what eight years deserved. History, good food, and a city that kept surprising us around every corner. We learned things. We ate well. We actually enjoyed ourselves without a single work camera in sight.

I have been to San Antonio once before for a shoot, and I left wanting more. If you are based there and looking for a photographer who gets excited about texture, light, and the kind of food that tells a real story, I would love to talk. Reach out through my contact page. Let’s make something worth remembering.