Texas + New Mexico - Day 3 - Part 1

Good Morning


Jeremy's alarm is set for 08:00. We get dressed and head downstairs to join Mason and Leigh for their morning walk with their three dogs. The humidity slaps us Coloradans like we walked through a damp sheet. Zelda thinks the walk is fantastic, and she even gets to play at a park nearby for a bit before we head back to the house.


Leigh makes us all delicious biscuits and gravy. This is Zelda's first time eating them, and she devours them right up. We all finish getting ready for the day, load up into our Toyota Highlander, and head for the Japanese Tea Garden in San Antonio.

Japanese Tea Garden


The Japanese Tea Garden was once a pit created by a limestone quarry, but was converted to a Japanese style garden in 1916 by Ray Lambert. The garden used to be called the Lily Pond and greatly relied on citizens donating flowers. After a large remodeling, it was rechristened as The Japanese Tea Garden.


We pull into the lower lot of the Garden and walk up. It's a free attraction, which is very nice. I also love the fact that Mason and Leigh haven't been here before after living here for almost a decade. We walk in, and the entrance places you under a pavilion. We can look out over the entire garden from here, and it is beautiful. The koi ponds go throughout the garden with paved pathways, stone bridges, and a waterfall on the far end from the pavilion. It's like a little piece of Heaven on Earth.

Lush botanical garden with stone walls, pond, colorful flowers, and rocky cliffs in a scenic landscape.

We start making our way down the path, glad that we all want to go the same direction. The left path from the pavilion takes us down to the koi ponds and our first close-up look at the stone bridges. Leigh an Jeremy, who is holding Zelda, cross a bridge first. Mason is standing nearby me as I take pictures, admiring a koi fish who is swimming like they are on a mission to get somewhere in the pond. The fish is literally creating a little wake in its path.

Lush garden with stone bridge over pond, walking paths, colorful flowers, and green trees in a scenic landscape.
Visitors explore a lush stone garden with a pond, rock walls, and greenery on a cloudy day.

I turn my attention towards the koi on a mission. They are fast! I can't quite track them with my 300mm lens, so I settle on taking a picture of a red-eared slider that's hanging out nearby, and a more calm koi.

Turtle swimming near grassy bank in a calm green pond with reflections of clouds and trees visible on the water surface.
A vibrant orange and white koi fish swimming gracefully in a green algae-filled pond with floating leaves.

We keep walking, admiring the foliage. There's a lot of greenery here, and a lot of plants with giant leaves. I'm always a fan of these plants. Maybe it's because we can't really grow them back home in Colorado.

Lush tropical banana plant with large green leaves showing natural brown markings in a garden setting.

As I'm taking photographs, Leigh and Mason take turns holding their granddaughter's hand through the garden. Leigh starts to take Zelda across one of the stone bridges and I take a photograph.

Two visitors explore a rustic stone bridge over a serene pond in a lush garden with limestone cliffs.

We make our way to the waterfall and continue walking the perimeter of the garden to the other side. I snap another picture from here. We are higher up now and it makes for a great view of the Garden.

Stone arch bridge over a serene green pond in a lush Chinese garden with rocky cliffs and verdant trees.

We return to the pavilion and go inside of the gift shop and café. Jeremiah and I get coffees. I consider getting Zelda a paper parasol, but figure she's probably too young at nineteen months and the parasol would more than likely get ripped accidentally. We sit for a bit outside, enjoying our beverages, and then head to the car. Next stop: San Antonio Zoo!