The San Antonio river walk proved to be interesting to both myself and my son during a recent visit. Although I was worried that he would be bored walking along the river, I do not believe anyone would be bored with a couple hours of walking and dining in downtown San Antonio.

We began strolling casually along, enjoying the many things to see on the river walk. Because the river turns, we alternated from sunlight to light shade, to dark shade under the bridges. It was a photographic challenge at times, but kept us from getting very hot as we walked along.

The walkway is directly next to the water. There is definitely a hazard of falling in, and we found ourselves gasping a couple of times as young kids ran around and challenged the forces of inertia and gravity. The advantage of being that close is that you can hear the informational tidbits tossed out by the tour-boat captains. Listen to them as they go by and you'll learn even more about San Antonio.

If you go hungry onto the river walk, you'll be fine. There are plenty of good restaurants with tables in the shade on the banks of the river. We had already eaten, so we didn't sample the food, but the smells were great. Some of the restaurants will have what we labeled "cutie magnets" – young, attractive ladies out front saying hello to the folks walking by, offering them good seats in their restaurants. I heard one gentleman ask the hostess what discount she could offer if they ate there, and she quickly told him of a coupon-less 2-for-1 entrée offer they could have. So ask - their jobs are to get you to sit down. Let them up the ante a bit.

Take your time and notice the sculptures, statuaries, and fountains along the walk. And most importantly, notice the people. You'll see all kinds along the river walk.

Plans to fill in the riverbed were scrapped. The three-mile long River Walk, about twenty feet below street level, was created along the downtown portion of the San Antonio River mainly from schemes by architect Robert H. H. Hugman, and the project broke ground in 1939. A thin tributary of the river conveniently makes a loop here, so the river banks eventually became lined with suave hotels, crowded restaurants, and popular shops. This may sound like a giant strip mall, but the river is also landscaped with lovely trees and other native greenery. The river is quite narrow, so it is spanned by stone bridges that are vaguely reminiscent of those in Venice. Though the bridges have steps, there are places along the River Walk that are accessible to the handicapped.

One of the sheer pleasures in town is a casual stroll along the River Walk. Take a guided forty minute loop on the waterway for a unique perspective of the city. It may not be quite as romantic as a gondola ride (you will probably share a flat-bottom boat with about thirty other passengers) but it is a pleasant ride day or night. The boat also glides along the waterways which lead to the Gonzalez Convention Center and the popular Rivercenter Mall. One of the unique elements along the way is the Arneson Theater, with the stage performers on one side of the river and the audience seated on amphitheater steps across the river. Our boat captain doubled as the tour narrator. Perhaps her most amusing tidbit was that if you fall overboard, just stand up in the shallow four-foot-deep water and trudge towards one of the river banks. I wonder how many people fall into the river every day, as it would seem to be an easy thing to do for overactive kids or extremely inebriated pedestrians since there are few guard rails along the paths.

The River Walk and the attractions along it have a symbiotic relationship. The hotels feed off their relationship to the river and can almost claim superiority to those properties that are slightly off the trail. People along the River Walk can then point to the hotels as veritable landmarks. The Alamo is fortunate to be already a landmark, for it is about three blocks from the river.

Plans are afoot to extend the River Walk as far north as Brackenridge Park and south along the Mission Trail. Hopefully the planners do not go overboard by overdeveloping its marvelous cash cow.