POSTCARD FROM SAN ANTONIO

Hello, from San Antonio!

I arrived here Thursday night ahead of UConn's Sweet 16 game, scheduled for Saturday. The first two things I did on my trip were to overpack my suitcase by two pounds, so I had to take a pair of shoes out and carry them around in my backpack, and drop my boarding pass at the airport, requiring that I look all over for it. But all's well that ends well.

When they first announced the brackets for the women's NCAA tournament, I realized they were each named after a historical part of San Antonio — Alamo, River Walk, Mercado and Hemisfair — but I had never heard of two of them so I had to hit "Google." I'm planning to visit all of four while I'm here, but today I went and walked around the Alamo, since it's close to my hotel. The Battle of the Alamo occurred in 1836 and resulted in the death of many prominent Americans, including Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, there to defend the Alamo Mission and Texas.

In more cheerful matters, UConn coach Geno Auriemma rejoined the team this week after being forced to quarantine at home following a positive test for COVID-19. A video of his arrival Wednesday showed the players swarming him in happiness. "Part of me was really appreciative and 'Yeah, wow, I can't believe how much they missed me,'" Auriemma said. "The other part of me recognized right away, 'Here's another opportunity for them to post something on their (social media) accounts. They just need content.'"

I went for a walk this afternoon and had lunch outside at a Mexican restaurant called Maria Mia's. Highly recommend. The lesson I learned was that enchiladas are difficult to cut with a plastic fork; you need the plastic knife, too!

More tomorrow!

Vickie