We decided to take an Uber to San Antonio. It would keep us from having to look for parking and we could actually have a glass of something fun with lunch. Also, our adult daughters always get terribly concerned when we take long trips, so they were strongly hinting that taking an Uber is a very good idea.
The trouble started when I tried to book the trip through my phone.
I tried chat support. “We can’t fix it and I sent your request to our better team. They will email. Bye.”
That’s okay, I can book it through Gordon’s phone. I booked the trip, I got dressed into my outside clothes, I put on make up, Uber arrives, we get in, off we go.
Midway to San Antonio, the driver starts looking very uneasy and then says,” I’m so sorry.” We are slowing down. And down. And we are on the side of the road in the grass.
We are pulled over. Our driver was speeding. In his defense, everyone was speeding. I-35 is almost always clogged with traffic so when it is clear, Texas drivers go “Wheeee!” and then 85 mph becomes the new normal.
A highway patrolman comes to the window.
“Was I speeding?”
“You and everyone else. I’m giving warnings today.”
Getting a warning took almost 10 minutes. Then we pull back into the speeding traffic with a bit of a jump as we go from the grass to the pavement.
We arrive to San Antonio. The Uber driver drops us off a block past the house. Not his fault, he got confused. (We tipped the driver well, because he clearly had a hard trip.) We are also confused. It’s not the best part of San Antonio. The neighborhood is clearly being gentrified, so you have modern, nice house next to a dilapidated dark ruin that belongs in some horror movie.
I text our friend, “Please come out so we can find you.”
We hoof it for a bit and find our friend. Yay!
I had booked the Chart House in the Tower of the Americas. It was the closest nice restaurant that would take reservations and had good reviews. So we are walking to the Tower, which is about half a mile away, and it starts raining. There is lightning, there is thunder, and things are about to get very wet. We are speed walking to the tower and two seconds after we make it in, the sky breaks open and all the water comes out. It’s a deluge.
We get into the restaurant and it’s lovely. It’s one of those rotating tower deals, so we can see the whole San Antonio. The last time we were in a rotating tower restaurant, our then editor, Erika Tsang, took us out to eat during a convention and we told her that White Hot would be late. That was an uncomfortable conversation.
But this conversation was awesome. We had Reata Chardonnay, Gordon had a beer, and for some reason everyone decided to order fish and chips. The food was good, the wine was excellent, the company was the best of all. We had a very good time.
The rain finally stopped and we walked back through the puddles to drop our friend off and get another uber. This time it was a Tesla. We got into it, and Gordon texted our daughters.
It went like this. I’m in blue.
The Tesla, indeed, broke. We are not sure what the problem was. It was charged, but the driver couldn’t get up to speed and he said it was acting odd. So, we barely got out of San Antonio when he informed us that he didn’t feel safe and that’s how we ended up at the unfamiliar HEB waiting for the second ride. Our fair is supposed to be refunded.
Our third Uber driver was a disturbed person who shared a lot of his paranoid views with us. He did get us to the house in one piece, and I couldn’t get out of that Uber fast enough.
Sometimes I wonder if I am in a sitcom and I just don’t know it. Hehehe.
Seeing our friend was amazing. We had such a good time, and it was worth all the Uber weirdness. And I got a funny blog post out of it, so it was a win all around.
One time I took an uber home from the airport after a business trip. It was 10 pm and I had been in meetings all day, then had to deal with the airport. The driver asked where I was coming from, and I said a work trip and that I was a satellite engineer. For the following 10 minutes I had to listen to the uber driver explain to me that the earth was flat and if I only just thought about it I would see that it is the only explanation that makes sense.
I did not tip him out of protest even though I was getting reimbursed from my company.
🤣
Last April we ventured back into the “city” for my bday. We have a car but we “ubered” our way around the area (parks, malls,restos etc). On our last day I wanted our son to experience the old fashioned taxi so we hopped on (just the 2 of us) one and I will say that is the last time I will do that again. The taxi had no meter, old and smelly and the driver looked and acted like a creepy kidnapper to me. Luckily the ride was short (5 minutes of pure stress) and we got out safe. I asked my son what he thought of the taxi and he said: “Smelly.”
Glad u had a great time!
The last time I took an Uber, the suspension on the car was so bad, I thought we were going to die. He dropped us off at a transit station and I took a train home. The quality is hit and miss. Mostly miss in all my experiences.
I frequently get Lyft for my disabled kids. You are correct. It’s hit and miss on travel quality. But it’s worth it for safety and convenience.
I’ve never used Uber, and it doesn’t sound like I’m missing much. I have friends who volunteer for NeighborRide. I expect that could be pretty hit or miss too though.
Oh! That triggered a weird childhood memory of my trip to San Antonio in the late 80s. On the day we were going to visit the wax museum, my tummy felt really bad so my parents and older brother went in while I waited outside with my aunt, who was recovering from 2 broken wrists and had been invited to the trip to cheer her up.
I started feeling worse, and a lovely girthy custodian (as in strong, tall motherly figure) took pity on me and offered to carry me back to the hotel. I just instinctively trusted her, but my aunt thought I may be getting kidnapped and she hustled as fast as she could (never ran in her life) behind her, who was rushing to get me to the hotel before I puked.
I got to our hotel room safe and sound and immediately felt better. We stayed there the rest of the day while the family went to the same spinning tower restaurant. I had great fun staying in bed watching Sesame Street all day (we didn’t have in Mexico in the 80s).
Nowadays I wonder if my symptoms had anything to do with the fact that I have slight automatonophobia… Regardless, I gave my aunt one of the biggest scare of her life and is still convinced it was an attempted kidnapping.
Fave Uber story was last year when my aunt and uncle ordered an Uber from our house to JFK airport and… a Mini Cooper arrived to take them. They had so many bags and suitcases and we even asked them “You sure you don’t need UberXL?” I took pictures through the window of the driver trying to make everything fit in his tiny car.
We later found out my aunt and uncle gave us bedbugs (we didn’t know it was them at first but highly suspected it) and it basically ruined my summer (they are one of my worst phobias). I also sometimes feel I live in a sitcom!!
Glad you had a fun night out despite all the Uber drama.
OMG, 😂 I’m sorry about that Uber experience and glad you all had a good time. But I have to say, thats what happens when tech goes and chanting isn’t gonna help🤷🏽♀️
We use Uber when go to Las Vegas and We’ve never had a problem. Some of the drivers do both Uber and Lyft. One of the last times we used a Taxi, the driver decided to take the longer way to our hotel. Problem for him was we know that trick and we told him. We paid him what we would have if he’d gone the shorter way.
I just pre-ordered paper version Magic Claims on Amazon. 😊
There you go, focus on the positive!
And next time drive! Or ask a friend/neighbor to drive & pay them. I’ve never used Uber but reading the comments confirmed my reservations abt using them.
Busy cities it’s best to park right away & use mass transit to final destination. That advice was given to me when I went to Scotland many yrs ago.
The only mass transit in San Antonio is the bus. Riding the bus carries a stigma in America. Using the extensive train and bus system is part of the way of life in Europe.
In some places riding the bus may carry a stigma but not all (and I don’t care anyway — I always try to ride public transpo in cities). The problem with US bus systems is that they are not usually well set up for casual visitors. Local residents figure it out but it’s harder for tourists, who can’t ask their neighbors about how to get around.
Only time I used Uber the driver had the car so heavily scented with air freshener things that it gave me a headache. She was ok but the car was a no go. Haven’t done it again.
I received the Graphic Arts version of Magic Bites and LOVE IT!!!!
So happy you enjoyed it! 😊
🥺🤦👏👏. Brava! I would hv been admitted to the nearest psych unit for complete nervous breakdown! I’m glad you made it home safely!
Oh wow. Rain when it NEVER rains around SAT. Uber weirdness. Glad the day is good. Chart house is nice, I’ve been there twice. Glad you got home in one piece.
I’m so happy y’all had a good time visiting, and “adventures” to tell. I read the blog all the time but rarely get 2 minutes to comment. I love hearing the tales of House Andrews. Sometimes I feel like I’m unknowingly in a sitcom too. Sometimes a show of serendipity, sometimes gut busting comedy, and then sometimes a series of unfortunate events. 😆 I feel more secure knowing it’s not just me. 🤣 I love hearing of San Antonio and the Hill Country. (never been that fond of Austin though) I need to visit these areas again they are beautiful and I’ve missed them. I’ve grown up and lived in TX my entire life. (Southeast and Deep East TX) I live in a little place known as the oldest town in TX, Nacogdoches. Went to college here. During college summers I spent a lot of time driving the 5 hours one way to San Antonio, New Braunsfel, San Marcos, the Hill Country, Llano, and Canyon Lake areas for various summer activities. Camping, scuba diving, floating the river, hiking the parks, exploring the Riverwalk, ect… Almost every weekend in fact. 🤣 I had an Olds station wagon(room for lots of friends😉), fuel wasn’t that expensive( especially if you’re car pooling), and lots of college age energy. 🤣 I haven’t been in years now. I need to visit, drive the countryside, camping, hiking, diving, and float once more.
Thanks for sharing! (I feel like we must be related . . . our family frequently runs into this type of drama just trying to do regular life stuff.)
This sounds like an amazing trip! I’m so jealous that you got to experience all of the fun happenings in San Antonio. I’m sure you have some great memories from your time there. Thanks for sharing your story!
Holy Cow never had issues with our Tesla.
Glad you got home safely ….
If you were living in Europe, you would have taken the train.
–San Antonian living Germany 😉
Totally unrelated, but this instagram post made me think of Magic Bites. Thought it was a fun graphic.
Man oh man, you guys had a trip 🤣🤣🤣 Grateful you are safe and able to find the good in the experiences.🙂
Trying hard not to giggle….what a day!
Oh my goodness how funny. Glad you are safe and still have your sense of humor. But you were warned when you first attempted to book, lol. Congratulations on the new book marketing and the many modes of the book.You deserve so much success. Thanks for the fun and joy.
Life in the USA. Seems like nothing i straightforward and you are bombarded with internet content adventures. I could do with less of that.