Afternoon trip to San Antonio

We recently celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary, but since it fell on a Thursday, we couldn't go anywhere because I was at work. Now that we live in San Marcos, San Antonio isn't as far away as it once was. It's a great place to spend the day. Since gas prices are so high now, it's nice to be able to go somewhere fun on less than a tank of gas.
On our previous trip to San Antonio, we attempted to go to the Tower of the Americas, but it was closed for renovations. This time, our attempt was successful. I almost didn't want to do it when I saw how much it was going to cost ($23 for two adults). The price was worthwhile, and the views were incredible. On the elevator ride up, a recording plays, telling about the Tower. One side is glass, so you can see the ground quickly leaving. Thoughts of the elevator stopping and suddenly crashing to the ground crossed my mind, but I was able to get over that fear and enjoy the ride.
There's a small cafe at the top with drinks, coffee, snacks, and a machine that allows you to make your own pixie stix. There's also a revolving restaurant, but we didn't explore that. Along the wall are pictures of the tower and blurbs about its history. There's a handful of coin-operated binoculars to allow a longer view.
We spent most of our time in the outer ring, which is glassed in except for the top part, which has wires placed horizontally to prevent jumpers. It's really neat being able to see the city from so high up. I especially like the way highways seem like a snake moving through the city. Cars and people look so tiny.
The elevator ride down was much more populated than the ride up, and I once again had to assure myself that the added weight would not cause the car to crash down into the ground. A different recording played, thanking us for visiting the Tower of the Americas.
At the bottom of the tower, there's a gift shop and a 4D theatre. Admission to that is included, but we were too hungry to hang around to check it out.
The Tower of the Americas is located in Hemisfair Park, in downtown San Antonio.