Convention: Seeing the city

Usually with these conventions, everything is centered around the convention hotel and hall. Everything. Meetings. Awards ceremonies. Meals. Exercise. Etc. So there is no need to venture off site. This year's convention is nominally in San Antonio, but it's actually nowhere near San Antonio proper, which is about 30-40 minutes away (depending on traffic). So last night, it was great to connect with 2018 alum Sami Ellougani -- who actually LIVES right in downtown San Antonio and works down here. He was nice enough to buy me dinner and show me around on a beautifully mild night. Side note: It was funny to see the locals bundled up even more than me, wearing gloves and hats on a night when it was in the mid-60s. Anyway, the Riverwalk area of downtown is really cool, and it was even better with the holiday season lights, decorations and festivities. So at least for a few hours, I was able to actually get away from the convention and truly experience San Antonio and see Sami. Both were well worth the time and effort.