farmers market, saturday morning

Lena gets us up early these days.  "Early" being 7am.  I say this a bit tongue-in-cheek because of course this isn't really that early, most days.  And most days it's motivating to get up and get the day started with the sunrise.

But on a Saturday morning--any Saturday morning, anywhere--7am is early.  This past Saturday we dragged ourselves out of bed, made a pot of coffee, and looked at each other.  What do early birds do on Saturday mornings?

Maybe go to the farmers market?  And then reward yourself with a really yummy brunch?

We set off down the River Walk and covered about 2.5 miles before we found the market at Pearl Brewery.  It's as big as the C'ville Farmers Market and definitely has more local produce than Eastern Market on a Saturday.

I was psyched to discover a Slow Food presentation.  The Slow Food movement originated in Italy and is inspiring to us on several levels.  We listened to part of the presentation and ate the free tacos (made from local grass-fed beef) that the chef served on little compost-able plates.  (But why is there never a compost bag or bucket when compost-able ware is used??)

We bought some of this "farm fresh goat cheese."  Mmmm.

Then we saw this sign asking us to "please play on the grass".

So we did.  Games of "this is the way the lady trots" to begin with...

... and then down in the grass.  Elliott is diligently exposing Lena to as many potentially allergy-inducing substances (such as cats, dogs, and grass) as he can before she is 6 months old.  Research says exposure before 6 months can prevent allergies, and of course we want our baby allergy free.  Play in the dirt, Lena!  Play in the grass!

Later we wandered behind the Farmers Market into Pearl Brewery, where we made a beautiful discovery: the Twig Book Shop.  And this very enthusiastic lady leading a story hour.  

Elliott found more books to read to Lena while the other children started a craft project.

I, meanwhile, found this knitting book with a fabulous afghan pattern.  I must knit this!

Finally, sated emotionally but starving physically, we began our walk back to our neighborhood.  The River Walk truly is fabulous, with art displays like this under highway overpasses.  (The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the background.)

And there are peaceful stretches like this, where tree limbs interlace overhead.

We finished with one of my all-time-favorite eateries in the world.  (I do not say this lightly.  It's right up there with Punjabi Dhaba in Cambridge and Jimmy T's on Capitol Hill and Take It Away in Charlottesville.)  It is MadHatter's Tea House and Cafe.  We met up with Lewis, one of Elliott's best friends from UVA.   They're the two goofy boys on the right getting ready to order.  And no, none of the shelves on the wall in front of them are nailed on straight.

You serve yourself coffee and choose from their eclectic mug selection.    

And then you feast.  For me: grilled artichoke eggs Benedict with spicy salsa and grilled potatoes.  Ahhh...