Risky River

 Previously:

 Jobe to the Future  - -  Pee-Wee Visits the Alamo

The streets of San Antonio are no stranger to the presence of Hollywood camera crews.  From Pee-Wee's Big Adventure to Miss Congeniality, the historic city has been a backdrop for several cinematic soirees.  One classic 80s film that took advantage of the city's scenery was 1984's Cloak & Dagger.  Not only does it take place in San Antonio but it stars Texas natives Henry Thomas and Dabney Coleman.

But it's not just iconic scenery like the Alamo and the business district that serves as the setting for the spy thriller, there's an elaborate chase scene between Henry Thomas, the movie's young star, and the goons of the film on the famous San Antonio Riverwalk.  Movies like these are a great time capsule that preserve the way certain places or attractions looked like in the past...

 ...not that it really changed that much...at least, not the architecture.  But there's always one thing that changes over time: price.  There's a quick shot in the movie were you can see posted prices.  They go by so fast in the shot that I can't imagine they were put there by the filmmakers so I assume these were the legit mid-80s prices:

 $1.25 for adults and 50 cents for kids.  Not too shabby, right?  By comparison here are some ticket stubs from my grandparents' trip out there about 2-3 years later:

 50 cents inflation isn't too bad but these days tickets will cost you about (as of this writing $13.30 for an adult and $7.50 for kids.  Still not too bad for a tourist town.  Plus, you most likely won't be chased by assassins like young Henry Thomas was.  

Keep in mind, that's not the approved way of exiting the boat.  But it's a great way to end a low-speed chase through a world famous tourist attraction.  The next time you you feel like checking out retro San Antonio, just pop Cloak & Dagger into the ol' movie playing machine (or however people watch movies these days) and take in the sights in all their 1980s glory.

Are You Being Served?

In the interest of full disclosure, I've never actually watched this movie:

But only because it looks absolutely horrible. "Serving Sara" came out in 2002 and the other day I scanned through it to pull these stills. So, with that complimentary introduction, let's get started!

Our first stop is what I like to call "the dome thingy outside Comerica Bank Tower" in downtown Dallas. In the film it was a steak restaurant:



But the most recognizable Dallas location is Pioneer Plaza (also in downtown). It's featured in a foot chase scene with Bruce Campbell and a sweaty, bloated Matthew Perry.




Campbell then runs past the Pioneer Plaza Cemetery and the Confederate War Memorial (which is in the opposite direction that he was running in the Plaza...movie magic!) on his way into the Convention Center.



And then some other stuff happens and then the movie ends. Roll credits!

In the interest of maintaining some educational content in the blog, here's a video segment we shot on Pioneer Plaza:

Flushed With Civic Pride

The East Texas town of Sulphur Springs has a great downtown area.  The Hopkins County courthouse anchors an outdoor collection of attractions including giant board games, a splash pad/fountain and a host of monuments and memorials to veterans. 

But the town's most unique and perhaps most famous claim to fame is the world's only see-through public restrooms.  What exactly is a see-though bathroom, you may ask?  Well, here's what it looks like on the outside:

Thanks to the magic of one-way mirrors, the townsfolk can easily relieve themselves while still observing the downtown hustle & bustle.  Here's what it looks like on the inside:

          

The result is the feeling of complete freedom and superiority that can only happen with the combination of peeing in public and not being in trouble for it.  In fact, it's officially our Number 1 recommendation for Number 2!

High Noon

Downtown Grapevine, TX has loads of shops, restaurants and historic attractions.  As of 2012, they also have their own glockenspiel clock.  Instead of yodelers or cuckoos, this one has gun fighting and train robbing cowboys.  You can find the cowpokes making four daily appearances at the Cotton Belt Hotel Clock Tower (which is also home to the Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau):

There is more than one outcome to the gunfight so it may be different depending on when you see it.  Here's what we saw on a Saturday at High Noon: