San Antonio's Rockstar Turned Realtor®

Help find Kelsey Ray.

Reward for information on the whereabouts of Kelsey Ray from Western Montana; 16 years of age, 5’6” tall, and approximately 115 pounds. Last seen in the Seattle area. REWARD FOR INFORMATION.

Kelsey Ray was last seen with Kegan Salter, a felony fugitive; 18 years of age and 5’5” tall.

Please contact the Mineral County Police Department (Montana) at (406) 822-3555 or (406) 544-3098 with any information.

Please send this to anyone you think might be able to help. Many of us in the real estate industry know Monica Ray through social media networks and I'd love to know that someone out there has some information that could help her. I can only imagine what she's going through right now. Her daughter is missing and she is reaching out to everyone she knows for any help they can provide.

Spring Vistas in San Antonio 78251

Spring Vistas is a popular neighborhood on San Antonio's Northwest side located between Potranco and W Military Drive (map).  A strong military community, with Lackland Air Force Base being nearby, Spring Vistas offers excellent access to Sea World, shopping and dining, and major highways 1604, 151, and 410.

Offering a variety of home sizes and floorplans, Spring Vistas has what you're looking for.  As part of the North Side Independent School District (NISD), Spring Vistas has Bob Lewis Elementary School within the community (located on Seascape) which makes it convenient for short walks to school.

The pool and amenity center of Spring Vistas are surrounded by mature oaks - making the pool a secluded hideaway and a hidden oasis in the Texas summers.  Centrally located to most of the homes, the recreation center is a short walk for just about everyone.

With the summer time military PCS orders beginning to be issued, expect to see more activity in Spring Vistas over the next few months.  More homes for sale and more buyer traffic which can lead to multiple offers and higher prices.  Whether you're ready to sell your home in Spring Vistas or make it your new home, come visit the community and see why so many residents love this area.

Search homes for sale in Spring Vistas

Want to search all of San Antonio?  Use the San Antonio homes search below.

Visit the San Antonio Neighborhoods section of RErockstar.com for coverage of more communities throughout San Antonio. Don't see what you're looking for? Call me at (210) 646-HOME and I'll add photos, videos, information, and more.

Video released.

Now that Takara and her calf have had some time to rest, it looks like they're ready to enjoy their time at Sea World San Antonio.  Like most animals bonding with their mothers, the new calf has a lot to learn and it looks like Takara is ready for the task.  I can't wait to get over to San Antonio and see the latest addition to Sea World.

To the new calf: I welcome you to San Antonio and hope you have a wonderful time in our city.  Although you won't be able to stroll the Riverwalk (and if you could it would be kind of freaky), we've got a great city full of fun - and you're now part of it!

photo courtesy of jeku arce

Sea World San Antonio has a new Shamu.

Look out Shamu, you've got competition!  Sea World San Antonio announced the birth of a new killer whale calf by Takara, an 18 year old Orca.  My wife can't get enough of Sea World (map), but I have yet to visit (for some reason, I've been out of town every time we've had visitors that she went there with), but with an announcement like this, I feel a certain pride in San Antonio and the Sea World staff.  Breeding any large animal in captivity is typically not an easy feat, but Sea World has been rather successful in their efforts with killer whales, which are truly magnificent to watch (I've seen them in San Diego).  Amazing intelligence, agility, and understanding of their surroundings, it should be interesting to watch the new calf grow up through the years.

This is my grill.

I love to grill.  One of my favorite family stories is about a cold winter snowstorm in Pennsylvania.  A friend of my sister's lived nearby and had gone to the store, braving the icy conditions.  When she returned home, she called my sister to say hello and tell her about the "idiot in the parka out on his balcony grilling in this weather."  That idiot was my Dad.

Both my brother and I received the grilling torch from my father and both of us have become quite skilled over the years.  If I could, I would grill every day for dinner.  I never grow tired of the smoky taste and tenderness you get from grilling, whether through smoking with woods like Mesquite and Hickory or just the good old taste of charcoal.  I don't use a gas grill much (I currently don't own one), but they are great if you're in a hurry.

Since moving to Texas, I really got into the smoking side of BBQ.  I do live in the land of brisket after all.  Smoking takes forever, but when you cut into the meat and see the smoke rings on the outside - that's a reward I love to have.

You can have your snowstorms and below freezing temperatures.

I'm not interested in the cold.  Yes, it does get cold in San Antonio, but not nearly as much and not nearly as severe.  Today, the high is expected to be around 75.  It's November 22nd.  I'll be out there all day; checking my fire, making sure the meat is moist, and enjoying time with my friends.

This is why I live in Texas.  The long hot summer, the short cool winter.  The ability to BBQ anytime I want (not that a little rain or snow has ever stopped me).  Give me a meat or vegetable and I'll slap it on the grill: hamburgers, turkey burgers, hot dogs, Italian sausage, Kielbasa, smoked sausages, Bratwurst, Knockwust, brisket, steak, chicken, fish, shrimp, mussels, lobster, Boston Butt roasts, turkey, beef ribs, pork ribs, baby back ribs, riblets, pork chops, lamb chops, leg of lamb, fajitas, corn on the cob, zucchini, mushrooms, peppers, onions, squash, tomatoes, garlic, potatoes...are you starting to get the picture yet?

Today's menu will be brisket, Boston Butt (pulled pork), and beef and pork riblets.  My wife will make her famous potato salad, our friend who is a pastry chef at a local Inn will make her out of this world deserts, we'll drink some beer and enjoy the day.  That's what BBQ is all about.  Good friends and a whole lot of doing nothing.

I may not be a true Texan, but I will always be a member of the Texas BBQ lovers.

My friend Luke hanging out with "Das Schnitzel" at Wurstfest 2009.

No, I didn't fly to Germany this weekend.

I've spent a lot of time in Germany in the course of my life.  I was there before the Wall came down and have spent months at a time roaming from town to town while I was still a musician.  I actually had designs on being a German teacher at one point in my life.  I still speak and understand some of the language - enough to get me where I need to go.

I have a certain love for all things German.  I guess it just rubbed off on me during my time over there.  Some cities are so familiar to me I can point you in the right direction of my favorite restaurants, hotels, and venues.  My love for all things German especially extends to two things: beer and sausage (or Wurst as they are called in German).

Wurstfest 2009 - New Braunfels, Texas

I didn't realize how much German influence there was in this part of the country until I moved here.  New Braunfels, Texas is the home of Wurstfest, "A Salute To Sausage," billed as Oktoberfest - Texas Style.  With tons of different vendors selling all sorts of different sausage, beers from Späten to Warsteiner (as well as local German-inspired favorite, Shiner), gifts (steins, lederhosen, hats, and more), and a typical round up of small town festival foods.  Music continues throughout the day and night in several locations throughout the Landa Park grounds.  No matter what, you'll have a good time.

This year seemed very packed compared to previous years I've gone and I wonder if the festival isn't growing too much for the size of it's location.  Located along the banks of the Comal River in Landa Park, the Wustfest grounds may need expanding once again if attendance continues to climb.  Started in 1961 (1967 was the first year it was held in Landa Park at the Wursthalle), the festival continues to attract people from around the world as well as locals and nearby residents.  You can see the pride on people's faces as they walk through the festival grounds.  It's a Texas thing that's deeply rooted in the beer halls of München (Munich).

Next year, come on down.  Trink ein bisschen Bier and viel Spass machen.  (Drink a little beer and have a lot of fun.)  Wilkommen.  We're glad you came.

photo courtesy of pokpok313

Are we there yet?

After quite a bit of rain over the last few weeks, San Antonio has had it's Stage Two Water Restrictions lifted.  In order for SAWS to remove the Stage Two Restrictions, the Edwards Aquifer levels had to remain about 650 feet for at least 30 days (as measured at the J-17 monitoring station).  We achieved these levels back on September 11 (650.1 feet) and have remained above 650 since then.

Break out the sprinklers!

Wait, not just yet.  As Stage Two Water Restrictions are lifted, Stage One Water Restrictions become the enforced policy.  To learn more about what this means, read "Every Drop Counts – Stage 1 Water Restrictions Begin" over at RErockstar.com.  It will take 30 days of water levels in the Edwards Aquifer to remain above 660 feet in order to have Stage One Restrictions removed at which point we will be back to normal conditions with no restrictions in place.

Of course, with all this wet weather we've been having, there is little need for your sprinklers right now anyway.  The ground is very moist and with the cooler weather is staying moist as well.  It's a good idea to not over-saturate your lawns and plants (this can actually cause many diseases and rot), so check soil conditions before deciding to draw more water out of the aquifer.

photo courtesy me and my iPhone

Fall arrives in San Antonio.

After one of the hottest Summers on record here in San Antonio (59 days of 100 degrees or more weather - with 5 of them hitting 104 degrees) and a drought that has looked like it will never end, I awoke to this as the scene in my backyard this morning.  It's not pouring and it's certainly not the kind of Fall I grew up with back in Philadelphia, but today is most certainly not Summer.  Today is the first day of Fall and the weather wanted to be sure we knew it here in San Antonio.

My good friends at KSAT News warned me it was coming and I knew it would eventually, but to wake up to 69 degrees, light drizzle, and an expected high of 79 degrees just proved it to me.  While some of you from parts further north might laugh at 79 degrees signaling the end of Summer, it certainly does here in San Antonio.  Fall has arrived and although I won't get the beautiful leaves of Pennsylvania and the Northeast, if you look close I do have tiny leaves all over my deck.  I've never been quite sure, but they seem like they might be seed pods.  I'm not very good at being an arborist, so I'll just have to accept that I'm not sure of much, except they stick to your feet and get all over the house (which drives my wife nuts).

Of course, here in San Antonio, we still have plenty of great weather ahead of us.  When I first moved here, I was wearing shorts well into November.  Looks like this week will be some rain, but as anyone who lives here can tell you...we could use every drop we can find.

If you're looking for quick and easy weather maps, temperatures, radar, aquifer levels (very important to us in San Antonio), and the ever-amusing "Haircast" - look no further than KSAT News' JustWeather.com.