If you missed this one- you missed a good one! We started off on the right foot by choosing the Wyndham Gardens as our headquarters, a place for lodging and a start point for exploring the historical landmarks in San Antonio. The staff at the hotel went above and beyond to make sure that we all felt welcome and helped us with directions and individual transportation needs. The hotel itself was situated on the river where boats from the famous “River Walk” slowly cruised by picking up and dropping off passengers. For those more seeking a dryer form of transport, there were city double decker busses within walking distance of the hotel that took passengers to many historic sites like the Alamo and others with deep connections to Texas history. 

Back at the hotel, we had a “meet and greet” gathering on the patio overlooking the San Antonio River. We also had our general meeting and that evening, we held a banquet. We were fortunate to have Master Gunnery Sergeant Ishmael P. Castillo as our guest speaker-the last 1811 in the Marine Corps! His motivational story was one of determination and refusal to give up. He said that he credited his mother with his success by instilling in him to “always do his best.”

At the banquet, we were also honored to have several Marine tankers (non-MCTA) members join us for dinner.  Paul Murry from “Track Pad” also attended the banquet where he and his wife raffled off a huge hand – made Marine tanker quilt.  

Unknown where and when our next reunion will be but we look forward to including members of Track Pad as well as Marine tankers who want to join us for dinner.