Driving Into Tomorrow: Education, Careers, and Car Culture

The automotive industry is undergoing a profound transformation that's reshaping how we think about careers in vehicle repair and maintenance. Gone are the days when becoming a mechanic simply meant learning from your dad in the garage. Today's automotive technicians need sophisticated computer skills alongside traditional mechanical aptitude.

Hugh Mann from Houston Community College joins us to discuss the evolving landscape of automotive education and the lucrative career paths available to those with proper training. "You almost feel like you gotta have an IT degree to work on them sometimes," Hugh notes when discussing modern vehicles with their complex sensors and driver-assist features. Dealerships are competing fiercely for qualified technicians, driving up wages and improving working conditions - including the increasingly common air-conditioned repair shops replacing the sweltering environments of years past.

One particularly fascinating insight reveals how HCC structures their educational programs to accommodate different career aspirations. Students can complete certificates in as little as two semesters or pursue associate degrees that open doors to management positions later in their careers. The diesel and heavy equipment specialties often command higher salaries than traditional automotive paths, with different pay structures that appeal to those seeking more predictable income.

Beyond the educational discussion, we explore creative ways car enthusiasts are repurposing automotive components. Jeff shares fascinating examples of BBQ grills crafted from engine blocks, rims, and even entire vintage cars - each telling a story about automotive passion extending beyond the road. Marrs rounds out our journey with unique driving destinations around San Antonio, from the spectacular emergence of 15 million bats at Bracken Cave to the quirky Toilet Seat Art Museum created by a former plumber. 

Whether you're considering a career change, looking to understand the future of automotive repair, or simply love unique car culture stories, this episode offers valuable insights into how vehicles continue to shape our lives in unexpected ways. Explore the educational pathways at HCC by visiting hccs.edu or calling 713-718-8100 to learn more about jumps

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Transcript

Welcome to In Wheel Time

Speaker 1 0:00

Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast, a 30-minute mini version of the In Wheel Time Car Show that airs live every Saturday morning 8 to 11 am Central. Welcome to another Saturday morning of the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show. As soon as I turn the page, I'll be able to start this show for you. There you go, Because I've clearly messed up and I've got pages. I've got papers out the wazoo. Don't ask me what the wazoo is, Shh we don't want to go there, we're not telling.

Speaker 2 0:26

Put some ointment on it.

Speaker 1 0:28

Welcome to the award-winning In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show Coming up. We talk with Hugh Mann with HCC about an automotive education. Later Jeff will bring us some of his car culture Barbecue grills made from car parts Right on. Mama's going to love the backyard. Now Transmission in the bathtub. That's right, mars has his driving destinations off the beaten path this week. Howdy, along with Mike out of this world. Mars. We always need more. Jeff Zekin. Sorry, I'm Don Armstrong. What did you do?

Speaker 2 1:00

I hit myself in the face. You've been known to do that quite frequently. I needed to be smacked Apparently so.

Automotive Education with Hugh Mann

Speaker 1 1:07

All right. So let's get right to it. Hugh Mann is joining us now. Houston Community College, and I understand it's going to be changing before too long. It's going to be Houston City College, but that's another story for another day. We're going to talk about automotive education and a path to earn some big bucks. School's right around the corner, hugh, good morning to you.

Speaker 3 1:33

You went back to mute.

Speaker 1 1:35

You're on mute, Hugh. You know I hate that. Why does that thing do that? It defaults sometimes.

Speaker 4 1:41

How about now? There you go, beautiful baby. Well, like I said, good morning, good to see you all again. Thanks for having me back.

Speaker 1 1:48

Yep, always, it's a pleasure to have you with us. You know Automotive News did a big story just a little while ago about these podcasts, including ours. That really is trying to bring in automotive guys and you know it. It's unfortunate, but back in my day you know really to be a mechanic. An auto mechanic wasn't something that you go to school for.

Speaker 2 2:13

You probably learned how to do all the stuff from your dad in the garage, you know, fixing the brakes or whatever it was Well the times they be a changing.

Speaker 1 2:24

My friend, yes, they are yeah. And it's truly amazing that if you're a whiz on the computer, you got a job in the car industry, buddy.

Speaker 4 2:36

You can. You can for sure, especially as more and more go to the hybrid and electric and with all the driver, driver assist uh perks that are there, the, the lane departure and blind spots, and uh, there's so many modules and sensors on them now it's uh, you almost feel like you gotta have an it degree to work on them sometimes well, and I know that.

Speaker 1 3:01

I know that, uh, car dealerships are really having a hard time because they're paying big bucks, but the guy down the street from the Chevrolet dealership over at the Infinity dealership is paying $5 more an hour if you'll come over and work for him.

Speaker 4 3:22

Yeah, they're always battling for technicians, and that issue's been going on for decades as well. Yeah, they're always battling for technicians, and that issue's been going on for decades as well. The old joke was that's why Snap-on put wheels on toolboxes.

Speaker 4 3:35

Guys are always going from one shop to another. I've heard stories of guys going across the street multiple times back and forth, so you know that's always the battle. I'll tell you what most of these dealerships are doing now is they're thinking more about how they retain technicians and how they retain guys not just pay, but benefits and a lot of shops now, if they're not being built new, they're being retrofitted and there's more air-conditioned automotive repair shops in the city of Houston than there ever has been in the past. I was just out at Sterling McCall out on Southwest Freeway last week and they're in the middle of like a $20 million remodel. They're going to have over 100 lifts and a completely air-conditioned facility zone and and, and rightly so.

Speaker 1 4:29

Because, uh, let's face it, you're going to take your uh, well, minimum fifty thousand dollar car could be a hundred, could be a hundred and fifty thousand dollar car to be worked on by somebody that you respect. You can't do the work yourself, you take it in there. They better be treating these guys right. And because I don, because I don't want some guy working on my car that doesn't know you know which way to turn, because it's 150 degrees in the shop, and I know because I worked in one way back in the day at Richardson Chevrolet. There was no air conditioning, are you kidding? Like crying in baseball? There's none of that either. Exactly, yeah.

Modern Automotive Career Paths

Speaker 1 5:03

So I didn't want to lead everybody with the wrong impression that every technician, uh, has to know the computer because there are some very skilled technicians in the body shop. They don't necessarily have to know about all of that. They know where the sensors are and that sort of thing. But you know there's a real art in the body shop as well. Uh, these days people don't accept cars like they used to. Well, the paint doesn't match or the body panel doesn't fit just the right way. No, no, no, no, it doesn't work that way, does it?

Speaker 4 5:35

No, no, because of mainly just because of the economy and the prices and the money that goes into these cars and what people are paying for. They're a lot more particular about making sure everything's exactly right. They don't want, you know, they don't want a handle to rattle or a piece of trim to just be slightly loose or off kilter, and they're very particular about that. It's one of the hardest things we have. Teaching students is yes, you need to understand the vehicle, you need to know how to fix it and you need to know how it works, but you have to pay attention to detail. The attention to detail is so important and can make or break a customer whether he comes back or not.

Speaker 1 6:20

Back in my day at the Chevrolet dealership we had a couple of guys, two men, and they worked in a separate area of the body shop down at the end and they did nothing but fiberglass. As a matter of fact, there were other manufacturers that built fiberglass vehicles Pantera and a couple of other ones that they brought their cars over to these two guys because they know how to work fiberglass and it's a very unique and specialized area of the shop and they got paid a lot of money to be able to have that expertise and it took them years to do it. It was a father-son team Dad taught Junior how to do it and Junior ultimately inherited the whole thing and he had to teach somebody else because he was aging as well. So there's a lot of that sort of thing and I was flying over the uh, one of the metro bus repair facilities, which is massive, and I thought you know that is a whole other side of the business that I really didn't learn anything about Heavy diesel repair and buses, huge transmissions, big power plants, along with air conditioning that's also logged on to all of that stuff and in an environment that you don't have a lift, so to speak, that you could lift that whole bus up in the air and get underneath it.

Speaker 1 7:46

No, you're in a pit and that big bus is sitting over the top of you. And not only that, but there's parts of it that are on top, with the engine bay open, and then you've got to get underneath it. There's a lot involved in that, and I guess that that's a different pay scale, isn't it? Yeah?

Speaker 4 8:02

it is. The whole diesel industry side is a lot different than the automotive side. You know, for the most part all your automotive technicians and all your dealerships are working on what they call a flat rate type pay scale. They get paid for the work they're doing based on the hours it gets charged to the customer. And on the heavy truck or diesel side that is still true when it comes to the truck dealerships. You know Peterbilt, freightliner and those type of dealerships.

Speaker 4 8:37

But there's such a bigger industry out there on the diesel side like massive size fleets out there on the diesel side like massive size fleets, all these trucking companies and metro buses and you know you got oil field and and stationary and generators and construction equipment and these type of shops. They don't necessarily work on a flat rate scale. They're they're working on a straight hourly scale most of the time. So some guys like that it it that's appealing to them not having to worry about the the workload coming of the time. So some guys like that that's appealing to them not having to worry about the workload coming through the shop. They know they're going to make 40 hours a week.

HCC Program Options and Benefits

Speaker 4 9:12

Not that those companies still don't monitor each technician's production and making sure they're doing what needs to be done. But it's a different pay scale and I would say on average, maybe not on an hourly basis. When you look at flat rate hour versus straight hourly it's probably not that much larger. But overall, on a median annual salary, the diesel side tends to pay a little bit more than the automotive side. Working in a flat rate shop, most of the bosses I ever had said, if you want to raise work faster, yeah, and they do do that.

Speaker 2 9:43

I've got a question from the beginning. When hcc teaches the basics to to the students to get them out and of course they help them land a prospective job at a dealership and we talked about moving around you go from a ford dealer that you've been working there and you've got all the certifications, and now you want to move over to toyota. For whatever reasons, do you have to retake certifications, obviously for that Toyota brand, and how difficult is that for the adjustment?

Speaker 4 10:10

I would say for an average technician it's probably not all that difficult. Most of those manufacturers, their specific training, they're going to go through and do some education for you, whether it's some type of online class or whether it's an in-person class, and a lot of it is to be honest with you is just understanding the difference in maybe a little bit of terminology, um, maybe how the how the system is is managed theoretically maybe a little different, but you know it's, it's like anything else an internal combustion engine, it, it works like every in every other internal combustion engine. It works like every other internal combustion engine. The parts just may look a little different or maybe a different size, but the theory and the way the systems operate doesn't really change anything.

Speaker 1 10:56

So, hugh, let's drill down into HCC and what you guys offer there. Let's just take, for instance, I'm a high school graduate getting ready to graduate, or I'm in my senior year of high school and I'm looking at an automotive career, automotive technician career, and I really don't know which way to go. I'm pretty good with my hands and tools out in my garage. I built a couple of hot rods. I go drag racing every other weekend, so I've got a little bit of know-how, if you will, to wrench a car, but I don't know which way to go as far as my education is concerned and to get me a good-paying job at a nice dealership. What do you say to somebody like me?

Speaker 4 11:41

Well, what we encourage all suits to do. When you look at our automotive program, we offer multiple certificates, as long as well as a an associate of applied science two year degree. And what we encourage students is, if you're not sure if this is the field for you, depending on how much experience you have prior to to come in here, you know, just sign up for one of the certificates. We got one certificate that is only two semesters. You can be, you can be done in two semesters. Or we got a larger one that's three semesters. It goes a little more in depth, a little more advanced, and you can always change once you get started. Once you get in there and get started, if this is what you really like and you think it's for you, you can change to the larger certificate or you can change even on up to an AAS degree, which we always encourage.

Speaker 4 12:33

A lot of students come in and say oh no, I want to turn a wrench, I want to get greasy, I don't need a degree, you do. That's what all of us wanted to do when we were 19, 20, 21 years old. When we got older, we started thinking well, maybe working in the office ain't quite so bad, that associate's degree will help you down the road to advance within a company or a dealership, whether it be up-to-service shop foreman or service manager, or even maybe into another department. So we always encourage them to get the most education they can when they're young and they have the time so it helps them in the future can when they're young and they have the time so it helps them in the future.

Speaker 1 13:12

Well, let me just add to that the fact that I had a very good friend of mine love the guy and he worked the warranty side in the office and his office was right off the shop. I mean you could walk right into his office out of the shop and the guy had to have the knowledge, general knowledge of out of the shop. And the guy had to have the knowledge, a general knowledge, of all of the lineup of cars that Chevrolet offered and how much time it took. Obviously he had a book. They were going to charge for a specific thing under warranty and it was very important because that's how the mechanic got paid and he couldn't get paid over because the Chevrolet would slap the back of your hand. So he kept everything in line.

Speaker 1 13:58

But he had to have a general knowledge of you know, the heater system on a Chevy Impala. I mean crazy stuff like that. The heater didn't go out that often in a car but he had to know the difference of R&R fan as opposed to a heater hose or a radiator hose, any of that sort of stuff. So a general knowledge. You had to have that to be able to do the job that he did. So there are those kinds of jobs within a dealership that I don't think most people think about, within a dealership that I don't think most people think about.

Speaker 4 14:30

Yeah, I encourage students all the time that you know, if you get in there and you technician or trainer or wrenchman, I'll be for you. You know, any good seasoned technician will tell you one of the best assets he can have is a very knowledgeable service advisor or service writer. A service writer that has some mechanical background maybe went through a program and decided not to be a technician. They know the right questions to ask. They know how to advise a customer. They know how to explain to customers why something needs to be fixed. They can sell a lot of work for the technician, but they can make the technician's job easier by getting the most amount of information from the customer as well. I tell everybody don't look down on those positions. Those positions they pay very well, they pay good money and they're very needed and if you're good you can be very popular and very sought after in the industry as well.

Speaker 1 15:25

Well, and the same thing goes for the parts department, because I knew guys in the parts department that helped the mechanic, and so he fills out his request for the parts to fix the car and he left off, you know, a filter or left off something. The parts guy is going to go hey man, you sure you don't need this part. So the part guy is just as important. So if you're working at a parts counter, let's say at O'Reilly or Advance Auto, and you want to get into a dealership, I'll bet you that there's a spot for you and you can make a lot of money in there, because it's not just parts for your dealership, it's also parts for other dealerships that you sell parts to and repair shops and that sort of stuff. So there's so many jobs, okay. So how do we find out all about HCC and the programs that they've got to offer?

Speaker 4 16:11

Find out all about HCC and the programs that they've got to offer. Well, the quickest, easiest way is, you know, obviously the website hccsedu. If you go under programs and then the transportation department, you can find all of our options. As far as the automotive, all the certificates and associate degree, body shop and then the heavy vehicle diesel side. Again, we have two different certificates two semesters, three semesters and an associate degree for heavy vehicle. And this fall we just started offering our heavy equipment specialization under our associate degree In the heavy vehicle and diesel side. It's a vastly sought after technicians. In the construction equipment side they're a little different. You focus a little bit more on hydraulics, less on steering and suspension per se and more on the hydraulic side for the equipment. But all that can be found at our website.

Speaker 4 17:16

If you have any questions you can call the main transportation automotive office. It's 713-718-8100. Or you can always just come by, take a tour of the facility, check out the location. We're at 4638 Airline, right at the corner of Airline and 45. It's an old Chrysler dealership facility. We've been there since 1991. And then our second location is North Forest School District. It's on the corner of Homestead and Little York. It's an automotive facility. It's brand new. That facility is all air-conditioned shop, 15 bays, all air-conditioned, all brand new equipment. We've got room over there too.

Speaker 1 17:55

When are you going to invite us out to do a remote broadcast from there? On a Saturday morning?

Speaker 4 18:00

We'll have to work that out. We're always doing different community events on Saturdays and registration events. I'll have to get you in touch with our communications people and see if we can get you all out there on the next one.

Speaker 1 18:12

Hugh, it's great to talk to you. Thanks so much for taking the time with us this morning. God bless, and let's be in touch.

Speaker 4 18:19

Thank you guys. I appreciate it, Appreciate you.

Jeff's Car Culture: BBQ Grills from Car Parts

Speaker 1 18:21

Yep, you do the same Just ahead, Jeff's Car Culture Barbecue grills made from car parts. I wonder if they they got a course for that at HCC.

Speaker 2 18:30

I don't know.

Speaker 1 18:33

Bus Mars has driving destinations off the beaten path. This week, the In Real Time Car Talk Show is back. After this, the Tex-Mex dining experience is defined by Loopy Tortilla, your destination for Texas' best beef fajitas and frozen margaritas. Since 1983, loopy Tortilla has served authentic and time-tested recipes made with the freshest ingredients. Atmosphere is part of the award-winning experience at Loopy Tortilla, all developed in a little house near Highway 6 and I-10 in West Houston. Visit any of the Loopy Tortillas and you'll see the same attention to detail in each and every location. Start your Loopy experience with queso flammeado and guacamole, along with a classic frozen margarita. Dine on famous Loopy beef and chicken fajitas or pepper shrimp brochette or a fish or vegetarian entree, and finish with a scrumptious flan for dessert. Find Loopy Tortilla in Houston, college Station, beaumont, austin, san Antonio and Dallas, fort Worth. There's a Texas location near you. The recipes are authentic and time-tested, the ingredients always fresh. Loopy Tortilla it's pretty good. Apple or Android In Wheel Time podcasts can be found everywhere on the stream and through downloads.

Speaker 1 19:43

Whether you're on the road or at home and jonesing for a different kind of car talk show, give In Wheel Time a try. Honest new car reviews, fun, informative interviews with real car people, weekly automotive news, features like Jeff's car culture and Mike's driving destinations, all on In Wheel Time. Check us out on SiriusXM podcasts, iheartradio or while you're shopping on Amazon through Amazon Music. Inwheeltimecom has a list and we know you love lists. Hey, inwheeltime invites you to join us 10 to noon Central Time every Saturday for our live clogging event about all things automotive and I know Mars is a big clogger.

Speaker 3 20:19

Yeah, yeah, I get clogged every once in a while. Yeah, by your wife.

Speaker 1 20:24

All right, jeff's Car Culture barbecue grills made for car parts.

Speaker 2 20:28

Here we go Six standing grills made from recycled auto parts. Hey, do you have one at home? Are you working on one? So you're getting ready to go out there and grill something with your favorite snacks. Opt for the same old, traditional looking charcoal grill when you can gain access to a more innovative and stylish looking alternative. Here we go with six of my favorites. The first one is a Holden Monero GTS barbecue grill. The owner of this grill probably decided to put his broken down Holden Monero GTS to good use. The grill features the entire front engine of the car, which stands on a metal frame against the wall. The hood has been removed to keep it propped up over the engine, which has been removed for grilling purposes. Obviously, although we like the design, we're a bit wary of how the car would respond to the heat emanating from the front of the grill. You might have it blocked off. You never know. The next one is a do-it-yourself. It's a rim barbecue.

Speaker 1 21:18

I see a lot of these tailgates and stuff like that yeah baby Enjoy some cocktails with a steel car rim Put some 22s on it.

Speaker 2 21:24

Yeah, put some dubs, and if you notice, this is on the back of a pickup truck, if you know that, because they say that you can do this you need something like a restaurant table or a base, preferably of metal wire cooking grate, which you can buy at the home shopping club there. Simply prop it up, put it on a rim, turn it upside down and add charcoal to the rim cavity, place a wire on it and there you go, throw some hot dogs and burgers on there. This one's called the Rub or RUB Mobile Barbecue. At first sight you would wonder whether it's actually a barbecue, but an Orange County chopper. You can actually see a mobile barbecue pit. There's a motorcycle attached to it, dubbed as the Rub Chopper. The grill makes a mean look with a sleek design, equally impressive performance. The icing on the cake is a 5.7-liter V8 Hemi engine that produces over 345 horsepower to haul this thing around.

Speaker 1 22:14

What if you could barbecue, doing 70 miles an hour down the freeway?

Speaker 2 22:18

Smoking people out behind you. Next one we have, Michael, is a Chevy V8. That's a Mike.

Speaker 1 22:24

Mars, that's Mike Mars, and the handle are the headers, the zoomies on it. What about a car engine?

Speaker 2 22:31

Could it play a role in traditional barbecuing or grill perfection? We think yes. Take a look at this one. The owner apparently wanted to do something different when he thought of this project. A lot of add-ons. He's also gone into making the engine a functional grill. The owner of it took a 4th of July barbecue in his neighbor and was glad to announce that it attracted more onlookers than the actual car in the area. So he took it to a friend's and got a bunch of attention.

Speaker 1 22:55

He's even got spark plug wires on it.

Speaker 2 22:57

Yeah, that's pretty cool. Next one, michael, is a Hemi Power Grill.

Speaker 1 23:00

Oh my, God, here's another barbecue that will spellbind you forever.

Speaker 2 23:04

Unraveled at the what Can you Hemi contest. This grill features a Hemi V8 engine that has been modified to fit on wheels from a mobile grill. It looks like it runs. Yeah, the Hemi engine is capable of producing enough power to cook over 240 hot dogs in just three minutes.

Speaker 1 23:21

Crafted out of a 330 you just dunk them down.

Speaker 2 23:24

the zoomie headers no no Square foot feet of tube steel, pure steel. The grill surely will be a hit at your garden parties, michael, when you have those in Neiderville especially when you have a lot of guests. Last one is a vintage Jaguar.

Speaker 1 23:37

But he would do his in the front yard. Yeah, exactly, there's a story behind that too.

Speaker 2 23:41

Vintage Jag Austin Healer is what this is called a barbecue grill. Well, we'll leave out the rest of the car designing a grill. Why not use it all? That's what the designer of this grill probably had in mind when they came up with this idea and transformed a vintage Jaguar Austin Healer into this one. The entire car has been purposed for the same, with the trunk area used for cooking hot dogs and the front seats being removed to give space for a stove to cook the tortillas. Fancy barbecue grill made up of used parts. Take a look at these things online. There's a bunch more out there Different shapes different designs.

Speaker 3 24:16

The hood folds out front to give you a little serving table.

Speaker 2 24:19

Yeah, a little table space.

Speaker 1 24:23

Pull up your chair. Have little table space. Pull up your chair, have a hot dog. Pull up a car seat.

Speaker 2 24:26

There you go, Michael. That's what we got, brother. Thank you, man. That's great. We love that. All right, Mr.

Driving Destinations: San Antonio Hidden Gems

Speaker 1 24:31

Mars. Mr Mars has this week's driving destinations off the beaten path. You've got four minutes. Give me just a second.

Speaker 3 24:36

Michael, yeah, yeah, yeah. So If you go to San Antonio, we're going to talk about San Antonio. If you look around San Antonio, almost anything associated with Texas can be around there. One of the big sites you're going to see is the Alamo, but it's only one of several missions built along 14 miles of San Antonio River, which includes the Espada mission, which has the oldest working Spanish aqueduct in America. So the first thing we're going to look at is the Bracken Cave bat flight. Now you've heard of the one in Austin, where they come out from underneath the bridge, but this is outside San Antonio, part of the Natural Bridge Caverns property. 15 million Mexican free-tailed bats emerge at dusk. Do they have an accent?

Speaker 1 25:17

Hmm, I'm sure they do, just ask it.

Speaker 3 25:22

See, see, yeah, yeah, see see. So it lost my place here trying to. Aye, aye, aye yeah exactly it's the largest gathering of the bats that kind of bats. You can go there, you can get tours and see them come out in the evening. It's truly awesome. They can see it on radar, they can see it from the outer space. They can actually see it up there. It's bigger than the one in Austin.

Speaker 1 25:48

Alright, are you still trying to find your?

Speaker 3 25:52

place there, mr Bob. No, yeah, I've kind of found it. The other thing I wanted to talk about while this is finishing up, I cut my intro short. San Antonio is where the final resting place of sandra west is. Who they glad? You asked me that sandra west is a. It was a lady that had a 1964 ferrari, her prized possessions. When she died she was buried in a white elegant nightdress reclining in the front seat of her ferrari and they buried her, the car and you can go visit that site.

Speaker 3 26:24

Moving right along here we're going to the Hot Wells of Baja Ruins. Now, this is what you would consider a Texas hot springs. Now, back in the 19th century, a lot of people, celebrities, everybody went here, just like they did to Arkansas, except they preferred this much nicer place. But it burned two or three times over the course of history, and this is about all that's left. You can visit it and see where all the springs were.

Speaker 1 26:45

Is there water in it or are there just burn marks down in the rocks?

Speaker 3 26:48

No, there's just burn marks in the rocks. Yeah, okay, but it's a historical place that's great for photographers or history buffs. Now we're going to the great place, barney Smith's Toilet Seat Art Museum. Now, this is one of San Antonio's museums Got over 1,200 toilet seats.

Speaker 1 27:03

I wish I'd have known that was there, I would have gone.

Speaker 2 27:06

Oh man, you know what? The tour is pretty crappy.

Speaker 3 27:08

Former plumber, barney Smith, over decades, has put this together. It is a tribute to world events and abstract humor and it's now at the Truckyard Beer Garden where it's fun, funky and totally unique, and you go there and see all the toilet lids that Barney has put together Now. Then we're on off to the Robber Barren Cave Preserve. Now, this is a mile of unmapped I mean a mile of mapped passages in the Robber Barren Cave Preserve entrance. Now to get into this you have to go down through a 40-foot deep sinkhole. This is in North San Antonio, in a, in a residential neighborhood. Now, this was actually open to the public in 1923 to 33 and then they closed it down and then it was just there. People would go in there and vandalize and do whatever kids do inside these uh, yeah, uh caves, and in 1995 it was purchased by the texas cave management.

Speaker 3 28:02

You can now go down in there and go through tours of this, but its houses are built all around this thing and all over the top of it in the North San Antonio. Oh good, finally, you can go kayaking in the San Antonio River. You go downtown, you take the boats and you get the little tour and you go around through parts of it. You can now actually go over to the King William District and actually kayak through several areas of the king william and the museum district.

Speaker 3 28:28

Uh, it's pretty great for a novice kayaker because it's calm waters when you get there, but there's also times of the year that you can actually go the entire eight miles down through there, and when you leave the downtown area and you're going down the san antonio river, it actually gets down to where it's uh, it's like a little creek, I mean it's. It's remarkable that this big river here turns into such a little thing and they actually built little chutes so that you can get your kayak down it and all that stuff. But, uh, they'll let you go with kids as young as two years old, as long as you got your life jacket, and it comes with each rental. Things to do in, do in San Antonio you might not know about.

Speaker 1 29:02

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Speaker 1 30:05

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