Having three children with busy schedules, a demanding full-time job, and after-work activities, I rarely get a night out alone with my husband.

Last Friday night, my niece and her boyfriend, who were visiting from Albany, NY, were scheduled to have dinner and a ghost tour of downtown San Antonio. Sadly, the boyfriend ended up with a scary stomach bug. Since the tickets were already purchased and non-refundable, Marvin and I were recruited to fill in. Honestly, after a long week, both of us dreamed of relaxing at home with a bottle of wine/beer.

I was only vaguely interested in the tour, since I openly admit that I believe in ghosts. My husband, on the other hand, is a total non-believer. Our secret plan was to have dinner, and if we became bored with the tour, we would duck into one of our favorite martini bars.

Reluctantly, we headed downtown and straight to the bar at the Menger, one of San Antonio’s most haunted hotels. The tour started promptly after dinner, and we ventured through the hotel where many of our fellow ghost tourees excitedly snapped pictures of orbs. The more excited the tourees got, the sillier Marvin and I got. That’s when we started snapping goofy pictures of ourselves all over downtown San Antonio. One at the Menger Hotel. One at the Alamo. One at the Emily Morgan Hotel. One in some random place that I can’t remember. One at San Fernando Cathedral.

As it turns out, we did not accidentally snap any pictures of resident spirits in San Antonio, but we did have a good time sharing drinks, giggling at our pictures, and wandering around areas of our city I had never seen before. I think we both appreciated and enjoyed our night out, even if we had to share it with ghosts.